Dirty game of Snapnames!

[DavidAusman]

Yesterday, I receive an email confirming that I had acquired FreeLayout.net for the minimum bid price of $60. The domain itself also had got it's nameserver pointed to my default NS. And then the next day, I receive an email from Nelson saying that it was done by error. Below is what he wrote to me:

We acquired this name June 12, 2005 for our own portfolio for possible
future sale. At the time it had no orders on it. You placed an order
on it Sep 8, 2006.

Today we listed it and 49 other names for sale in public auction as you
can see from the list on our download page in the link for

"Most Active Live Auctions"

It shows as listed for public auction until the 28th with a reserve
price. Your previous order was supposed to generate an email to you
that said then name was being auctioned with a reserve and you would
need to bid that price to get the name but there was and error and
instead you got the email saying you had acquired the name. We will be
refunding any charge and continuing with the auction. We are very sorry
for the confusion. You can submit a bid for the name at the current
minimum bid if you are still interested at that price.

So, now snapnames need me to bid on a domain that I had acquired previously for $7500 if I still interested in that name. How many of you guys had seen a public domain that bid up above $5000? Seldom.... right! Almost none!

Well, it seems that snapnames want to earn more money for this domain. I know it is a nice domain and it really worth more than $60. But in this domain game, sometimes you lose sometimes you win. I had previously acquired Intertopsporker, BodogPorker and several more for $60. Why don't they put those up to public auction instead of letting me get it? Simple answer: Because they know it don't get traffic, so they let you have it!

Just in case if any of you bid on this domain. Here is what I get for 1 day parking.
----------------
Traffic: 68
----------------
Clicks: 8
----------------
Payout: $2
----------------

Happy $7500 bidding ..

[IDEAS4]

that my friend is fraud - and they are much better off giving you that name then having your lawyers crawl up their butt about domains they "keep" for themselves.

[Gregoire]

2 possible scenarios:

1/ They really made a mistake and think that their reputation is not worth a few thousands dollars.
2/ They are cheating and that really sucks.

Anyway I don't like that, especially when you read this:

[...] SnapNames who had 22.90% with $4,825,851. Keep in mind that our data reflects only reported sales, which, due to non disclosure agreements, is only a fraction of the overall market.

[PRED]

surely everyone knows snapnames are a ripoff?
i don't deal with them.
if you want to waste your money,go right ahead

[DavidAusman]

I really don't have a good experience with them lately. The last time I bought a typo domain from them, I got a C&D letter right on my front door a month or two later! Losing thousands of dollars :(

Why can't trademark owners sue them for selling TM domains?

[Banned: VioxxLawyers]

SnapNames suck, nothing new here

[Gregoire]

I really don't have a good experience with them lately. The last time I bought a typo domain from them, I got a C&D letter right on my front door a month or two later! Losing thousands of dollars :(

Why can't trademark owners sue them for selling TM domains?

That's a different problem!

[kengreenwood]

Something doesn't smell right. Either we're not getting the whole story from you or it's clearly fraudulent activity on the part of Snapnames.

Speaking of Snapnames.com - hasn't anyone else noticed that over the last few weeks, there has been an unusually high number of crap domains with a seemingly overvalued current auction bid???

I saw freelayouts.net and that one is an exception. But I get emails for any auction underway with a bid over a certain amount and here is todays email:

Domain Name Minimum Bid Est. Auction Start

allsextips.net $2,500.00 Auction in progress- Join now!
bbsmile.com $1,500.00 Auction in progress- Join now!
blogspost.com $3,000.00 Auction in progress- Join now!
blogstot.com $1,500.00 Auction in progress- Join now!
certifiedweldin[...].com $3,500.00 Auction in progress- Join now!
cricketworlcup.com $4,000.00 Auction in progress- Join now!
cyberanimalsex.com $7,500.00 Auction in progress- Join now!
ddrclub.com $1,500.00 Auction in progress- Join now!
designerdriveways.com $100.00 Auction in progress- Join now!
eurohottv.com $220.00 Auction in progress- Join now!
fairpricemovers.com $230.00 Auction in progress- Join now!
fileporn.com $2,500.00 Auction in progress- Join now!
freelayout.net $7,500.00 Auction in progress- Join now!
****ourgirlz.net $1,200.00 Auction in progress- Join now!
gaysdeluxe.com $1,700.00 Auction in progress- Join now!
glickr.com $2,600.00 Auction in progress- Join now!
hotsluttyteens.com $1,500.00 Auction in progress- Join now!
invisaling.com $3,500.00 Auction in progress- Join now!
lbgirl.net $1,500.00 Auction in progress- Join now!

Granted... a few of these are ok names but the bid values are significantly higher than they had been in recent history... anyone else notice this?

