Backordering Your Domain Names
As a domain player, you know that almost all the great domain
names were taken before 1999. It is difficult now to get an even
fairly decent domain name.
Sometimes, however, some registrants do not recognize that their
domain names are pretty valuable and drop them after they find
no application for their domain names.
That is when the backordering comes into play. Now you need to
know that there may be many people waiting to backorder the same
domain name. So it's important to find a backordering service
provider that can maximize your odds of getting the domain name
for a minimal price. That could be quite some task.
The key for a successful backorder is to find a competent
backordering service. Here are some tips for you to consider.
1) Choose a backorder service that works with quite some
registrars. More registrars mean better odds for you to get the
domain name you want.
2) Avoid the backorder service that places the domain name on
auction. With such a service provider, you are not certain if
you can get the domain name for a price you want to pay.
Auctioneers are always seeking the highest bid for a domain name.
The bad news is that considering both 1) and 2), you may find
that no service provider may meed your demand. As a matter of
fact, almost all the backorder services are running an auction
mode business.
Some major backorder service providers are listed here for your
reference.
1) Snapnames.com. This may be the biggest. It works with a dozen
of registrars. But that does not mean they can have a better
chances than others to backorder a domain name. If the domain
name is fairly of low grade, then they might be able to snap it
for you. But for a great domain name, the competition is keen
and chances are snapnames.com can not get it for you.
Snapnames.com places the domain name backordered on auction. The
auction goes for three days. In the end of the auction, they
award the domain name to the highest bidder. A recent example is
infodepot.com; snapnames.com awarded it to a bidder for $1250
for the domain name. The minimal bid is $60.
2) Pool.com. Pool.com's business is similar to snapnames.com.
They may work with fewer registrars. But sometimes they still
have better chances of getting quite decent domain names. The
minimal bid is $60.
3) Namewinner.com. Namewinner.com is part of dotster.com. They
work with a few domain registrars. Occasionally, they can snap a
few great domain names. They also place the domain names on
auction. But the auction is done before they snap it. The
minimal bid is $30. Now there is a trap, literally trap, with
the after-snap auction. Namewinner.com registered a few domain
names and put them on an auction. The problem with that is that
when you enter the auction, no matter you got the domain name or
not, you will be charged instantly $50 as Namewinner auction
fee. There is no place indicating they will charge the fee. This
will certainly be a problem with every bidder who has no idea
what's going on. I personally regard this as indecent business
conduct and it could catch the attention from Federal Trade
Commission at http://www.ftc.gov.
4) Enom.com. Enom.com is an ICANN accredited registrar. I am not
sure if they work with any other registrar(s). The minimal bid
is $30. The features associated with the backordering look
great. However, I personally do not have an experience with the
service. But it does look nice after I look around inside an
account.
5) GoDaddy.com. Godday.com is an ICANN accredited registrar. I
guess they do not work with other registrars. This is one of
those backordering services that do not place the domain name on
auction. They charge an $18.95 flat for a backorder. The price
looks great, but do not get excited too early. Three things will
cool you down. A. Chances are they do not work with other
registrars. So it's not easy for them to get the domain name for
you. B. For a good domain name, you can not even have a chance
to place the backorder. C. No matter they win the domain name
for you or not, you pay up front the fee and there is no refund.
For the price you pay, if they fail to get the domain name for
you, they monitor the domain name or you can place another
backorder, which is not friendly to most people. It seems
godaddy.com makes some money out of the process rather the
result. People need to exercise caution when considering using
them. One trap is their "invest edge" service, which charges a
monthly fee. This service allows you to place bulk backorders at
a real low price. It sounds great to those who backorder a lot
of domain names such as a professional domain player. But it's
really not much of service that you can use. By trap, I mean
that A) you can barely find any good domain name to order. Many
good domain names may be backordered by others. Remember they
only accept one backorder for one domain name. B. Godaddy.com
will keep charging the monthly for the service even though you
order the service just for one month. After you place the order
for the invest edge service, they may send you an email saying
that you need to cancel the service while in reality you do not
order the service for more than one month. Be fearful for such a
tactics. I personally do not recommend any of service at
godaddy.com because of this.
When you consider a backordering service, the integrity is the
key. This is particularly important when you backorder a first
grade domain name that might be worth tens of thousands of
dollars. How can you be sure that they will give such as domain
name to you and not keep it for themselves? Who is most reliable
and trustworthy can be everyone's guess.
Among all the services I know, snapnames.com is the one I
trusted most although they could not get you every domain name
you want. They seem doing a fair business in any aspect you can
imagine. I would recommend snapnames.com to those who seriously
want to backorder a domain name! (Disclaimer: I do not have any
affiliation with snapnames.com)
