DropCatch spends millions to buy FIVE HUNDRED more registrars
Domain drop-catching service DropCatch.com has added five hundred new registrar accreditations to its stable over the last few days.
The additions give the company a total accreditation count of at least 1,252, according to DI data.
That means about 43% of all ICANN-accredited registrars are now controlled by just one company.
DropCatch is owned by TurnCommerce, which is also parent of registrar NameBright and premium sales site HugeDomains.
Because gTLD registries rate-limit attempts to register names, drop-catchers such as DropCatch find a good way to increase their chances of registering expiring names is to own as many registrars as possible.
DropCatch is in an arms race here with Web.com, owner of SnapNames and half-owner of NameJet, which has about 500 registrars.
The new accreditations would have cost DropCatch $1.75 million in ICANN application fees alone. They will add $2 million a year to its running costs in terms of extra fixed fees.
That’s not counting the cost of creating 500 brand new LLC companies — named in the new batch DropCatch.com [number] LLC where the number ranges from 1046 to 1545 — each of which is there purely for the purpose of owning the accreditation.
In total, the company is now paying ICANN fixed annual fees in excess of $5 million, not counting its variable fees and per-transaction fees.
Because the ICANN variable fee is split evenly between all registrars (with some exceptions I don’t think apply to DropCatch), I believe the addition of 500 new registrars means all the other registrars will be paying less in variable fees.
There’s clearly money to be made in expiring names.
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I’ve found DropCatch and SnapNames/Web to be equally successful in securing domains that dropped. The balance will surely change.
NJ and SN are f*cked!
Not necessarily. It could just turn into an arms race.
Is it about time for me to write my book on the drop?
I wonder if NJ is still running my code…
I’ll read it Chris. 🙂
I’ll buy the book, Christopher.
Sounds like an interesting read. Another pre-orderer here 🙂
I am not surprised DropCatch bought more registrars, I just don’t know where they got the money to buy more! They buy registrars and pay fees like they are a publicity traded company!?
I think SnapNames (Web.com) acquiring NameJet’s (50/50 Web.com/Rightside) registrars had a lot to do with DropCatch buying more registrars.
GoDaddy receiving more expired/pre-release domain names from Tucows, Big Rock and PDR (Public Domain Registry) probably factored in as well. All though DropCatch (Huge Domains/NameBright) also bids on GoDaddy expired domain names.
DropCatch’s auction process should also be closed IMO like SnapNames is, instead of being open, where anyone can join the auction. But that is obviously where DropCatch is making their money, along with owing over 1 million domain names and having those domains for sale as well.
The Reberry Empire (Andrew and Jeff Reberry brothers) have officially taken over the domain name Industry.
I am glad I was able to buy the domains that I have right now. The domain marketplace has shifted in the last month or so. No longer can you buy a good .Com domain name without overpaying.
So, domainers and end-users beware, do not let your domains expire or they will probably end up in the hands of the Reberry Empire.
Over and out.
I’m going to make a wild guess based on the information I pulled attempting to stop the USPTO trademark infringement of my trademark NameBright.com and dropcatch.com are listed as registrar of lorigashley.org going to “CHINA” The ICANN info pulled this far says guangxi.cn!!! Looks like CHINA has USA peeps helping to take over ICANN. $$$ seems to talk loudly when US registrars violate USPTO Trademarks! Maybe Congress can give more insight to these US players infringing on USPTO Trademarks for CHINA
Dropcatch has lots of people who bid crazy numbers, and don’t pay, yet they don’t get suspended, I would watch for shill bidding as they have lots of bills to pay, and the auction systems for lack of a better word are very open for such obstacles.
Wow this is big news. I am surprise I did not read about this sooner.
They are catching poetry much everything.
i prefer to buy drop catch but it open the domain for public.
Interesting, thanks for this info packed post but more catchy is the phrase you ended the article with:
“There’s clearly money to be made in expiring names.”
Nothing is further than that, pure truth and indeed there is money in expired domains