Domain Marketplaces

A LOT of registrars already have or are setting up domain marketplaces, some more covertly than others, eNom and Tucows for example. Domain Marketplaces vary in features that may include:

• sales of expired domains, renewed by the registrar
• auctions of expiring domains, maybe renewed by the owner
• auctions of names THEY have caught on the drop and will delete if no sale
• private backorder auctions
• user-listed names

The UGLY practice of domain-hoarding has reared its head again, this time with eNom and its new aftermarket site AquireThisName.com. The Domains has a new piece on this one…

Here are some of the biggest Domain Marketplaces:

• Name.com (expiring)
• AquireThisName.com (eNom; expired)
• Afternic.com (house and user-listed)
• GoDaddy.com (expiring, user-listed, backorder w/o auction)
• Moniker.com (user-listed)
• Namejet.com (expired, drops, backorder)
• Snapnames.com (expired, user-listed, drops, backorder)
• Dynadot.com (expiring and user-listed)
• YummyNames.com (Tucows; expired)
• Pool.com (user-listed, drops, backorder)
• BuyDomains.com (house)

If a Registrar doesn’t itself have its own marketplace, it’s a good bet that it “sends” its Expired Names to a “Partner”:

• NetworkSolutions, eNom, NameSecure.com, BulkRegister.com names go to Namejet.com
• Melbourne IT goes to Afternic
• Moniker, MyDomain, Register.com, Dotster, Answerable names go to Snapnames

And if expired names DON’T sell AND the previous owner DOESN’T renew, there is still NO guarentee that the name will drop. The Regisrar itself may renew and “hoard” it. Also, the regisrar at its discretion may charge an increased renewal fee of an expired domain if it’s deemed “premium” — by whatever criteria…