Dan.com is a popular marketplace that was acquired by GoDaddy a little over a year ago. The acquisition ended the Dan.com founders’ aspirations of creating a one-stop domain shop (registrar/marketplace.) We cannot blame them as $71.4 million dollars is a lot of money.
Not everyone loves Dan.com but not everyone hates it. There are domain sellers that are mostly happy about selling their domains on Dan.com, then there are happy buyers that managed to acquire their dream domain via the easy to use interface of Dan.com.
Then there are the haters, who believe that Dan.com is to blame for facilitating sales of domains owned and operated by others. The truth is simple: domains listed for sale on Dan.com are the property of others, not of Dan.com.
Two recent reviews share opposing views of Dan.com. The first one is negative:
Inequitable internet real estate – seems like domains became an investment vehicle just like real estate, rather than upholding the purpose it was created to serve – it became a tool for profit driven initiatives just like real estate; which is the key contributor to wealth inequality. Feels like Dan.com is facilitating, and capitalising from this?
The second one is raving about their purchase of a domain name:
Finally got the domain I wanted – Purchased a domain I’ve been waiting to come available for two decades for a reasonable price. The transfer was fast with good communication.
One can see how behind the times the negative review is. Domains have been an investment vehicle just like real estate for almost 30 years! On the other hand, the positive review shows how a domain that has been unavailable for 20 years can be acquired with the assistance of a great domain marketplace!
