Domain Nabber from Name.com

[Deathstarr]

Name.com Released its version of backordering a domain yesterday, The Domain Nabber can be found on there site. I say its a neat little software they released for use. It searches deleting domains and you have the options to choose what you would like such as keyword, traffic, length and more.

Read More or Go to Domain Nabber

 

[Premiere]

Hi guys,

Thank you for the feedback, we understand the price jump may seem a little shocking. At $49.95 we're confident that Domain Nabber provides a better value for a lower cost than our competitors. It is right up there with the top drop catching services that charge $60+ per domain and you have the added peace of mind that your names will not go to auction. Hostix is correct in that we aren't necessarily trying to compete with someone like Godaddy here.

To answer Archangel, the conversations didn't quite go like that, haha! At Name.com we try to provide the best services at the lowest prices, but with Domain Nabber we had to face the fact that we could not realistically maintain the service at such a low price. We started off at $18.95 so that customers could confidently use the service while we worked out the kinks. The feedback we got during this time proved invaluable and we really thank our customers for that. However, it has always been the intention to raise the price once we made the jump from beta to prime time. This allows us to continue to offer these backorders at no risk to a growing number of customers and give full refunds (no transaction costs, etc.) if the name is not picked up.

We definitely understand your reaction and we hope that now you understand a little bit about where we're coming from. As always, we appreciate your feedback.

Cheers,
Lesley Yarbrough
Community Manager
Name.com

Sounds great in principle but when you look at the track record, the numbers don't add up.

Two months ago I ran a test where I backordered 10 domains via GoDaddy and Nabber only. Two were caught by Snap, One by NJ, Two by Pool, Three by Godaddy, Two were caught by two different private scripted dropcatchers, but none by Nabber. I received 10 refunds in as many days. That was at the old price.

Unless you changed your service, added several dropcatch servers/registrars and implemented a serious timing protocol it's a waste. If you can't even beat the Chinese API scripters then you have some serious work to do.

Sorry to be blunt but I don't see why domainers would be spending money on this product. It's clearly meant for end users. And the price change is merely a reaction to GoDaddy's terrible drop+auction method - which is also money better spent elsewhere with better results.

I am not associated with any of the above so if you can improve your catchrate I'll gladly change my opinion.

 

[Deathstarr]

2 months ago, The Nabber was still in beta and probably had some twicks still needing to be made, I would suggest to retest since the nabber came out of the beta stages and Finally released.

So has anyone used the nabber since it came out of beta?

 

[Archangel]

I still pick up a domain here and there, for the future (or if an out-of-thin-air offer comes along). I was going to try it on a dropping domain but for whatever reason, the scrips wouldn't work. I tried putting a dropping .com in. No dice. So I just went to snapnames.

So has anyone used the nabber since it came out of beta?

 

[Deathstarr]

Hmm I am sorry to hear that.

I am still looking for more users to post your results.

 

[DubDubDubDot]

I would consider trying the service out if you were not billed ahead of time.

You would just consider it????

You, me and countless other domainers would be all over that deal. There would be a feeding frenzy to get our names in as the sole person backordering as many good domains as possible at no up front cost. You would see me up for 3 days straight entering in domains.

The $50 charge is the only thing preventing this.

 

[Deathstarr]

Guys I think you are looking at this the wrong way. Would you push a Domain to another user before they paid? I think not. The $50 is the only insurance they have to make sure you pay for the domain. If you ordered the domain and then they got the domain what would they do with it if you did not pay for it?

This is How most businesses work, You have to pay for gas you get before you pump, same with this, Pa before you order. You have to pay for what service you use. The $50 includes the renewal and even if you do not get the domain you get a account credit or refund So you are not loosing money.

 

[bmugford]

Yeah I would just consider it. Even if their system gives the domain to the first backorder, what is the point if they don't even catch any decent domains?

I am not sure what they can catch as I have never used them. I have a hard time believing they can beat out Snap, NJ, or Pool for a good domain. Those companies simply have far more resources going after drops.

Brad

You would just consider it????

You, me and countless other domainers would be all over that deal. There would be a feeding frenzy to get our names in as the sole person backordering as many good domains as possible at no up front cost. You would see me up for 3 days straight entering in domains.

The $50 charge is the only thing preventing this.

---------- Post added at 03:48 AM ---------- Previous post was at 03:47 AM ----------

Guys I think you are looking at this the wrong way. Would you push a Domain to another user before they paid? I think not. The $50 is the only insurance they have to make sure you pay for the domain. If you ordered the domain and then they got the domain what would they do with it if you did not pay for it?

This is How most businesses work, You have to pay for gas you get before you pump, same with this, Pa before you order. You have to pay for what service you use. The $50 includes the renewal and even if you do not get the domain you get a account credit or refund So you are not loosing money.

The big three - Snap, NJ, Pool all manage to charge you after a domain is caught.

