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For Sale Pool's Sealed Auction

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clickmaster

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A domain I had recently ordered but didn't care much about was caught by Pool. It went into sealed auction and since I didn't care much about the domain I left the bid at $60. I ended up winning the domain for $60 with nobody bidding against me. So my question is, how do I know if there was ever any other bidders for it? Could Pool not use this sealed auction to make you pay more for your domains even when nobody is bidding against you?
 
clickmaster said:
Could Pool not use this sealed auction to make you pay more for your domains even when nobody is bidding against you?

Is this a rheoterical question? :-)
 
clickmaster said:
... Could Pool not use this sealed auction to make you pay more for your domains even when nobody is bidding against you?

Of course they could. That doesn't mean they do. If you trust Pool, you trust that they run their auctions fairly. If you don't trust Pool, you'll always wonder if you're getting a fair deal. Pool's process, especially the new two-phase system, is so opaque that you never know why you had to pay what you had to pay, or why you didn't get a name you bid on. (I have no reason to doubt Pool's integrity, but it is frustrating to not know who is bidding against you.)

Of course, the same could be said for any auction. I have seen auctioneers at live auctions take bids from imaginary bidders when they think the high bidder will go higher. This usually happens when the auctioneer is selling items that belong to him. There is a built-in conflict of interest any time items sold at auction are owned by the auction house, or any time the auction house is allowed to bid on the items they sell for other parties. You have to either choose not to participate in auctions you don't trust, or accept the fact that you may be getting screwed. At least they can't make you pay more than you're willing to bid.
 
This is precisely why pool implemented this 2-phase system.

Even there is no one bidding with you, in the past you can get it at $60. Now you might be just bidding with yourself.
 
skylight said:
This is precisely why pool implemented this 2-phase system.

Even there is no one bidding with you, in the past you can get it at $60. Now you might be just bidding with yourself.

Sorry, I think I misunderstood the original message. Yes, I can see where a domain name might cost you much more than $60 even if you're the only one interested in it. You don't know whether $60 will get you in to the second phase, so you bid more for no good reason. I don't like it!
 
skylight said:
This is precisely why pool implemented this 2-phase system.

Even there is no one bidding with you, in the past you can get it at $60. Now you might be just bidding with yourself.
 
clemzonguy said:
Pool = Greedy

So, in addition to complaining here, send them an email! I am sure that they will pay more attention to their profits than to our complaints, but if it is close, the emails may help them decide that this works against their long-term business.
 
hiOsilver said:
So, in addition to complaining here, send them an email! I am sure that they will pay more attention to their profits than to our complaints, but if it is close, the emails may help them decide that this works against their long-term business.
I would prefer they stay like this or do something that will hurt their business even more. eNom and Snap have been doing well lately, let's hope it continues.
 
Steen said:
I would prefer they stay like this or do something that will hurt their business even more. eNom and Snap have been doing well lately, let's hope it continues.

Spot on.
Keep it to tourself! :wink:

While on paper the new format looks like a win, win situation for Pool, I think they forgot one piece of vital info in their equation for the new system, buyer psychology.

The sealed bid crosses the line of transparency for me. Total bs.
Even names I consider good, I just can't bring myself to placing a sealed bid on them. I guess competing with a domainer up front in an open style auction, is part of determining a domains value for me, in that given instant. The sealed bid does away with the thrill and impulsive nature for some of us domainers.

What they should have done instead, was had a quick fire auction for the domain immediately after the auction, rather than extend what was an already boring 3 day auction. By the time a domain goes to auction under the new system, a lot of the buyer impulsiveness and momentum dies away for a given domain. I for one, have lost interest in the few names I did go after in the new system.

Up until very recently I considered my chances of getting a name vastly improved by requesting it al pool. Not anymore. In the space of 1 week, I have opted not to use Pool. Instead, domains I want are being caught at a rate of 3/5 and even 4/5 by using snap and enom. They are coming on leaps and bounds. Of course, acquiring those names once they are caught is a different matter. :-D

The old Pool system was like a casual bet at the roulette table for me, open to everyone, while the new sealed system followed by the 'challenger' system is for the 'whales' like billionaire baccarat players. Only a dedicated few play at that level. Time will tell.
 
friday said:
The sealed bid crosses the line of transparency for me. Total bs.

Wasn't very transparent to begin with.
 
stop buying with them. forget about 'em . don't even enter names there. it's a scam
 
strongvis said:
stop buying with them. forget about 'em . don't even enter names there. it's a scam


Yeah. i am just using Pool's hotlist to see what are some nice domains.
Anyway, i am not trying to catch top notch name. Enom, Snapnames, Namewinner are sufficient for me. They caught 80% of my intended list :)
 
Haven't used Pool in months..and I haven't got any good names in months either.. :laugh:
 
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