GoDaddy, the world’s largest domain name registrar, has launched a service to help people purchase registered domain names.
If you search for a domain name at GoDaddy and find it’s already taken, GoDaddy now has a link that reads “Use a Domain Buy Agent to get this name”. Clicking on that link introduces you to one of GoDaddy’s newest services called “Domain Buy Service”. GoDaddy describes the service as follows:
We’ve seen it happen countless times: You come up with the perfect domain name for your personal or business use, only to find it’s already registered to someone else! Another great idea-gone!
Until now. The world’s largest domain registrar brings you Domain Buy Service. If it’s for sale, we’ll do everything we can to get it for you! Domain Buy Service Just $59.99 per domain name + commission*
Our Professional Domain Buy Service provides personal Domain Agents who will:
-Complete a Certified Appraisal within 2 business days of service purchase.
-Attempt to contact current domain owner, to determine interest in selling their domain.
-Negotiate the sales price of your desired domain (if the owner is willing to sell their domain)
-Help facilitate the sales transaction (if a sales agreement is reached).
GoDaddy’s service costs $59.99 per domain name plus 10% of the purchase price.
This type of service is nothing new. Network Solutions has offered a service called “Certified Offer” that lets you anonymously send an offer for a domain name to its owner. The service costs $19 plus an additional 5% of the purchase price should the offer be successful. Certified Offer also offers a sort of free instant appraisal on any domain name you are considering. I’ve been on the receiving end of several offers from Network Solutions’ service and have had mixed results.
GoDaddy’s service appears to do a bit more than Network Solutions’. It’s unclear what specific steps GoDaddy will take to contact the domain owner, but I’m assuming “everything we can to get it for you” includes using email, phone, and postal mail.
This begs the question, why pay GoDaddy to do this for you? (Please don’t tell me it’s because you care about the appraisal!) You can spend one minute sending an email to the whois contact for the domain. If that bounces you can pick up the phone or send snail-mail. All of this will take less time than completing the checkout process for Domain Buy Agent at GoDaddy.
One reason people use services like this is to remain anonymous. But if anonymity is what you’re seeking I recommend using Afternic’s anonymous offer service. There’s no charge to you. Just type in the domain and the price you’re willing to pay and Afternic will contact the owner. For high value domains the company will even call and send a letter to the owner.
ParkQuick says
It’s probably a good service for an end user who is looking for one high-profile domain name. Whatever else you think about them, GoDaddy has succeeded in building its brand with the general public in a way that other domain-related companies have not. More people in the U.S. have heard of GoDaddy than have heard of Sedo or Afternic, for example.
Editor says
That’s a good point. I guess those of us that live and breath this industry everyday think Sedo and Afternic are household names.
I wonder if Network Solutions has more brand recognition than GoDaddy amongst the domain owners that will receive the most offers.
Adam says
Godaddy is becoming the household name when it comes to domains. They are the biggest registrar afterall and I think many average Joe people are familiar with them. Moreso than NSI. This “make an offer” service works at NSI and people stupidly pay $19.99 every month to send out a reply and never hear anything back from me on domains I own. I’ve even received offers of $25. So they’ll pay $19.99 to make a $25 offer? Seriously stupid people out there in this world. What a joke!
The simple fact is that this isn’t about anonymity. It is about capitalizing on the “complications” of getting on the internet. Make it simple for me to get a domain and I’ll pay it. Average Joes don’t know how to find a domain owner. .. Whois ? Are you kidding? Whoiswhat? So if they can’t do something so simple as finding the owner through the whois, why not capitalize on that? That’s exactly what’s going on here.
The beauty of it is that in godaddy and NSI’s system when the avg joe puts in the name they want and it is obviously taken, godaddy has an opportunity to stick their foot in the door of one more transaction that MIGHT occur and in the past they’ve been letting NSI, afternic, sedo and the others have all that fun. Good luck godaddy!! I expect to be seeing you make some easy money on all those offers I’ll turn away 🙂
don says
I have used netsol for 3 deals in the past year as both a buyer and seller ranging from 5k to 17k. I think the 5% commission is a fair amount and like the security it provides for a larger deal, the only thing I dont like about netsol is the customer service…they could speed the process of the transfer up, I like godaddy for domain reg, but think their commission structure could be improvded on this service.