Snapnames & Buydomains...Something very strange

[Raider]

I cant figure this out, I went to Snapnames and did a advanced search on expiring domains, I found 4 good ones, all showing an auction date of Aug 27, 06, but when I looked them up in Whois, all are owned by Buydomains and the expiration dates are 2 months away in October and November...What gives?

I doubt these will be going to auction, is there a way that Buydomains can be tricking the registry into thinking a domain is expiring? this would sure be a good way to get free exposure.

Eva

[Onward]

The way "saggydimes" and all the other snapnames.com accounts buy domains has...I have always thought they had a deal with them to bid up the names and then keep them. This does not suprise me at all.

[Raider]

Below are 3 examples, and theirs hundreds more, look for the name at Snapnames first, then look in Whois.....

finestgirls.com
friskygirls.com
sensualgirls.com

I dont know if they have deal going with Snapnames or not, this appears to be something more advanced on a tech level.

[Onward]

it stinks.

[Kjel]

If a registrar partnered with SnapNames places names on our list it means they intend us to auction them; for these particular names the expiration date in the whois is not relevant.

I don't really understand the nefarious "deal" that Onward is positing, but please know this: no buyer at SnapNames gets any sort of discount, whether their monthly SnapNames budget is $60 or $60,000. The amounts displayed in our auctions are correct and reflect the amount paid by the winner. Running an auction any other way would both be illegal and highly unethical.

[actnow]

Eva,

BuyDomains has been getting away from sexually explicit domains.

Apparently, BD is selling them (thru Domain Discover) at Snapnames.

And, I believe that is what Kjel is saying.

Furthermore, out of all of the companies in the catching game, Snapnames is
the most ethical out of the group. (That is a compliment.)

They haven't said it this way but I think their corporate philosophy is
"they treat others as they would want to be treated".

[chumba]

I've never had any problems with Snap or the way they conduct business. Buydomains? Well, let's just leave it at: If you can't say something nice about somebody, don't say anything at all.

[typist]

If you can't say something nice about somebody, don't say anything at all.

...trying to put dnforum out of business?

[RepCentral]

You know the way everyone is trying to go legit so quickly (no adult, no gambling, clean business practices, etc..) seems to indicate governement criminal investigations are hovering in the background.

Should make for some interesting news in the next couple of quarters when the feds crash the party.

[TheLegendaryJP]

Feds ? Why exactly would that be ?

[Onward]

please know this: no buyer at SnapNames gets any sort of discount, whether their monthly SnapNames budget is $60 or $60,000. The amounts displayed in our auctions are correct and reflect the amount paid by the winner. Running an auction any other way would both be illegal and highly unethical.

I'm glad I'm wrong...because I am a regular customer.

[Raider]

Eva,

BuyDomains has been getting away from sexually explicit domains.

Apparently, BD is selling them (thru Domain Discover) at Snapnames.

And, I believe that is what Kjel is saying.

Furthermore, out of all of the companies in the catching game, Snapnames is
the most ethical out of the group. (That is a compliment.)

They haven't said it this way but I think their corporate philosophy is
"they treat others as they would want to be treated".

Thanks for the valuable info, I've been very careful not to point fingers at Snapnames, their a great backorder service, I had no idea Domain Discover was listing domains with Snapnames, I wish this kind of info was sent out in a email or posted on there site, maybe I missed it.

[StockDoctor]

If a registrar partnered with SnapNames places names on our list it means they intend us to auction them; for these particular names the expiration date in the whois is not relevant.

The confusion is that domainers expect that Snapnames is auctioning off "expired or expiring" names. The distinction between an active name and a dropping name is important, and Snapnames should indicate which it is, so as not to mislead unintentionally? BFD and Snap both know better.

[mulligan]

If a registrar partnered with SnapNames places names on our list it means they intend us to auction them; for these particular names the expiration date in the whois is not relevant.

So are you saying that names that have not yet dropped are being auctioned off?

