GoDaddy TDNAM (The Domain Name Aftermarket) & Auctions
GoDaddy runs the biggest online domain aftermarket auction platform in the world, providing over 2 million active domain names to be either bid on or to be purchased directly.
Here is a link to the GoDaddy auctions.
GoDaddy “Fixed Price” Auction Domains
As the name suggests, these kinds of domains are offered for sale at a fixed price, which can’t be changed unless the auction is manually restarted. No bidding takes place and the domains up for sale have not expired, they are still registered to a 3rd party.
GoDaddy Expiring Domain Auctions
Before a domain name expires, GoDaddy will put them up in an auction for anyone to bid. These auctions will typically run for 12 days, and the highest bidder will win the domain at the end of the auction.
The domain will be at the beginning of the Redemption-Grace-Period during the auction. Read more about the domain cycle here.
Due to the huge amounts of registered and expiring domains on GoDaddy – this presents a huge opportunity to bag a nice domain before the regular domain backorder process starts.
GoDaddy Closeout Domains (Fire Sale)
These domains are rather interesting!
A closeout domain is a 5-day “buy it now” period for expiring domains registered through GoDaddy. These domains have already passed through the GoDaddy expiring auction period (see details above) without receiving any bids.
This is a reverse-price auction, which means that the buy it now price will decrease until it reaches a minimum of $5, also known as $5 close outs.
If this closeouts auction ends without the domain being bought, the domain will be then set for deletion and become available in another 5 days.
GoDaddy Regular Auctions
These are “normal” domain auctions, where someone sells their domain to the highest bidder.
Different Pricing Models for Auction Domains
Offer/Counteroffer
An offer/counteroffer auction is simply where two parties will haggle a price for a domain until an offer is agreed upon.
Note: Sellers are not required to accept offers and they can counter-offer as high as they want until they reach a price for which they are happy.
Offer/Counteroffer with Buy Now
This is basically the same as the above auction type with one exception. The buyer has an additional option to use a buy-it-now feature and purchase the domain for the offered price. It is also possible with this option to make an individual offer to the seller, if the seller accepts your offer then you have won the auction.
Buy it Now Only
In a Buy it Now Only auction, the domain must sell for a specific price. The seller sets the price that he/she is willing to accept, and nothing less than this listed price will be accepted.
7-Day Public Auction
With Reserve Price
In a normal auction with a set reserve price, this reserve price must be met to sell the domain name. Bidders will have the ability to see whether the reserve price has been met, but will not actually be able to see the price. Once the reserve price is met, the auction will end in the allotted time and the highest bidder will win. If the reserve price is not met, then the domain will not be sold.
Without Reserve Price
A normal auction, in which an initial minimum bid is set by the seller and bidding, will continue throughout the allotted time period. Once the time for the auction is over, the highest bidder wins. No reserve must be met in order for the domain to be sold.
Should I use GoDaddy for Domain Backorders?
No – we definitely DON’T RECOMMEND using GoDaddy for backordering domains.
Why?
Backorders at GoDaddy with two or more participants will end up in a PUBLIC auction. This is very bad because your domain auction might drive attention to new bidders who might not have yet discovered this particular domain.
Other backorder services open a private auction, so you only have to outbid a closed group of bidders.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need a Membership at GoDaddy?
For some types of domain auctions you will need a paid membership which costs $4.99 annually. Click here to get your GoDaddy auction account.
How do I get my Expired Domain from GoDaddy?
Your domain will be transferred into your existing GoDaddy account. In the event that you don’t yet have an account GoDaddy will automatically create one for you.
Read more about GoDaddy Domain Auctions here: https://www.godaddy.com/help/auctions-faq-890