GoDaddy is playing a game of double-dipping its inventory of domains provided by sellers.
On one hand, it encourages domain investors to promote their domains on Afternic. The platform no longer exists as a searchable index, as the promises of “Afternic 2.0” vanished into thin air. Instead, all searches of domains listed by sellers on Afternic are presented via GoDaddy.com.
Searching GoDaddy for a domain, for example GreekIslands.org*, returns the following landing page:
It’s clear from this page that the domain is a “premium domain” with the price set at $4,899 dollars. GoDaddy even tells the visitor and potential buyer why it’s a great domain.
The prompts seem ideal: Get it, says the button, indicating that a sale is just a click away.
But is it?
Visitors to the GoDaddy Appraisal page are shown a different lander, with the price “estimated” at a heavily discounted $2,399. That’s more than 50% off the domain’s acquisition price above!
Why does GoDaddy present such a lowball valuation when it lists the domain already on “Afternic” with a much higher price tag?
It really makes no sense. There are numerous instances that involve a “smart” buyer who questions the first listing price based on the GoDaddy valuation. Arguing with the buyer about the valuation’s inaccuracy can become a friction point that eliminates all sales potential to the tune of thousands of dollars in potentially lost revenue.
Somehow, GoDaddy is seen as the authority on everything related to domains—but that’s just the result of years of marketing brainwashing consumers.
The GoDaddy Appraisals fail to deliver accurate pricing, even in the sub-$25,000 dollar range; above that range, estimates are not even provided. The lander displays the message “Too high to estimate.”
Too high to estimate? Then what is the point of providing a domain appraisal tool in the first place?
Perhaps GoDaddy should remove the estimates altogether as they interfere with the domain sales of its own customers. Even better, domain investors should remove their domains from GoDaddy platforms because they aren’t being treated fairly.
*This is just a sample domain and we are not affiliated with it or the seller.
Another big problem is that if the searcher just scrolls down a little bit they will see such domains as greekislands.online for .99 cents or greekislands.life for $1.99 or thegreekislands.org for $9.99. An end-user will have a hard time paying $4,899 for a domain when godaddy shows them pretty decent alternatives for .1% of the price. I’m sure many times an end-user considers buying a premium domain and then settles for a godaddy presented alternative for reg fee. Using the premium domain as bait to get a customer for reg fee at the loss of the premium domain owner. And the gain of godaddy as they spam that buyer with secondary services.
This is statement here will probably get them in huge trouble in the future. It is a misleading statement my opinion.
For example you type in domaingang.com or virtually anything else it will show this statement below. This is all just to collect $69. They don’t even care and many other brokers do this without even owning the name or checking to see if it really available.
We might be able to help you get it.
See How
class action suit……………………………….