Backordering Your Domain Names

As a domain player, you know that almost all the great domain names were taken before 1999. It is difficult now to get an even fairly decent domain name.

Sometimes, however, some registrants do not recognize that their domain names are pretty valuable and drop them after they find no application for their domain names.

That is when the backordering comes into play. Now you need to know that there may be many people waiting to backorder the same domain name. So it’s important to find a backordering service provider that can maximize your odds of getting the domain name for a minimal price. That could be quite some task.

The key for a successful backorder is to find a competent backordering service. Here are some tips for you to consider.

1) Choose a backorder service that works with quite some registrars. More registrars mean better odds for you to get the domain name you want.

2) Avoid the backorder service that places the domain name on auction. With such a service provider, you are not certain if you can get the domain name for a price you want to pay. Auctioneers are always seeking the highest bid for a domain name.

The bad news is that considering both 1) and 2), you may find that no service provider may meed your demand. As a matter of fact, almost all the backorder services are running an auction mode business.

Some major backorder service providers are listed here for your reference.

1) Snapnames.com. This may be the biggest. It works with a dozen of registrars. But that does not mean they can have a better chances than others to backorder a domain name. If the domain name is fairly of low grade, then they might be able to snap it for you. But for a great domain name, the competition is keen and chances are snapnames.com can not get it for you. Snapnames.com places the domain name backordered on auction. The auction goes for three days. In the end of the auction, they award the domain name to the highest bidder. A recent example is infodepot.com; snapnames.com awarded it to a bidder for $1250 for the domain name. The minimal bid is $60.

2) Pool.com. Pool.com’s business is similar to snapnames.com. They may work with fewer registrars. But sometimes they still have better chances of getting quite decent domain names. The minimal bid is $60.

3) Namewinner.com. Namewinner.com is part of dotster.com. They work with a few domain registrars. Occasionally, they can snap a few great domain names. They also place the domain names on auction. But the auction is done before they snap it. The minimal bid is $30. Now there is a trap, literally trap, with the after-snap auction. Namewinner.com registered a few domain names and put them on an auction. The problem with that is that when you enter the auction, no matter you got the domain name or not, you will be charged instantly $50 as Namewinner auction fee. There is no place indicating they will charge the fee. This will certainly be a problem with every bidder who has no idea what’s going on. I personally regard this as indecent business conduct and it could catch the attention from Federal Trade Commission at http://www.ftc.gov.

4) Enom.com. Enom.com is an ICANN accredited registrar. I am not sure if they work with any other registrar(s). The minimal bid is $30. The features associated with the backordering look great. However, I personally do not have an experience with the service. But it does look nice after I look around inside an account.

5) GoDaddy.com. Godday.com is an ICANN accredited registrar. I guess they do not work with other registrars. This is one of those backordering services that do not place the domain name on auction. They charge an $18.95 flat for a backorder. The price looks great, but do not get excited too early. Three things will cool you down. A. Chances are they do not work with other registrars. So it’s not easy for them to get the domain name for you. B. For a good domain name, you can not even have a chance to place the backorder. C. No matter they win the domain name for you or not, you pay up front the fee and there is no refund. For the price you pay, if they fail to get the domain name for you, they monitor the domain name or you can place another backorder, which is not friendly to most people. It seems godaddy.com makes some money out of the process rather the result. People need to exercise caution when considering using them. One trap is their “invest edge” service, which charges a monthly fee. This service allows you to place bulk backorders at a real low price. It sounds great to those who backorder a lot of domain names such as a professional domain player. But it's really not much of service that you can use. By trap, I mean that A) you can barely find any good domain name to order. Many good domain names may be backordered by others. Remember they only accept one backorder for one domain name. B. Godaddy.com will keep charging the monthly for the service even though you order the service just for one month. After you place the order for the invest edge service, they may send you an email saying that you need to cancel the service while in reality you do not order the service for more than one month. Be fearful for such a tactics. I personally do not recommend any of service at godaddy.com because of this.

When you consider a backordering service, the integrity is the key. This is particularly important when you backorder a first grade domain name that might be worth tens of thousands of dollars. How can you be sure that they will give such as domain name to you and not keep it for themselves? Who is most reliable and trustworthy can be everyone’s guess.

Among all the services I know, snapnames.com is the one I trusted most although they could not get you every domain name you want. They seem doing a fair business in any aspect you can imagine. I would recommend snapnames.com to those who seriously want to backorder a domain name! (Disclaimer: I do not have any affiliation with snapnames.com)