I have been hearing rumors from many people complaining regarding Godaddy Auction Scams. The amount of increasing complaints started me to wonder if this is really possible. I have been using Godaddy for many years and mostly satisfied with their services. I have mostly used it to purchase available domains which might reached to more than five-hundred domains over years. However, I have not used Godaddy Auctions as it’s unnecessary to land domains for extra price instead building a brand. Therefore no matter how careful I was, I wasn’t able to going through Godaddy Auctions. Although I am very cautious about my domain renewal dates, my payment didn’t go through in one of my accounts. Later, the domain was expired and listed for an auction.
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Let me narrate my experience to you and you be the judge if Godaddy Auction Scams are real or not. When I first realized my domains were expired it was already late to renew for regular price. When I contacted support team, they have told me that I need to pay $80 redemption fee for each item. I can understand that there is fee, but isn’t it too much for just renewal? Anyway, I have decided that those domains would not worth that much, so I would go through auction to purchase. I have watched the domains for a while to realize if anybody interested. For a week, there was no one checking out domains except me. I did this because I might have paid the redemption fee if anybody would be interested.
Anyway, I have tried to register for Godaddy Auction Account and was not able to do it. When I tried, it was saying that the domain is not listed for the auction yet, so I called support again. After I have talked to support, they were not able to process my credit card, but they have listed the domains in auction section again. I have tried to register one more time and luckily I manage to get an annual membership for $4.99 this time. I definitely think that it is a reasonable price. However, everything happened after this drove me just crazy.
I have opened my auction account and found my domain and also made a bid of $12 which is the minimum amount. I decided to keep the page open, so I could make cross bidding if needed. SURPRISE! In just a minute, there was someone else made a bid against me. I have sensed that this would be gameplay of Godaddy to make more money out of this transaction. The system was showing that there was 3 Hours and 20 Minutes remaining for auction to end. Even more, it was stating that the time was extended due to bidding. That moment, I have decided to wait little more to avoid bringing attention into the auction. It was already asking for $22 for the next bid and would go higher quickly if I made a move.
Godaddy Auction Scams Might Drive You Crazy!
In this time, I wanted to check my email to see if there was any information sent regarding the auction. While I was checking my emails, I have refreshed the auction page and shocked. There was absolutely NOTHING on the page. I immediately contacted support. They said that the auction had ended. I have explained the situation, but they kept repeating that the auction was over. When I told them that it was showing extended time, they said there is no time extension for expired domains. Absolutely ridiculous!
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I mean if I am not going to make bidding of $22, would I pay for annual membership for something I will never use again? When I raised the question to them, they could only say that the auction ending time. They didn’t check the logs or anything. Just playing parrots even when I have contacted someone they call supervisor. The most ridiculous thing was their solution offered. They asked me to pay $200 something plus commission to contact the new owner.
In my opinions, the answer is simple. Yes! Godaddy Auction Scams are real! They just make this scenario to take much more money for simple domain transaction. In the end, what they do is not illegal for sure. I believe this is the reason they can continue like this. Is it ethical? That is your call. I leave it to your judgement.