Earlier this month, we reported on The Go Daddy Group doing everything it could to keep the public from knowing about its subsidiary Standard Tactics, which it used for domain warehousing. Although the practice wasn’t necessarily against the Terms & Conditions of ICANN, they sure went through a lot of trouble to make sure Standard Tactics couldn’t easily be identified as a GoDaddy company.
Andrew over at DomainNameWire was the first to take the story public, and we followed suit quickly, concluding our article with the words: “It’s really no wonder GoDaddy is trying to cover its tracks and hide these practices, but thanks to Andrew the word is now out.”
Yesterday evening, Andrew got on the company show GoDaddyRadio together with CEO Bob Parsons. In the middle of their conversation, Parsons informs the listeners that the company is effectively shutting down Standard Tactics. All of the names the subsidiary owned are being added to GoDaddy’s auction service The Domain Name AfterMarket with a $10 starting bid. Parsons then goes on to claim that it was founded for ‘research on monetization practices’ in the first place and denied that it had anything to do with domain warehousing.
I don’t buy that for a second, but it’s good to see the company decided to listen to its critics, was open to a discussion, and didn’t hesitate too long to make the right decision. There’s no question that the bad publicity surrounding the company about the shady subsidiary effectively spurred the decision to close Standard Tactics.
I don’t know Robin, I have been following Bob for quite a while and admire his entrepreneurial spirit. I can only think of him covering for somebody else… the GoDaddy Group is a large enterprise. I can’t see him getting into something questionable.
Jon
http://WoodMarvels.com – Create Unique Memories
Really? Because I used to work for Go Daddy, and I can TOTALLY see Bob Parsons getting into something questionable. The company does it all the time.
Parsons’s problem is that he wants to make as much money as possible, but he also wants everybody to like him. So he OKs stupid, shifty money-making schemes like Standard Tactics, then shuts them down when he realizes they’re hurting his reputation.
Frankly, he’s repeated this pattern so often that I’m surprised anybody is surprised.
Oh yeah. You don’t even have to work for GoDaddy to figure it out.
http://www.qass...nies-make-money
I still kinda do like Bob though, Southern charm and all.
Yep, it looks like a hide and seek game.
I think Bob had direct involvement with this one. On the show he said he had the lawyer file the LLC papers, etc.
But I give him kudos for shutting it down.
IMHO, anyone who exploits women like Parsons does will do anything shady.
He has no respect for women–objectifies them and uses them as playthings. He’s a real throwback to the 1950’s Playboy and the 1970s Hustler.
UGH!
And I have no respect for him, nor do I trust him.
I certainly wouldn’t trust my daughter to him.
You may not think that this is related to the topic at hand, but it is; one can tell a lot about someone’s character by observing the way he treats other people.
Why wouldn’t he conduct his business in a similar manner?
Are you from Go Daddy’s infamous PR department or just an idiot?
Bob Parsons is probably the most self-centered, egotistical guy around. He does nothing but seek publicity and money.
Bob Parsons IS THE GoDaddy Group!
Everything he said on the interview was a lie. I know for a fact that Standard Tactics was NOT created for research and made FAR MORE money than $40,000 a year.
Come on over and help us put this Scumbob down at http://www.nodaddy.com
What now? They create another company to replace Standard Tactics?
Thanks you
http://tinyurl.com/4rdhmc
I know, right? Auctioning them is so much different than what they were going to do.
These turds were busted red-handed and they know that their customers would not like this is word were spread further. GoDaddy are scum, and the only people who use them are people who base their purchasing decisions on Super Bowl commercials. That is: idiots.
If you run a company and your domain names are registered through or hosted by GoDaddy, you should be fired for mishandling company assets.
Um… If you’re a company, here’s what you care about around domain names:
1) No issues registering/keeping the name
2) Lowest possible cost
GoDaddy is, in my experience, really good about repeated renewal notifications, using email, postal mail, and even phone to let you know time is running out. For, what, $7/year from me per domain?
Really easy domain management tools, and a humans-free process to consolidate renewal dates.
