There are veteran domain registrars and then there is Wild West Domains.
The company was formed in 2002 as a cheap(er) sidekick to GoDaddy, a company that was about to take over the domain world twenty years ago. Wild West Domains provided the opportunity of “domain reselling” and low domain registration prices without the GoDaddy frills.
After two decades of GoDaddy growth, Wild West Domains continues to exist but is it offering any value to domain investors?
Located in Arizona, Wild West Domains shares the next block down from GoDaddy in Tempe, although the street names differ for the public: One is 2155 E GoDaddy Way, the other is 2150 E Warner Road. Technically, they are 13ft apart, as seen in this Google Map:
Does Wild West Domains function as an independent company?
Structurally and operationally, it might be a separate entity; on its board of directors we see GoDaddy’s CEO, Aman Bhutani and other executives.
Do you want to do a WHOIS search at Wild West Domains? That link takes you to GoDaddy. 🙂
In other words, it’s not clear why GoDaddy still maintains Wild West Domains as a separate domain registrar; both companies appear to have equalized domain pricing and value. Perhaps, WWD does not force-feed registrants with add-on products and services.
The most recent reference we could find about Wild West Domains users is six years old.
It exists because GoDaddy wants to be able to make money on brokerage fees. Basically, they have Wild West Domains register and own domains, and make it so that these domains can only be purchased via GoDaddy’s broker service.