For Sale Enom's dodgy reverse auctions

[cyphix]

Ok... if you're aware of enom's reverse auctions I'm sure you know how they work (or supposedly work ).

Anyways.. I saw a name in a reverse auction that I wanted; so I decided to use the "Buy It Now" feature... seems simple enough doesn't it!? I decide to buy the domain at the buy it now price & I get the name, right!? WRONG!!

After clicking buy it now I was greeted with a message that my "bid" was outbid by a proxy bid. Huh!? I don't get it!? I thought this was an option to buy it now; not another auction for the name!? :huh:

So, I then shot this email off to Enom Support:

Hello,

I just tried to buy a name in a reverse auction using the "buy it now" feature but was told that someine had outbid me? I'm not sure why it said this seeing as I was using the buy it now option.. your help section states this..

"How does Buy It Now work?
If you use the Buy It Now option on any reverse auction, the auction will end immediately and you will pay the currently shown bidding price."

The domain I attempted to buy was "******"; which has now mysteriously dissapeared from the auction list??

Thanks,

Brett

I just now got this email back from them..

Hello Brett,
A proxy bid beats the buy it now feature which is what I show happened in this case. Let me know if you have any further questions.

Thanks,



******

Wha??? If the words buy it now & confirmation from the help section of their site doesn't mean you get the domain by using that feature I don't know what does!? :huh:

Btw.... here is a screenshot of that part in their help section in case they decide to edit it: http://www.imageviper.com/displayimage/8094/0/bin_enom.gif

 

[Domainut]

That is crazy, and why would someone bid more than the BIN price anyway. Something smells fishy.

 

[paxton]

That is crazy, and why would someone bid more than the BIN price anyway. Something smells fishy.

Actually it's not fishy. Let me explain. Enom is actually being honest and providing the original bidder with a fair price.

Let's use the following example: Domain "XYZ123.com" is in reverse auction. I like the name, but I do not want to pay $60 for it. So I enter a proxy bid of $30. As time passes, the reverse auction takes it course and price lowers from $60, to $50, to $45, etc. All this while nobody has entered a higher bid than my $30 bid. And all this while nobody used the BIN at a price higher than $30.

Now more time passes and the auction finally lowers and the price hits $30, which is the same price as my proxy bid. Enom's policy does not end the auction right here. Since there is no competition for the name, they will allow the auction to continue, further lowering the price. To $20, to $10, etc. This is to my advantage as the bidder to not have to pay a higher price than the market warrants. Now lets say when the price has lowered to $30, YOU come along and see this name. You say to yourself, "Wow! Domain XYZ123.com is a perfect fit for my portfolio!" and you want to buy it now. You see the BIN is at $30 and you click the option to buy. Unfortunately for you, I had already entered the proxy bid of $30 a day or two earlier. With your BIN attempt at $30, you effectively ended the auction and I won the name.

Make sense?

 

[cyphix]

Well even if that does make sense (I do understand it) that doesn't make how enom are advertising it right.. it's blatant false advertising. :veryangry

 

[paxton]

...it's blatant false advertising. :veryangry

I agree that they may be better served to change the language a bit, since "BUY NOW" does not always mean you will be able to buy the domain.

But I wouldn't go so far as to call it false advertising, since they do put a note underneath the "Buy Now" image. The note reads:

"Buy Now" note: A bidder may already have a proxy bid for this amount, which gives him/her priority.

Since we are talking about Enom, and misleading their customers, the one thing they really need to change is their claims that they catch non .COM and .NET domains. Duke made a comment about this at DNjournal.com and I agree 100%. I had previously wasted hours entering expiring names into my Club Drop droplist that were not .COM and .NET until I finally gave up. Enom simply doesn't catch these names yet.

 

[cyphix]

But I wouldn't go so far as to call it false advertising, since they do put a note underneath the "Buy Now" image. The note reads:

"Buy Now" note: A bidder may already have a proxy bid for this amount, which gives him/her priority.

Meh.... there help section quote I think does a good job of telling you you will get the name if you use the buy it now option.. which is most obviously now incorrect! :veryangry

Since we are talking about Enom, and misleading their customers, the one thing they really need to change is their claims that they catch non .COM and .NET domains. Duke made a comment about this at DNjournal.com and I agree 100%. I had previously wasted hours entering expiring names into my Club Drop droplist that were not .COM and .NET until I finally gave up. Enom simply doesn't catch these names yet.

Hmmmmm.... ironically I had no problems with that myself... I noticed they stated somewhere (their help section maybe?) that they only catch .com & .net.

 

[paxton]

It seems that there is one thing we can all agree on: the HELP section really needs to be updated.

:wink:

 

[ParkQuick.com]

Paul Stahura, their CEO, confirmed this to me at Domain Roundtable. The site suggests that they catch other tlds, but as of now they still only catch .com and .net. They are working on it though.

Since we are talking about Enom, and misleading their customers, the one thing they really need to change is their claims that they catch non .COM and .NET domains. Duke made a comment about this at DNjournal.com and I agree 100%. I had previously wasted hours entering expiring names into my Club Drop droplist that were not .COM and .NET until I finally gave up. Enom simply doesn't catch these names yet.

 

[namestrands]

Ok... if you're aware of enom's reverse auctions I'm sure you know how they work (or supposedly work ).

out of interest what was the domain name?

 

[Harmonia]

cyphix, I shared the same fate with you a few days ago on a "buy it now" domain. They really should not use the word buy it now, since we (the secondary buyer) are pretty much assisting the primary buyer to end the auction. And the problem is not about the buy it now, but that we DO NOT have a second option to bid again. That really ticks me off.

 

[mole]

geesh, I have never understood the need for a reverse auction, and still don't. Never been into one, and never will.

 

[Romain]

I appologize that you didn't get the name cyphix but understand that this is a great feature in favor of enom.. It shows that they are not looking for the highest price but the RIGHT price.
For sure they must be more clear on the "buy it now" thing

 

[carlton]

Paul Stahura, their CEO, confirmed this ... The site suggests that they catch other tlds, but as of now they still only catch .com and .net. They are working on it though.

They would be well advised to remove the promotional statements about catching new tld's until they effectively "work through it". It's misleading to those who are investing time in their drop catch service.