Please see update below as well 
LuckyMan.com is currently on auction at Afternic.com but the bad news, the domain is owned by Tucows….. so I won’t be bidding. (minus my test bid)
I was watching this domain for sometime and it just went to auction. I checked the bidding and noticed something a bit odd. I never bid on domains at Afternic auction, so I am not 100% sure on how the system works but I placed a test bid to see what would happen and see if it backed up what I was thinking..
It appears the High Bidders "Proxy Bid" is visable for all bidders checking Bid History to see.
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Now if this is the case, that’s not right! You can see in the SS above, the Current bid is $75 by obadaz. That bidder was also the high bidder at $65 when I placed a test bid at $70. I was outbid from the start and the price went up to $75 and Current moved to that bid for the status.
I would bet if somebody bid up to like $900 or $975, obadaz would still be the high bidder???? I checked all other current auctions and there bid history and none of them looked like this one by showing a much higher bid price like this. I sent an email to Afternic to clerify but wanted to see if others have seen this before or if it’s what I think it is.
This is the reply that I recieved from Afternic below:
"I wanted to follow up with you on your question regarding proxy bid display on Afternic.
Proxy bids are never shown on Afternic (I am getting a volume of emails from sellers who read your post who ask why we do this – we do not).
In the case of the domain you were inquiring about, there was a problem with the bidding that occurred on this name which resulted in the name auction being taken offline for a period of time to rectify the problem. When the problem was corrected, the bidding showed a “jump” to a higher level – the interim bids did not display. The bid shown is not – and never was – a proxy bid.
Peter Lamson – Afternic.com"
I think there was an error with the auction, but clearly as Comment # 7 says below, the bidder stated they put a proxy bid in for $1,000 . Secondly, I think as Peter stated, it was simply an error, but the $1,000 should of been removed as well during the fixing of the problem.
This "error" might also be noticed when you compare the two (2) different bid times for the $1,000 bid amount.
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The first screenshot shows the $1,000 bid placed on 26-Oct-2008 8:12 PM EDT. The screenshot just above shows the $1,000 bid amount placed on 13-Nov-2008 1:00 AM EST.
Different Time Zones, different Dates.
Either way, it never looks good when things are "different", bid history is changed and all of that. Pete has assured me of no "Hidden Plan/Plot to take advantage of anybody" but I still feel the people that saw the same SS that I did (top) had a very good idea that the $1,000 bid they could see questioned if it was a proxy bid or not. You can also see a rolling screenshot of the bid history here and you can choose for yourself.
Ms Domainer
*
If obadaz placed a proxy bid, it shouldn’t show at all, right?
If obadaz is a real bidder, he or she should really be ticked off because another bidder might run up the bid, just out of spite.
Or could obadaz be a shill?
The whole auction thing is beginning to creep me out.
**Jamie Says**
That is correct, No final proxy bid should be shown until it’s met. I agree about auctions, it just makes you think if the other bidders are even real….
RegFeeNames.com
Its a very strange bid process I havent used Afternic either but this certainly puts me off!
Im glad to hear you pulled out of the Auction because TuCows.com owns the names that they most likly got from a Domainer drop and profiting from us again!
Regards,
Robbie
RegFeeNames.com
Bill Sweetman
Jamie, Tucows does NOT own this domain name, and Tucows has NEVER owned this domain name. Please correct your blog post. Thank you.
Bill Sweetman
General Manager
Tucows Domain Portfolio
**Jamie Says**
Who get’s the money when the domain sells at auction? Normally the “owner” does.
What I meant by “owning” is it’s Registered with Tucows, so basically Tucows owns it Now! It’s not like Internet Connect, Inc. listed it for sale on Afternic or will get the winning bid amount…
Justin Allen
Bill,
It is interesting that you dont “own” the domain name, but you are going to get the money for the sale….. doesnt seem peculiuar to you?
Justin
Bill Sweetman
@Jamie @4 Wrong again. Internet Connect, Inc., as one of Tucows’ resellers, will receive a share of the auction proceeds. If you ever want to get your facts straight *before* you post something on your blog, you know where to reach me.
**Jamie Says**
I think the keyword is “share” but clearly Tucows will be getting the greater share of the sale amount. IMO. Considering I did not see this “Share Amount” in section 15 of the reseller agreement which also states “In the event that you (reseller since they are listed as the Registrant) fail to renew your domain name in a timely fashion, your registration will expire and we may, at our discretion, elect to assume the registration and may hold it for our own account, delete it or we may sell it to a third party.”
” You acknowledge and agree that your right and interest in a domain name ceases upon its expiration and that any expired domain name may be made available for registration by a third party.”
The domain expired 10-8-2008 which means Tucows (WE) decided to sell it to a third party via auction since the resellers “right and interest in a domain name ceases upon its expiration”. IMO #15 http://resellers.tucows.com/contracts/tld/exhibita which in my eyes means Tucows (we) is the seller/owner of the domain.
DODO
Well obadaz is a real bidder because it’s me !
I don’t know what happened , but i back order this domain for $1000 bid , and when the auction start it didn’t put any proxy bid for me , that’s why i made another proxy bid and the $1000 bid appeared to be superseded .
I always Afternic and they have a wonderful service .
**Jamie Says**
Glad to see the bid was from a real person, but sorry to hear that was your proxy bid that was shown for whatever reason. I think Afternic needs to explain a little something about that.
DODO
What is really is pathering me , that the domain seems to be renewed by the owner , and his old web site is again instead of that parking page !
DODO
Sorry ,bothering , that was awful mistake !
Damir
Perfect post Jamie – to me it makes no sense why would afternic do business with Businesses that have NO moral values.
Let the truth be told