Auction Fails to Attract Bidders — GoDaddy Signature

Only 1 sale in first day of auction.

The first of three days in GoDaddy’s first Signature Auctions failed to attract more than 1 bid, with only 1 of the domains selling. VirtualServer.com, the only good domain with a reasonable reserve, sold for $20,000.

My perspective is that the reserve prices were way to high. They seem much higher than experienced auctioneers such as Moniker have achieved. Here were the reserve prices for today’s domains:

BestPhone.com $15,000
DietAids.com $37,000
Dentists.mobi $15,000
SportUtility.com $125,000
HowtoInvest.com $39,000
VirtualServer.com $20,000 – sold at reserve
Even.com $175,000
Media.mobi $20,000
TravelUpdate.com $10,000
Bob.com $1,000,000

Most of these reserves are at least 2x-3x greater than what I’d expect these domains to sell for in a Sedo or Moniker auction.

The platform for the Signature Auctions is interesting. The auctions don’t have an ending time; just a chatroom moderator who opened and closed the bidding. Below is the user interface:

Will the final two days of the auction be more eventful than the first? Based on the reserves, I doubt it. Here are the remaining domains and reserve prices:

November 11:
Campaign2008.com $10,000
BargainBuy.com $29,000
Apartments.mobi $20,000 (this one may get some bids)
Roadwork.com $45,000
ForeignTravel.com $14,000
Grapes.com $150,000
Moving.mobi $20,000
TopBeaches.com $18,000
Houses.mobi $20,000
YB.com $200,000

November 8:
BestService.com $15,000
Maillist.com $20,000
WhyHybrid.com $10,000
MobileSecurity.com $150,000
BeautyCounter.com $25,000
CollegeFootball.mobi $20,000
Earl.com $80,000
HDTVshop.com $10,000
Smoked.com $10,000
1x.com $25,000
Six.com $1,000,000