I’m not sure who out there does a better job as a REGISTRY, aside from perhaps a few who simply do less upselling/offer fewer options.
If there’s a cheaper, more reliable solution, though, just let me know!
wow am glad theyve done so, I was seriously thinking about shifting my london limo websites away from their servers.
I’m glad that they’ve PUBLICLY closed that down, but I don’t think we’ve seen the last of it.
They are probably just opening it up to generate revenue.
Wonder if this is why domains were mysteriously purchased after a search for an available domain?
I also wonder how long this was going on.?
Yes, that is exactly why. Been written up on Tech Blogs for years now.
who can you trust in business?
i wonder if they will close, may be its just public closure of it and private opening of another company … who knows ? money really drives ppl crazy.
Criticism is the win here, why did they start it up in first place? neither do I buy their claim.
http://www.youtechno.info
O_oo Domains for sale.
Fascinating. Just last week was ready to pounce on a domain that was coming available, and suddenly, it’s in an auction under TDNAM (which Standard Tactics points to).
Had a long conversation about it w/ GoDaddy customer service, being assured that I’m not going to be bidding against GoDaddy employees. I forgot to ask if they company itself would price the domain or bid on it.
The whole process did not sit well with me, and I like GoDaddy for domains. Not so sure if they are any more.
Want the real story http://www.nodaddy.com
it will show up again..
what is wrong with domain warehousing?
what is wrong with having first dibs on domains that expires from there registrar?
“what is wrong with having first dibs on domains that expires from there registrar?”
If you let the name go by “accident”, you end up having to go through hell to get it back… at an extremely extremely inflated price. If it were to drop naturally, yeah if it’s worthwhile you might get into a bidding war against other domainers, but the problem is at least there is “some” hope of getting it back vs. getting locked out.
http://www.fka200.com
GoDaddy is yesterday. Cleaner, friendlier companies like MediaTemple and Amazon AWS are now offering such comparably cheap and much more intelligently packaged services without all the hassle and confusion of GoDaddy and its marketing-obsessed website and marketing-obsessed salespeople.
GoDaddy is more than a hosting provider.
I agree with Simon Dennett
“Wonder if this is why domains were mysteriously purchased after a search for an available domain?”
I experienced this few times. Its so spooky but funny that a company of such repute in domain registration. Hope they will refine their policies soon
I’ve seen a lot of people make this allegation but no one come with good evidence. Keep in mind that millions of domains are being registered every month, so there’s a good likelihood someone will think of a similar domain.
You must be new. Google “front-running domains.”
Using GoDaddy, I have searched for dozens of domains that remained unregistered for months after I did the search. In fact, I haven’t ONCE had a domain I searched “mysteriously registered” shortly afterward.
But the people who believe GoDaddy engages in this practice will never accept that.
EH – I’m not new, I’m the guy who rights Domain Name Wire. I’m well aware of what front running is, it’s just that no one has ever shown me any sort of compelling proof that it happens at GoDaddy.
Here is the real dirt from employees and former employees
Domain companies are doing it all the time. Snapnames is one example where they catch a domain you asked them to catch then they keep it. They funny thing is they would not have known about it had I not asked them to catch it.
After 2 yrs the domain is still just serving ads. despite repeated questionning of one of their customer reps.
SNAPNAMES ARE FRAUDSTERS.
big props to Andrew at DNW
I still use GoDaddy.com for my domain names; too many shady domain companies out there. It still works fine for me, and with a coupon code, it’s still pretty cheap too.
There are plenty of reputable companies. Just because GoDaddy is the best of the shady companies does not make them a reputable company. Nice try, though.
After reading this article, I am moving to new domain registrar. I am a big customer of GoDaddy.com but this article makes me nervous. Can anyone out there please recommend a few good honest domain registrars that are reasonably priced?
Try http://dynadot.com
Their user interface ROCKS!
Try http://www.registrarjudge.com for registrar reviews
Try http://www.domaincheap.com
Help us put Scumbob down http://www.nodaddy.com
If they really wanted to do right by their customers and future customers, they would just let the domains they own drop back into public availability.