[DavidAusman]

Even if FreeLayout.net doesn't worth 7.5k! It is a .NET, but it will be a different story if it is .COM

Snapnames is not a place where ppl grabs expiring domains. It is rather than a place where you will be slaughtered

Some of the domains are own by buydomains. So, probably a 3 letters domains will have a $100,000 minimum bid.

https://www.snapnames.com/faqs.jsp
What If I'm The Only Bidder?
If only one customer has bid in advance to buy a selected web domain name, the auction is cancelled and that customer automatically wins the domain name for the minimum bid price listed in search results.

I should had get this domain since there are no bidders, right?

[stuff]

I love snapnames

[kengreenwood]

aboutwhat.org -

YES. If you were the only bidder then SNAPNAMES has no choice but to sell that domain to you for the 60.00 fee. And in fact they did that. But rescinded the offer a few days later.... totally fraudulent. It's irrelevant how many bidders there are...if there were 2 bidders and the highest bid was 61.00, then the 61.00 bid wins. It's not rocket science.

I'm just amazed at the people bidding so high on crap names. I wouldn't be surprised is "someone" was jacking up the prices with false bids with no intention of purchasing the domain (hmmmm...i wonder who would profit by doing that).


UPDATE-

Here's another live auction at snapnames:

futurebazar.com $15,000.00

WHaaaaaaaaaaat????????????? That is totally pathetic.


Another update: there is something really screwy going on at snapnames....here are some of the domains from the list I posted just a few hours earlier...but the bid amounts have gone DOWN...someone is submitting bids that they don't intend on following through on... and snapnames must be removing those bids... but those bids, while they are up, are going to influence ignorant buyers:


bbsmile.com Live Auction 2d 1h 26m $105.00
blogspost.com Live Auction 2d 1h 26m $100.00
blogstot.com Live Auction 2d 1h 26m $105.00
certifiedweldinspectors.com Live Auction 2d 1h 26m $110.00
cricketworlcup.com Live Auction 2d 1h 26m $105.00
cyberanimalsex.com Live Auction 2d 1h 26m $105.00
ddrclub.com Live Auction 2d 1h 26m $105.00
designerdriveways.com Live Auction 1h 26m $100.00
emergence-international.com Live Auction 2d 1h 26m $105.00
emo-kids.com Live Auction 2d 1h 26m $100.00
eurohottv.com Live Auction 1d 1h 26m $220.00
fairpricemovers.com Live Auction 1d 1h 26m $230.00
fileporn.com Live Auction 2d 1h 26m $105.00
futurebazar.com Live Auction 2d 1h 26m $15,000.00
gaysdeluxe.com Live Auction 2d 1h 26m $105.00
glickr.com Live Auction 2d 1h 26m $100.00
hardcore-sexpics.com Live Auction 2d 1h 26m $105.00
hotsluttyteens.com Live Auction 2d 1h 26m $105.00
infohipica.com Live Auction 1h 26m $100.00
invisaling.com Live Auction 2d 1h 26m $110.00
irancrackers.com Live Auction 1h 26m $100.00
ixgame.com Live Auction 1d 1h 26m $104.00
jambanddirectory.com Live Auction 1h 26m $100.00
korean-airlines.com Live Auction 2d 1h 26m $105.00
lap-banding.com Live Auction 1h 26m $104.00
lowphonecards.com Live Auction 1d 1h 26m $143.00
mastermovies.com Live Auction 2d 1h 26m $105.00
maxprime.com Live Auction 2d 1h 26m $105.00
milleplateauxmedia.com Live Auction 2d 1h 26m $105.00
moneysuppermarket.com Live Auction 2d 1h 26m $105.00
net-xxx.com Live Auction 2d 1h 26m $105.00
newsvibes.com Live Auction 1h 26m $190.00
offlinebusiness.com Live Auction 1h 26m $104.00
paparaso.com Live Auction 2d 1h 26m $105.00
peachbabes.com Live Auction 2d 1h 26m $105.00
pics-seeker.com Live Auction 2d 1h 26m $105.00
plussizesources.com Live Auction 1h 26m $100.00
prefabbricasealdoguar[...].com Live Auction 2d 1h 26m $105.00
private-****-contacts.com Live Auction 2d 1h 26m $105.00
risk-management-plan.com Live Auction 1h 26m $164.00
sex-list-porn.com Live Auction 2d 1h 26m $105.00
sexygayboy.com Live Auction 2d 1h 26m $105.00
simplevpns.com Live Auction 2d 1h 26m $110.00
skybloge.com Live Auction 2d 1h 26m $100.00
sodja.com Live Auction 1h 26m $104.00
starnet-bg.com Live Auction 2d 1h 26m $105.00
sugarbowlskiresort.com Live Auction 1d 1h 26m $100.00
teenswing.com Live Auction 2d 1h 26m $100.00
tn21stmortgage.com Live Auction 2d 1h 26m $110.00
tpmmbt.com Live Auction 2d 1h 26m $105.00
uououo.com Live Auction 2d 1h 26m $105.00
usedmotorcyclegear.com Live Auction 1h 26m $240.00
utopiaflorida.com Live Auction 1h 26m $100.00
vacationcreditcard.com Live Auction 1h 26m $220.00
wagaga.com Live Auction 2d 1h 26m $110.00
wellspringpsychological.com Live Auction 2d 1h 26m $104.00
xxx-asian-babes.com Live Auction 2d 1h 26m $105.00
youtune.com Live Auction 2d 1h 26m $100.00




