Godaddy.com auctions off expired domain names using it’s in-house auction service at auctions.godaddy.com . Domain names that get bids during a 10 day auction end up going to the winner about 7 days after the auction ends after payment is made. During that 7 days, there still is a chance that the past owner can renew the domain name but it doesn’t happen often.

So what happens to the domain names that do not get bids during the auction process? They get auctioned again in what Godaddy calls it’s Firesale section. The Firesale domain auctions last a total of 5 days which starts almost instantly after the first auction ends and the domains are set with a fixed price (buy it now). The starting price for the Firesale auctions has been $5 + domain renewal fees, until now.

Godaddy is switching to a reverse auction system with there Firesale domain name auctions with the following price structure change:

  • $9 day 1 of Firesale auction
  • $8 day 2 of Firesale auction
  • $7 day 3 of Firesale auction
  • $6 day 4 of Firesale auction
  • $5 day 5 of Firesale auction

At any time during the Firesale a user can use the buy it now price which will end the auction.

Clearly this is a very slight increase of only about $4 but it’s still an increase. The Godaddy Auctions can be a little deceiving as the total price is not the final auction price itself, as you have to pay the domain name renewal fee of about $10 added onto the final auction price.

I personally have purchased many Firesale domain names and clearly they are the cheapest expiring domain auctions currently on the market by a long shot. Domains holding age like Godaddy’s auctions and Firesale auctions start at $79 at SnapNames and $69 at NameJet.com .

Again, this is a very small increase and a little change with the reverse auction process but I thought I would make you aware of it if you see a different than normal price on the Firesale domains over at Godaddy.