Domain Age in a Nutshell

Hey ablife,
There are five major domain auction houses out there that I frequently use. The biggest ones are SEDO, Snapnames, Namejet, Pool, and GoDaddy. There are three ways to purchase a domain based on when you purchase it: 1) purchase it from someone that is selling it at auction, 2) purchase the domain after the domain has expired but before it is released, and 3) purchase the domain after it has been released to the public (called dropcatching).

SEDO is great for #1: purchasing it on the open market, but I don't think they do anything with expiring domains. However, some of the best deals occur when someone lets a domain expire for one reason or another; usually the company has disappeared and doesn't renew it. The nice thing is that you can pick up the domain after it expires but before it is "dropped" (ie. released to the public). You therefore retain the original domain age and all of the Pagerank juice it has from google.

Snapnames is the auction house of domains coming from enom and network solutions which were the biggest domain companies before GoDaddy came on board, so they tend to have the older domains with higher PR. Whenever a domain is set to expire, these companies first put it up for auction to see if anyone is interested in purchasing it for a small premium (around $60 or $70). If many people bid before the auction closes, the bidders all enter a private 3 day auction and the highest bidder at that point wins).

Namejet is the auction house of Moniker which is another biggie in the industry. They also charge around $60 or $70 for a domain that is expiring. They also through you into a private action if there are multiple bidders.

Snapnames, Pool, and Namejet are also the best "dropcatching" services out there. If you happen to find a domain that is expiring from an off-brand registrar (ie. not enom, network solutions, moniker, or godaddy), then I suggest you submit a bid at all three auction houses (you only pay if you win the bid). One of them is sure to pick it up and then you either pay for it or go into a private auction if multiple people bid on it.

GoDaddy is nice for a couple of reasons: 1) you can find expiring domains for $5 to $12 and 2) they run their auctions differently because there isn't a second auction like Snapnames and namejet. If you are the winning bid at the time the auction completes, you win.