According to a message on Bido.com today, it appears the site is closing shop tomorrow.
This comes as a little bit of surprise but not totally.
I am sorry to hear of this news but it seems the site has had a hard time of making things work after going away from the niche they started with, the $1 no reserve auctions with one domain in the spotlight each day. Since the change, quality inventory lacked ever since, yet the amount of domain names at auction daily increased. This made it hard for buyer’s to visit and use the service because the vast majority of inventory listed was not good and it took a good amount of time to weed through what most would consider junk.
The statement on the site was short and to the point stating: "Bido is ceasing operation as of May 5, 2010. All transactions and accounts will be gracefully finalized and closed."
I still think somebody could purchase the technology and domain and put the service back to a 1-10 domain name a day auction with no reserve and make a profit with it. Remove all the confusing terms and put it back to a simple service the way it was when it first launched. It is unknown if the technology and domain will go for sale.
JK
Who is that handsome devil in that screenshot? Hahaha
This really blows for me. I have had a ton of success selling both crappy and quality domains at Bido. Their site represents about 80% of my 2010 profit thus far and while I haven’t had much recent success, I am surprised to see this happen.
Yes, the quality wasn’t always top-notch, but there were always great deals and the occasional great domain. I always questioned the sustainability of the system, but had faith that quality would increase – sadly it did not, I guess.
I must say that the Bido staff (everyone I encountered) was 100% professional, friendly and quick to respond to any of my queries. I wish them all the best of luck.
May 4th, 2010