A “Domain Name Break”? — Ever Get

Have you ever felt like you got really lucky on a domain name purchase?

Competition for domain names at auctions can be intense, especially expired domain auctions at SnapNames. Have you ever scored a domain at auction that you feel was really undervalued? You couldn’t believe it when other bidders stopped bidding, as you kept refreshing the screen to make sure no one else snuck in a bid at the last second?

I had that wonderful feeling the prior week. But the story starts regarding a month ago. I was bidding on a generic compound word .com* at SnapNames. Bidding was intense, and the domain quickly escalated to a few thousand dollars. Ahead of the auction began I told myself I wouldn’t go higher than $4,000, but then I got swept into the moment and kept bidding higher. When the domain topped $5,000 I decided I had enough. I lost the domain.

Fast forward a few weeks. I received an email from SnapNames informing me that the auction would be re-run. The winning bidder didn’t pay.

But a strange thing happened during the second auction. Perhaps people weren’t aware of the auction, but bidding was light. I cautiously bid during the final minutes as the domain escalated close to $1,000. Then SnapNames faithful “BenFranklin” showed up. “Darn,” I thought. “Now the real bidding will begin.”

But it didn’t. BenFranklin only placed one bid. I was still in the lead. I kept refreshing the screen as the minutes ticked off. Then someone else popped in with a bid. “Who the heck is that? Surely he’ll push this domain up into the thousands.” But he didn’t.

I ended up getting the domain for only $1,250, compared to the $5,000 I bid the first time around. Talk regarding a great feeling — a “domain name break”.

*Since I may flip the domain soon, I’ve withheld the name from this article.