I was under the impression that only names that had dropped and were caught by yourselves were then availabe for auction.

If whois data is not correct then what is that all about? Again, I was under the impression that whois info had to be correct and if the name is not expiring on the date stipulated in whois then the whois is wrong?

Or the name is being auctioned before it drops? In which case...

[Kjel]

SnapNames will auction any domain that a registrar partner of ours makes available, in addition to any deleting names that we are able to catch. I can see where there could be some confusion, because usually the names made available are domains that have not been renewed by their owners and would have otherwise deleted. In this case though, for whatever reason Buydomains is actively purging certain domains from their portfolio. These names would delete now, earlier than the whois would indicate, (registrars have the ability to 'manually' issue a delete command before a registration term is up), except for the fact that the registrar involved and SnapNames are partnered. So instead of deleting early the domains are on our list, available for ordering.

[Onward]

Question. Can buy domains participate in their own 'expired' or 'purged' auction? Do partner registrars profit more if a name is auctioned off for more?

[beatz]

There really should be an indication which names on the list are drops and which ones are active.

This is also the first time i've learned this and i can't believe they don't make that distinction.

Of course Snapnames is entitled to do whatever they want as long as it's legal but to not be open about it (read: indicated on the HOMEPAGE, not in a small post in a forum) surely doesn't add to transpareny and credibility.

Which might be a factor when it comes to credibility in terms of other subjects, for example shill bidding questions.

Period.

[Kjel]

Onward: BuyDomains would not be allowed to participate in an auction of their own domains, nor would anyone without a legitimate interest in purchasing the name in question.

Beatz: we've been auctioning off unrenewed yet active names for registrars since 2004. These names are in the priority partner list downloadable from our homepage.

I've come to accept the fact that certain people are never going to completely believe that we police the auctions for shill bidders and don't shill bid ourselves, no matter what I say here or at other venues. I did not realize that the distinction between a name picked up on the drop versus one auctioned pre-deletion is so important to some, and I'm sorry that our perceived lack of forthright disclosure on the subject has perhaps lowered your estimation of our credibility.

[beatz]

Kjel,

this was not and is not meant personal in any way.

But the problem is something you already mentioned in your last reply:

"..people are never going to completely believe that we police the auctions for shill bidders and don't shill bid ourselves, no matter what I say here or at other venues."

See - the problem word here is "believe".

And that's the problem with most drop services, especially of course those that prefer to auction off the names caught for their customers.

The issue is that from a customers side all we can do is "believe" or "not believe" - that's actually the only choice we are given.

Wouldn't it be better if we not had to depend on "believing" in a (combined) multi million dollar business ?

Is it not the drop services core own interest to make things as transparent as possible for exactly these reasons ?

That's a major reason why ebay has implemented so many ways to not only eliminate shill bidding wherever possible but also to make it as transparent as possible for all involved.

So, no - snapnames is in no means the only company faced with this problem and i'm not saying that.

But really, the point should not be that the problem is some "certain" people that don't believe what you say.

The point is - make it more transparent.

Simple.

[Raider]

In this case though, for whatever reason Buydomains is actively purging certain domains from their portfolio. These names would delete now, earlier than the whois would indicate, (registrars have the ability to 'manually' issue a delete command before a registration term is up), except for the fact that the registrar involved and SnapNames are partnered. So instead of deleting early the domains are on our list, available for ordering.

I think this part of the thread gets to the core of my original question, I knew BD was doing something tricky...Thank you. I had about 4 domains backordered at Snapnames on Sunday, 2 went to auction and the other 2 were backorder successful, all from Buydomains. As much as I despise this company, I doubt there bidding on there own domains, there trying to dump off the ones they don't want, bidding on them and coming out the high bidder would defeat that purpose. One thing I would like to see Snapnames do, is to add an Icon next to domains that are active, initials of the registrar would be nice, and also add Buydomains to there partner list, which is currently not there, I think this would eliminate any confusion.