Is someone gaming the Godaddy auctions system?

[JuniperPark]

I've had a couple of cases now where there is some back and forth bidding on 'expired domain auctions' at GoDaddy, then a couple of hours after the auction has ended I get an email that the owner has 'reclaimed the domain name'.

Since the domain had been expired and shut down days (or weeks before), it seems unlikely to me that the owner would 'just remember' to renew the domain immediately after the 10 day auction ended. At best, the owner is coughing up the roughly $300 to get the domain out of redemption.

Could this be some sort of gaming of the system? What I've seen in the auctions doesn't make sense, and when things don't make sense and money is flowing around something is usually going on.

[Mark Talbot]

Has Halverez resurfaced in a GoDaddy bikini?

[JuniperPark]

Ha!

A GoDaddy bikini and a paper KFC hat!!

For those too young to remember, we used to have a suspicious bidder at Snapnames. When Godaddy Street View was in beta test, the 1st area to go online was the address used by the suspicious bidder. I noticed it was a Kentucky Fried Chicken store, and openly joked that it must be a bored KFC worker bidding from kitchen there. I (and others) emailed Snapnames that the suspicious bidder is using a fake address, and an exec there responded that the bidder 'is very real and has been verified'.

As it turns out, I had exposed a huge scandal.

Has Halverez resurfaced in a Godaddy bikini?

[Bill F.]

As far as I know, all domains at GoDaddy auctions can still be renewed for about $90. For any name that receives heavy bidding, the owner will almost certainly be contacted by domainers trying to buy it directly. Either the owner will make deal with someone, or will simply renew the name for themselves now that they have been alerted to its value.
Are the domains you are talking about going for around $100 or less? In that case, it might seem a bit odd if it happens often enough.

[JuniperPark]

As far as I know, all domains at GoDaddy auctions can still be renewed for about $90. For any name that receives heavy bidding, the owner will almost certainly be contacted by domainers trying to buy it directly. Either the owner will make deal with someone, or will simply renew the name for themselves now that they have been alerted to its value.
Are the domains you are talking about going for around $100 or less? In that case, it might seem a bit odd if it happens often enough.

I think the last time I won the domain at about $100, and today I won the domain at $350. It was RefinanceExpert.com.

[Bill F.]

Well, another bidder might have offered $300 to the owner to renew it for him. For the $100 name, I would guess the owner received an offer and decided it was worth $90 to keep the name and try to sell for more. I don't watch that closely, but if I saw one of my drops getting bid up to $100, I might have second thoughts about letting it go.

[eq78]

http://www.hybriddomainer.com/2012/0...r-auction.html

There are many people contacting sellers after a close, and there are some owners purposely letting their domain expire to see the auction result.