Written by Jason Barrett. Posted under Domaining
I have a slight beef to pick with NameJet, so I thought I would go ahead and air my grievance here.
I tried backordering newyorkburgers.com before I took off for lunch because it was dropping today. I got it in my backorder queue, locked my machine, and headed off for a Kansas City burger and fries (oh the irony).
When I got back from lunch I expected to see one of two things. One, I was the proud new owner of newyorkburgers.com. Two, I was now a participant in an auction for newyorkburgers.com. To my surprise I found out that neither of the two scenarios came true. What’s up with that?
Does anyone out there in the domain world know what went wrong? This same thing happened with NameJet last month and I am getting a little frustrated. 
Is NameJet not catching the drop?
Am I missing something with the NameJet service?
I never have these problems with SnapNames. 
Update: It turns out I jumped the gun a little. The name was picked up by NameJet and I am now in on an auction. My apologies to NameJet for my lack of patience. I just don’t like to be left wondering.
NameBait.com » Deleting Domains - 12/07/2007 on 07 Dec 2007 at 3:07 pm #
[...] – I tried to get this one, but NameJet screwed up the drop. Not sure what the problem is, but I didn’t win the name and I am not part of an auction. [...]
Frank Michlick (DomainNameNews.com) on 08 Dec 2007 at 12:28 am #
Jason,
If you’re not sure if the dropcatcher got the name for you, you should always do a quick whois check first – in most cases this will tell you who got the name and thus if you are going to be a participant in the auction:
http://www.iwhois.com/newyorkburgers.com
When reading the whois, concentrate on the contact information, nameservers and in eNom’s case the whois server, since all the drop services use a multitude of different registrars.
Since all drop catching services have different algorithms and may or may not decide that the name is worth going after, you should also consider placing your order with other services as well. At the least (if you really want the name), I would recommend also placing an order with SnapNames and Pool.com.
As a last typ, keep in mind that some drop catchers have exclusive “pre-release” names that are only available through one of the companies.
Good luck in the auction. Yummy – burgers
Hope this helps,
/FrankM
Jason Barrett on 10 Dec 2007 at 10:42 pm #
Frank,
I really appreciate your detailed reply. As it turns out, NameJet snapped up the name and I ended up winning it in an auction. I was not so much worried about losing that particular name, but I want to make sure I don’t miss out on a great opportunity when one comes along in the future. I had a chance at a decent name in a competitive category a couple weeks ago and they didn’t get the drop. I really should have used SnapNames. They haven’t missed a drop for me yet.
You mentioned some companies have exclusive pre-release names. I think I am missing the boat on these. That is why I was using NameJet on NewYorkBurgers.com. I was under the impression this was one of those exclusive names. What is the best way to identify these exclusive names?
Thanks for taking the time to help.
Jason
Lincoln on 13 Jun 2009 at 9:12 pm #
The pre-release category contains the NameJet-exclusive domains. If you backorder from this list, you’ll be entered into an auction for the domain at minimum, or awarded it outright if you’re the only person who backorders it from the pre-release list.
Domains sold on pre-release basis are still subject to redemption by the previous registrant, even after you’ve “won” them. They are domains which the previous registrant hasn’t renewed/redeemed but might still.
The pending delete category contains the list of about-to-drop names. The drop is where a domain is simply re-shelved and made available for registration through the normal process. If you “backorder” from this list then NameJet will try to re-register the domain when it drops (they specialize in anticipating precisely when the domain will become available and registering it at that instant). If multiple NameJet customers are interested in a single domain and NameJet “catches” that domain, NameJet uses an auction format to sell the domain.
Domains on the pending delete list are subject to be picked up by any one of multiple drop-catching services, so you might “backorder” a domain from this list at NameJet but never get an opportunity to even compete in an auction for it (since its as likely to be picked up by any competent drop catcher as it’s likely to be picked up by NameJet).