After an auction starts is it only among those who have bid earlier?

[erdinc]

This is Answer ID 108 from snapnames:

Public auctions feature a low minimum bid and can be joined by anyone, at any time prior to close.
Private auctions can be joined by anyone, but are limited to those that place bids before the start of an auction. These auctions generally require a higher minimum bid in exchange for the opportunity to limit competition from outsiders once the auction starts.
Both auction formats operate under essentially the same rules, with the following key differences:
When one or more bids are received before an auction starts, that domain is reserved for private auction.

If only one customer has bid in advance for a selected domain name, the auction is cancelled and that customer automatically wins the domain name for the minimum bid price listed in search results.

The search results page lists all domain names currently in public auction, as well as all domain names that can be reserved for private auction (i.e. an auction has not yet started). Domain names in private auction are not visible in search results.

An auction lasts a minimum of 72 hours. To ensure fair play, bids received during the final minutes of an auction will automatically extend the auction close time by a few minutes.

I think if an auction starts and there are multiple bidders before an auction start then the auction will be only among those bidders and nobody else can join. Therefore it is called private auction. Am I getting this right?

[DNjet]

You got it right, I think if you were one that backordered the domain then you get the chance to bid when the auction starts along with the others that did the same if snapnames catches the domain, but if you are the only one that backordered then you win automatically..

[denny007]

In Namewinner you can buy into an auction for $50, but Namewinner catch nothing anyway...

[erdinc]

There is still one interesting detail about it. Assuming an auction has started and nobody has bid at all. In this case the name is listed among results as "live auction" and you can bid on it. The thing is the auction doesn't end after you bid.

This means if you are the only bidder before the auction start then you become the owner and the auction is canceled at the beginning. If you are the first person to bid after an auction has started then this doesn't mean anything and the auction goes on.

So, if you can you should always bid before the auction has started. If the auction started and you haven't bid then you can not bid if anybody else did before the start and you just lose and if nobody bid before the start then you lose you chances to get the name without competing with possible bidders.

[Acro]

This doesn't make sense erdinc. When an auction starts, all bidders automatically bid their intro amounts; therefore if they haven't bid more than the initial fee of $60 they will show up as having bid $60.