Brad

 

[AbdulBasit.com]

Did any one had experience beating Snap, NJ or Pool for Domain Nabber? Can any one share their experience please...

 

[Deathstarr]

They also are a higher price and sell the domain if you do not buy it, Name is a first come first serve place, not a market place. I am not saying you have to use them, but your looking at the negative without giving Name.com a shot at proving that they are in the game for the long run.

 

[bmugford]

If they prove they can catch decent names I would be interested, otherwise there is no point.

I might try to backorder a decent domain and see how long it actually takes them to beat out a Snap, NJ, or Pool.

Brad

They also are a higher price and sell the domain if you do not buy it, Name is a first come first serve place, not a market place. I am not saying you have to use them, but your looking at the negative without giving Name.com a shot at proving that they are in the game for the long run.

 

[Deathstarr]

If you do please post back some results. Do you think it would be fair to try for 1 name?

 

[AbdulBasit.com]

I have given back order with Snap, NJ, Pool and Name Nabber and will let you know which one of them will grab for me tonight.

If they prove they can catch decent names I would be interested, otherwise there is no point.

I might try to backorder a decent domain and see how long it actually takes them to beat out a Snap, NJ, or Pool.

Brad

 

[Erdy]

Lesley,

I don't like the one backorder per domain idea. Finding a good expiring domain is already hard on it's own without the need to make things harder by requiring to backorder it before anybody else. Godaddy had such a system and it sucked. I would much prefer if I was able to backorder the domain after somebody else and then join the auction if you can catch the name.

Besides the top 3 dropcatchers there are so many private script users and the chances for you to catch a valuable domain look rather slim.

Instead providing this service how I wish you would just listen so some feedback and provide a backorder and forget type of cheaper service. But I'm very positive that you won't listen. For years I have been suggesting this service and nobody is listening. At the end I might provide it myself. Let me explain what it is how it should work:

Let's assume there is an expiring domain, but the domain is not so special. I would gladly register it if it was available right now but it isn't. What should I do? Do I keep checking the domain for several days over and over again? No, because this is too tiring. I would be happy to pay 5 USD extra on top of the regular registration fee if the registrar would check that domain for me every day during the following two weeks and register it if it becomes available.

This is the kind of service the market needs. Enter and forget type of cheap registration that won't beat any dropcatcher but probably will beat some hand registrations.

I wrote to namecheap and suggested they should offer this service and they told me this is a backordering service and they don't provide such a service. It is not a regular backordering service that is needed. Normally backorders focus on catching the domain the moment it drops. This is not what I'm describing. I would be very happy to pay a little extra if the domain was registered a few hours or one day later it became available. There is no such service at the moment.

Technically speaking, all is needed is to run a script every 24 hours and spread the queries over time during the day and keep the domains in your system for a limited time.

Everyday I see an average domain at namejet and snapnames and I think I'm not going to pay 59 or 69 USD for that domain but if it was available right now I would register it. I wish there was a service I would just enter that name on the spot and forget about it.

 

[lll]

both names backordered are in my name account now!!

 

[NameClerk]

There are two .com domains dropping today that I want for development purposes. They're not premium but they are product domains with significant search volume. I've placed back orders on both domains at the following services.

SnapNames, Namejet, Godaddy and Name.com

I'll let you know who wins out. I don't consider this small of a sample to really determine which service is the most reliable but it's still interesting.

I've successfully caught dozens of quality domains using all of these services so in my opinion, they all are of use.

 

[Archangel]

I loved it and absolutely hate GD's new policy (I'm not alone. Research some threads made about it). But to each his own, I suppose.

I don't like the one backorder per domain idea. Finding a good expiring domain is already hard on it's own without the need to make things harder by requiring to backorder it before anybody else. Godaddy had such a system and it sucked. I would much prefer if I was able to backorder the domain after somebody else and then join the auction if you can catch the name.

 

[NameClerk]

There are two .com domains dropping today that I want for development purposes. They're not premium but they are product domains with significant search volume. I've placed back orders on both domains at the following services.

SnapNames, Namejet, Godaddy and Name.com

I'll let you know who wins out. I don't consider this small of a sample to really determine which service is the most reliable but it's still interesting.

I've successfully caught dozens of quality domains using all of these services so in my opinion, they all are of use.

Flash Sticks (dot) com - caught by Snapnames through Answerable
Fur Trimmed Boots (dot) com - caught by Namejet through Enom which is where it was to begin with.

 

[AbdulBasit.com]

So the results came for my 2 back ordered domains which I did at Snap, NJ, Pool, DomainMonster and Name Nabber and both were caught by Snap.

In my experience DomainMonster is the worst back ordering service for .com .net domains and so far the best is Snap for me.

 

[Erdy]

There is no point in backordering an enom domain anywhere else than namejet. Similarly with moniker and snapnames. The reason is, as you might already know, partner registrar domains are pushed into the auction system during redemption period. They never enter pending delete status and the dropcatcher never needs to catch them because it is already in their system. This is also the reason why these domais don't get their registration date reset.

