Annoying auction extension times

[zymic]

My auction has now been extended for another day, and I think it keeps increasing when someone bids. Usually most auction providers limit this for the last 10 minutes of the auction but .me seem to do this at least 12 hours before the end time. Its just plain annoying and a way for them to reap even more profits.

 

[theinvestor]

It's not just annoying in terms of the auction itself...but a nice way for registrars to hold your money for months...

 

[Prometheus2130]

@theinvestor

You got the real Point. :smilewinkgrin:

 

[zymic]

So my auction had 3 hours left. I just bid, and now its extended for ANOTHER 24 hours. This will go on for weeks and weeks!

 

[DNBA]

i think months... thats why i vote we take it to our own playing field.

 

[Prometheus2130]

Perhaps the secret on this Story is to understand the benefit each Registrar win on these Auction rules. Would you regret to store some Millions of $ deposit and watch it grow?

Maybe too hot to be true, maybe just a wrong suggestion but just my opinion.

 

[zymic]

Great the auction ended and I forgot to bid. Reasons: 1) The auction kept going on and on its hard to keep up with the closing times 2)They don't alert you when the auction is ending.

The auction was for lookup.me, a domain I really wanted :'(

 

[clipper]

The auction platform does not work the way they said it would. Auctions are extended even if there is no lead change. Just bid up $5 and, even if you're not the high bidder, 24 hours gets added.

Seriously, if bidders just get wise to this and realize there is no advantage to bidding in more than a $5 increment, these things could go on for six months before they reach $10,000.

4. Bidding in an auction:
a. Applicants may place a maximum bid and a proxy service will automatically bid for them.
b. Alternatively, applicants may place a fixed bid in real time at the next bid increment level.
c. Any lead changes in the last 24 hours results in an automatic 24-hour extension of the auction. (emphasis added)

Source: .me FAQ

 

[Prometheus2130]

I was writing to thier support. Perhaps Spam Filters kill a lot of messages without noticed, but from my opinion everything seem to not be well organized. Till Today no response.

My impression and experience from the recent Asia Landrush is much better.

 

[clipper]

I just sent them an email as well, claiming the name that I have been the high bidder on for 30 hours now.

This is more than annoying, this is outright fraud. If they do not lock bidding on this name and grant it to me at the current price, then they have violated the contract I entered into with them.

Further, these auctions could go on for months, maybe years. Let's use insure.me as an example, since that's the high bar at $26,000. If there are two bidders on a name, one bids $26,000 on day one, the other adds a $5 higher bid every day for 5,185 days (14 years). .Me doesn't get paid until the auction ends, so they would essentially be locked up for 14 years without any revenue other than the initial reg fee.

Multiply that by 1,000 names and you have a bankrupt registry.

What recourse do we have here?

 

[south]

Yes, this goes more than the energizer bunny... on and on and on and..

 

[theinvestor]

I have an auction ending in 7 minutes...and i am actually the high bidder.

Wish me luck!!

 

[Prometheus2130]

For the people interested on this special Topic. Today i got an answer from Domain.me to where i have sended this E-Mail:


---"Dear Ladys and Gentlemen,

i am Auction participant with the Shopper ID xyz. I recently registered more then 20 different ME Domain Names and now there are several ones on auction. Till Today i got 10 different ME Domain Names which are fitting completely my demands.

I ask you kindly for my wish to be laid off from all auctions so my Registrar can refund me. Perhaps you may understand the matter of having Money in deposit which is liked to use for other concerns. I understand your Rules and i am happy to have got my ME Names, but my Registrar is not willing and of course able to change his Terms of Service for a single Person, and the case of being bound to Auctions which i don’t want to participate is not helpful for my actual Situation.

I would like to find a good conclusion with you as with my Registrar too. I would be Happy to hear from you soon.

For any kind of questions belonging to this case, please contact me by Phone, mail or Fax as you can note in my Signature.


Thank you in advance." ---


After some hours (sended a second Mail with the same Text) this was thier answer:


---"Dear Sir/Madam,

We are currently in the process of creating a resolution for this. There is no way to release you from the auctions as we have locked in all applicants as bidders. We will let you know when we have any other information.

