The "In Auction" domain names at SnapNames.com can be and are very misleading to bidders but most have no clue about it. If you are looking at "in auction" domain names at Snap Names, one could very well think the Minimum price shown is actually the current high bid. This is not always the case. Just because you see bidders, doesn’t mean the minimum price is the High bid price.

The Minimum bid that shows on Snapnames regular site is NOT always what the bid really is. The Minimum bid is really the Reserve Price of the auction unless the reserve as been met already. The amount of Bids, is likely the amount of people that had the domain backordered Before the auction started and the bidders did not drive the price to the minimum price. This is the case with nearly all "In Auction" domain names.

The REAL current high bid amount is shown if you are in the auction (one of the bidders) or using the new watch feature.

SnapNames just added the Watch feature to "In Auction" domains but I think many In Auction domains get fake bids or "mistake bids" which leads to Non-Paying bidders. This has happened to me in the past. Most "in auction" domain names are domain listed by Members but many are owned by SnapNames as well.

Long story short… The Minimum bid price on SnapNames does not mean that is the Current High Bid.

Example! Sucker.com currently shows a Min Bid price on SnapNames.com of $141,180.00 on 5 bids. If you click the Watch button (Binoculars), you will see the current high bid is REALLY $60…. Very Miss leading I must say!

This is a screen shot of the domain that one would see if they searched for Sucker.com on SnapNames.com . By looking at the domain with 5 bidders, it makes me think that the domain is bid up to the $141,180.00 because of the 5 bids. This could make somebody think, Hmmm 5 bidders and up to $141,180.. the domain has to be worth it.

So to get into the auction, you have to place the Minimum Bid. This Minimum bid is $141,180.00 . The problem, most people do not know that Really, the $141,180 is the Reserve Price of the domain and Not the current high bid. For those 5 bidders, they can see what the real High Bid is and it’s NOT $141,180. The Real High Bid price is $60!

Now clearly Sucker.com is worth well more then the current high bid of $60, but in order for that price to rise, one of the current bidders would have to place a higher bid OR a new bidder would have to bid the $141,180.00 (reserve) to get in. On that bid, would raise the Current High Bid to $141,180 and the reserve would be met.

I hope this clears some things up. The Minimum Bid on "In Auction" domains does not always mean that it is the Current High Bid. In an "In Auction" domain, it is always best to use the watch feature (Binoculars) and add the domain to your account before bidding. Doing this, you can see the Real current high bid. Then the Minimum bid isn’t as misleading.