Ought to GoDaddy allow investors to list domains in the expired auction stream?

It would be great for domain sellers but has some downsides.

There was an interesting discussion on Twitter over the weekend regarding auctioning domain names on GoDaddy.

Hey – @godaddyauctions @jjstyler – I want to liquidate DomainDiscounts dot com.
Can you put it in an “expired auction” format for me so that we can both get top dollar? … Serious question.#Auctions #Domains

— Josh Reason 🇬🇧🇺🇸 (@JoshuaHReason) March 10, 2019

The question is if GoDaddy ought to include non-expired domain auctions in the same way and feed as expired domain auctions. Ought to it do what NameJet does by allowing third parties to list inventory and have it show up just like an expired domain?

This would obviously be good for domainers that wish to liquidate their domains. Expired domain auctions at GoDaddy get a lot of views and sell for pretty good prices. I’d love to get some of my names shown on that channel.

There are some downsides, still.

1. When I buy domains through GoDaddy expired auctions, the fact that the domain is expiring has value in and of itself. There’s a higher chance that an expired domain hasn’t been marketed to end users than a domain an investor is trying to offload. Mixing in non-expiring domains means I have to do more homework.

2. Allowing third-party listings creates incentives for shill bidding. We know what happened at NameJet with this.

3. Expired domains have a guaranteed push, at least if they’re at GoDaddy. (This could be enacted for third-party listings, too.)

If GoDaddy ever decides to allow third-party inventory in its expiring auctions, they need to maintain the same structure: $12 opening bid, no reserve, and closeouts. Sellers would need to take the risk.