Otherwise, this is just a sales program to boost 2009 numbers in a rough economy.
I was just thinking how awesome it would have been if he had simply stated: “We started Standard Tactics to see how much money we could make from that business model, but decided that it was too sleazy.”
Which was followed directly by the thought that if he had said that someone would probably file a huge lawsuit.
When people are sued for admitting culpability or making mistakes, they won’t — ever — make mistakes.
Sad, really.
Notice that he’s taking one last unethical profit from these domain that used to be owned by his customers by AUCTIONING them off at GoDaddy instead of the ETHICAL “instant deletion”.
Shut down one company and start another. . . this time we do it better. Damn those bloggers!
So did Godaddy open any new companies over the past week ?
I use GoDaddy for my domains but only because they have the best admin not for their business ethitcs.
They have repeatedly tried to take money from me using dubious and obscure commercial practices.
My impression is that Bob Parsons is the sharky kind of guy.
I have a domain currently being held for ransom ($80) by GoDaddy…they suck, 4 sure =(
Come on over and help us put Scumbob down http://www.nodaddy.com
Conspiracy theorists, disgruntled employees, wannabe journalists. Geesh! I need to find a better class of blogs and forums to haunt.
Let me give you a warning. If you use Go Daddy executive accounts department, it is in their best interests to let your domains expire. Why, you may ask.
If it is a good domain name, then they will tell the other executive account reps about it so when it gets to the auction those reps can have their customers bid on it.
Why would someone do that? Well, the executive account reps are compensated when their accounts bid and win TDNAM domains. Rod Browning is compensated when TDNAM brings in big numbers. And Adam Not-Honest Dicker gets compensated when TDNAM does well.
For example, an expired domain recently was at TDNAM for a large amount of money and an executive account customer was about to finalize the sale. It was common knowledge the the original owner would not be happy that this name was almost gone, gone, gone.
Fortunately, the original registrant, who still had a day left in the redemption period, called his executive account rep and was able to pay an $80 redemption fee and retrieve the domain. Read that sentence again . . . the customer called the executive account rep. Why didn’t Marcus, Rod, and any of the other reps contact this guy. It was heady gossip for a day or two — everyone knew what was happening.
“I am not a babysitter” is a common phrase around that department. I guess if it’s in your best interest to allow domains to “accidentally” expire, then I can understand why you may not care if you piss off your customer and forget to renew his domains OR decide not to call him at crucial times.
So, you see if a valuable domain goes to auction, everyone wins far more than the $7.49 renewal fee.
TDNAM, the first rep gets kudos, the new rep get compensated, and the new owner gets a great name.
Can you say insider information?
Go Daddy’s aftermarket department is full of self-serving thieves.
I missed this a couple of weeks ago. Good to know what is up with godaddy.
I have my domains with Godaddy.
I’ll admit the email expiration notifications are reliable and often: 90 days, 60 days, 30 days, 10 days, 5 days, 3 days, day before, same day, the day after, and two days after. They also send the same email to my alternate email address. A couple of times I renewed the domain two days after it expired with no problem. I’ll also admit that I have never experienced them mysteriously registering domains after I’ve searched for them. Most of them are still available.
HOWEVER…. My gut feeling, especially after watching his videos, is that he’s a shady bastard. I think he will absolutely without a doubt start up some other version of Standard Tactics and this time keep it totally under wraps. The only reason I don’t move my domains somewhere else is because I’ve heard that Godaddy is like the roach motel (or is it Hotel California?). I don’t want to mess with that. I just point the DNS elsewhere and leave it at that. BTW: one way to tell if you’re dealing with a Godaddy affiliate (besides having the same exact site with a different color scheme and a different name) is to mouse over the links and look for gdshop or secureserver.
“Why would someone do that? Well, the executive account reps are compensated when their accounts bid and win TDNAM domains. Rod Browning is compensated when TDNAM brings in big numbers. And Adam Not-Honest Dicker gets compensated when TDNAM does well.”
Sounds like a serious conflict of interest issue!
Great news! Rod Dirty Browning was canned last week for “defaming” Adam Not-so-Honest Dicker.