Regards,
(some Name)
.ME Domain Auction Support"---


I think this is some kind of fair treatment, even they seem to not have a Way to Handle this all.

 

[zymic]

This is their response:

Dear Sir/Madam,

The reason the time was set to extend for 24 hours is to give a fair chance to all bidders as this auction is open world wide.


Regards,
Nicole B.
.ME Domain Auction Support
[email protected]

 

[south]

This is their response:
The reason the time was set to extend for 24 hours is to give a fair chance to all bidders as this auction is open world wide.

Which is all fine & dandy. I think that's fine. Where they screwed up was the increments. They apparently failed to have increments increase proportionally as the bids went up. Now a mere $1 bid will extend the auction for 24 hours. The problem at this point is they really can't change the policy mid auction, or so I would think.

 

[clipper]

Placing a bid higher than the minimum increment can hurt you.

I just called and explained that I've been the high bidder for over 36 hours, a fellow named Mason looked into it, confirmed it, then told me that, when a proxy bid os placed, the "system" sees any bid, even a lower bid than the proxy, as a "lead change."

I told him that was different than what the terms on their website was and it was, therefore, a breach of contract. He said he'd get back to me.

Here's his reply, which is a B$ way of saying "we didn't program our auction software correctly."

Dear Sir/Madam,
Currently our site states that "Any lead changes in the last 24 hours results in an automatic 24-hour extension of the auction.". Entering a bid that is lower than your proxy bid does technically initiate a lead change as the new bidder is the leader of the auction until our system automatically places a new proxy bid for you. This means that there is a lead change in the auction price but not a leader change in the auction. Please let us know if you have any further questions regarding this matter.

Regards,
Mason G.
.ME Domain Auction Support
[email protected]

 

[Meridian66]

...then told me that, when a proxy bid os placed, the "system" sees any bid, even a lower bid than the proxy, as a "lead change."

Does this mean you can keep making lower bids and thereby continue the auction indefinitely?

 

[zymic]

Yes

 

[musicdotmobi]

"Entering a bid that is lower than your proxy bid does technically initiate a lead change as the new bidder is the leader of the auction until our system automatically places a new proxy bid for you. This means that there is a lead change in the auction price but not a leader change in the auction."

Really?

Rule: "Any lead changes in the last 24 hours results in an automatic 24-hour extension of the auction"

So any reasonable person will construe this as a lead change in price? What is a lead change in price? Has any of you guys heard of this type of auction before? Great cover-up in my opinion.

I wonder why Godaddy did not use their TDNAM system for this auction. I guess keeping people's money for as long as possible is the play of the day here. Their rules are obvious and can not be confused by a logical and reasonable person. I have never heard of a technical lead change. A leader is the frontrunner and a lead is the highest price. The only way a lead is changed is if it is exceeded. A lead change can not mathematically change by a lower bid. So how does a $100 lead change if someone bids $90? It still still stays at $100. The lead price is still $100 because only an amount greater than $100 would cause a lead price change.

Imagine you are at an auction house and the auction house says $100 and a bidder says I agree to $100 then another bidder comes out and says $90. This makes no sense because a leader is the frontrunner and the lead price is the highest bid. How on earth are the .me auctions conducted?

If Mason G. .me representative is correct, why would the .me registry include the word "lead" in their rule? Why isn't the wording "Any bid changes in the last 24hrs results in an automatic 24-hour extension of the auction" ? They are obviously trying to cover up their system not being in alignment with their rules.

Everyone knows what they meant and why the wording is the way it is. They know it and any reasonable person knows it.

Once again, shady practices by a registry in auctions violating their TOS / rules and the auction house (the invisible godaddy with the Scottsdale address and phone number) trying to collect interest.

Shady that is for sure. I feel bad for the bidders who already won since they have been lead winners for over 24hrs. I guess you can't beat the registries and auction houses. Or can you? Unacceptable but hey why am I not surprised?