Domain Nabber can only catch a pending delete domain. So backordering only non-partner registrar domains on name.com makes sense.

At name.com I checked the "Losing Registrar" drop list and saw godaddy, enom and moniker listed there. So why are these domains here? The answer is, these are partner registrar domains that have completed the auction stage without any bid and then they were let to drop.

For instance when you select godaddy on the "Losing Registrar" list at name.com, the domains that you see are domains that were already auctioned at godaddy. Nobody has bid on them during the auction. Then Godaddy put them through a second stage which they call Closeouts. This is a buy now stage which starts at $9. They drop the price by $1 each day until it reaches $5. Even at that stage nobody wanted them. So after two auction stages at Godaddy they finally entered pending delete. Do you really want to catch them now?

The question is, how many domains are auctioned each day and how many of these are exclusive domains (redemption period [pre-release] which they have already in their system) and how many are pending deletes which they will try to catch?

I can give you exact numbers because on my website I list all expiring domains from all major 3 dropcatchers and I differentiate between partner registrar domains (exclusive) and pending deletes (other) . Here are the numbers:

These are exclusive auctions. The dropcatcher has this domain already in their system:
20.142 domains per day are auctioned at Godaddy which are again Godaddy domains
9.698 domains per day are auctioned at Snapnames which are exclusive partner registrar domains
17.725 domains per day are auctioned at Namejet which are exclusive partner registrar domains
47.565: Total exclusive domain auctions

Then we have pending deletes:
On average 72.714 domains enter pending delete status each day. But this includes domains that were auctioned as exclusive which nobody bid on. So the non partner registrar domains entering pending delete status each day is 25.149
25.149: Total non-exclusive domain auctions

In other words
%65.41 of all expiring domains are pushed to dropcatcher auction system by a losing partner registrar before they even enter pending delete status.

%34.59 of all expiring domains enter pending delete status without going to an auction stage during redemption period and they genuinely need to be catched by a dropcather.

So there you have it. Almost two thirds of all expiring domains can not be snapped by anybody because they enter the auction system automatically without the need of catching them.

 

[Soofi]

You would just consider it????

You, me and countless other domainers would be all over that deal. There would be a feeding frenzy to get our names in as the sole person backordering as many good domains as possible at no up front cost. You would see me up for 3 days straight entering in domains.

The $50 charge is the only thing preventing this.

Snapnames, dont charge you upfront so I think Brad is right when he said NO UPFRONT CHARGES, catch it and we pay happily, or else why get our money stuck somewhere waiting for domain to drop & not caught by Nabber!! :wave:

 

[AbdulBasit.com]

When does Name.com refunds to Paypal once they fail to grab the pending delete domains for me? As I have made 2 back orders with them and now waiting for the money to be received in my Paypal account back.

 

[lothos]

Technically speaking, all is needed is to run a script every 24 hours and spread the queries over time during the day and keep the domains in your system for a limited time.

Everyday I see an average domain at namejet and snapnames and I think I'm not going to pay 59 or 69 USD for that domain but if it was available right now I would register it. I wish there was a service I would just enter that name on the spot and forget about it.

What you're looking for is a domain monitoring service. Enter your domains, they check it once a day and let you know if the dns changes, if the registrant changes, if the domain is deleted, etc. Login to your Godaddy account and set it up for free.

 

[Eguru]

Snapnames, dont charge you upfront so I think Brad is right when he said NO UPFRONT CHARGES, catch it and we pay happily, or else why get our money stuck somewhere waiting for domain to drop & not caught by Nabber!! :wave:

(I have bolded the quote area I agree most with)

The bold text in this quote makes the most sense I have heard in a while. I'm sorry, I dont have money to lend name.com while they "try" to get my name. I'd rather it go to auction and KEEP MY money unless I actually GET MY PRODUCT. If you don't win an auction at another dropcatcher, then sell some more domains..even if that means stepping up your selling skills to win the auction next time. My money, my money, MY money. I domain to make MORE of MY money, not give it away. The money they are holding "just in case" they get the domain I could be using elsewhere.

Refunding the money IF they don't get your name..what an expensive process: expensive with time wasted waiting for the money to be returned, and expensive to do if you backorder multiple domains (maybe only a "domainer" issue).

Not sold on this idea. Good luck to anyone doing it. %%-

 

[Archangel]

Repped ya. I hope it gives you luck

Last edited by Eguru; Today at 09:14 PM. Reason: added clover icon at end to try to increase readers luck

 

[NameClerk]

There is no point in backordering an enom domain anywhere else than namejet. Similarly with moniker and snapnames. The reason is, as you might already know, partner registrar domains are pushed into the auction system during redemption period. They never enter pending delete status and the dropcatcher never needs to catch them because it is already in their system. This is also the reason why these domais don't get their registration date reset.

Good information. However, the registration date was reset on the Enom domain I back ordered despite still being at Enom.