PDA

View Full Version : ICANN droppers seem to be harder to catch



crabfoot
18-04-12, 11:39 PM
I started writing this in response to Atlas' post about Mike Mann registering LOADZA domains in one sitting -
http://www.ukdomainforum.co.uk/showthread.php?713-What-do-you-make-of-this
Then I thought that it might make the thread creep off-line, so I'm starting a new discussion -

There are a lot of ICANN domains dropping with significant backlinks and traffic. The panda is causing a lot of people to "pack it in" and let domains drop.

Against that, it is getting a lot harder to catch the dang things than it was, say, a year ago. Identifiable factors include

1) some registrars where it used to be possible to make catches have joined the "tell 'em lies about the availability" club. The worst offender is Namecheap - a dropped domain will show as available until you try to pay for it, then the order will fail and the domain shows as taken - even if you've got prepaid funds in your account. The really silly thing about this is that, if you're quick, you can go and register that "taken" domain at GoDaddy.

2) Somebody put up a couple of WSOs for some really clunky software that trawl GoDaddy's bargain bin on automatic. Now the world and his wife grab the bargains before you can blink.

3) There are a several US dropcatching operators in the marketplace being more active than previously.

4) A German/Swiss company took over Snapnames/Moniker about 3 months back, and since then Snapnames have gone into overdrive, catching almost anything with backlinks and traffic - even "bad neighborhood" stuff that's hard to sell ordinarily.

5) The panda usually bites off the PR on dropping domains these days, so it make it harder to pick the good ones out.

Anybody else noticing that it is getting harder to pick up a bargain?

atlas
19-04-12, 01:11 PM
Interesting observations. I would hope that's a sign of a stronger market.

crabfoot
20-04-12, 08:51 AM
Interesting observations. I would hope that's a sign of a stronger market.

Er um yes - stronger for Moniker/Snapnames - especially when their pre-orders start at $70, and they are faster than everybody else, most of the time.

atlas
20-04-12, 01:54 PM
If the "big players" are putting that much effort and money into it, presumably they believe that these investments will back out well.

crabfoot
29-05-12, 01:46 PM
I thought about this increase in activity - coupled with the "Mike Mann Event", the obvious conclusion was that the Major Players' parking systems were working well enough to avoid making a loss on the domains they were registering, so the activity was worthwhile.

The Mike Mann thing happened just before the Gargyl Penguin started pecking, and I'm wondering if it has pecked him. The Schlund boys at SnapNames are not easing off.

After Panda, I noticed that a couple of domains which were "formally parked" had escaped with their PR intact, although domains with microsites on them got bitten. The Penguin has pecked them now ...