--- FINAL UPDATE AND I'M DONE WITH THIS TOPIC. There must be something screwy with Snapnames search feature because the lower values no longer appear. The bids are still abnormally high. But all I did was cut and paste the results from their site after performing the search so you can see the values above.... they're screwed up royally either way. Either the domains are way overpriced or their site is f*cked up. Too bad because I have gotten many a good name from them over the years.

Sorry, I can't let this rest. This is ridiculous... Here are the current .NET auctions:

18dy.net Live Auction 2d 1h 7m $5,000.00
allsextips.net Live Auction 2d 1h 7m $2,500.00
bulldogpowersports.net Live Auction 1d 1h 7m $100.00
f666.net Live Auction 2d 1h 7m $1,000.00
freelayout.net Live Auction 2d 1h 7m $7,500.00
****ourgirlz.net Live Auction 2d 1h 7m $1,200.00
lbgirl.net Live Auction 2d 1h 7m $1,500.00
pornocruto.net Live Auction 2d 1h 7m $2,500.00
psychseminars.net Live Auction 1d 1h 7m $170.00
soccergifts.net Live Auction 1h 7m $100.00
vagaa.net Live Auction 2d 1h 7m $2,500.00

Can anyone in their right mind explain these values? The ONLY domain that makes any sense is soccergifts.net at $100.00. And that's probably the best name in the list. I sent an email to snapnames.com asking for an explanation as to the fluxuating bid amounts... but who knows if I'll ever get a satisfactory answer. Mind boggling.

[DavidAusman]

I think I should register www.MakeMeHaHaHa.com and follow buydomains footstep. Then I contact Nelson and ask him whether or not it is possible for them to set the minimum bid to $50,000. hehehe......

[kengreenwood]

Yeah, unless I get a reasonable explanation, I'm going to lose all faith in SnapNames.com. Not that I had much previously. But at this point, the only plausible excuses for this ridiculous activity are:

1. Someone or some group of people is purposefully and maliciously jacking up the prices with bids they will not follow through on.
2. There is a glitch in the SnapNames.com website.

BUT - neither one of these explains why they yanked freelayout.net away from you.

[Raider]

We acquired this name June 12, 2005 for our own portfolio

I think this one statement pretty much says it all, I think ALL drop catchers are ripoffs....It will come to a point where all of them keep the best domains and auction off the crap that is left.

[kengreenwood]

Got a response from Snapnames:

Dear Ken,

Thank you for contacting SnapNames.com!

There was a glitch in our system that set the reserves on several domains incorrectly. Thies were the unusuall high bid prices. We have gone through and fixed most of these. The prices that you see now are the correct prices.

Please accept our apologies for the confusion!

If you have any other questions, please let us know.


-------------------------

Well, I just checked again and the crazy high prices are still there... doh! My guess is that the drop that I saw a couple hours ago was them fixing the original problem and then the glitch reset the prices to the crazy high prices...lol .... dumb dumbs.

[Simsi]

I think this one statement pretty much says it all, I think ALL drop catchers are ripoffs....It will come to a point where all of them keep the best domains and auction off the crap that is left.

Gotta say I agree.

The original OP's email from Snap just goes to re-enforce this opinion. Plain wrong. If you've taken the money for the product and agreed to the sale, mistakingly or otherwise, tough. Money is clearly more important than ethical business practices.

As an aside, there's an argument that also says the agreements between registrars and the Drop Catchers are monopolistic.

[cursal]

18dy.net @5k

That, um, er, seems insane to me.

Never used SnapNames before but after reading this I never will.

Very sorry for your situation. I would try and get the name if I were you.

[Raider]

Never used SnapNames before but after reading this I never will.

If your going to stay in this business, you have to use them Cural, they have the best drops.

[Creature]

I love Snapnames but the other bidders get on my nerves!! The Quota.com auction started 10 minutes in today at 11k. No chance!

[Raider]

I love Snapnames but the other bidders get on my nerves!! The Quota.com auction started 10 minutes in today at 11k. No chance!

Dont be surprised if it fetches over 100K.