Canadian TBR Drop Auction Irregularities
January 10, 2008 · Print This Article
I’m not sure how many of my readers are Canadian – if you are, please let me know by leaving a comment. If there is enough interest, I’ll write more about the Canadian domain landscape.
Anyhow, CIRA is the authority for .ca domain names. Every Wednesday at 2.00 p.m. Eastern they run a TBR (“to be released”) drop of .ca domains that have expired. The registrars compete to catch the drops, then auction them off.
Fine and dandy, except today, a lot of the names that were caught yesterday suddenly were added to next week’s drop list.
Here is what CIRA announced to the Registrars:
During the January 9 TBR session, it was discovered that a number of domain names were registered with the same registrar within a period that was less than five (5) seconds apart. This occurrence happened due to the presence of a particular set of variables. CIRA will update the TBR system to ensure that this circumstance will not re-occur.
TBR registration rules do not permit registration by the same registrar if the registration interval is less than five seconds. As a consequence, the domain names that were identified as being registered in non-compliance with the TBR rules will have the registration cancelled. These domain names will be made available for new registration during the next TBR session (January 16). The updated TBR list for next week will also include those TBR domain names that were not granted on January 9 due to the violation of the one-connection rule.
The registrars that seem to have lost their domains are Namespro, Dotcanuck, and 411.
As usual, Pool cleaned up in the drop. Sibername, usually one of the best drop catchers, unfortunately did not fare too well.
Some of the top prices are (in Canadian dollars, GST excluded):
ppv.ca – $2,110 (an excellent LLL.ca and one of the highest prices I’ve seen for an LLL.ca)
nicole.ca – $810
canadavisa.ca – $410
mixx.ca – $260
hamiltonwentworth.ca – $170 (a steal because hamilton.ca and wentworth.ca are reserved names)
fenderbender.ca – $135
wnet.ca – $110
mymall.ca – $110
Of course, many of the best names are still at auction.
Updated
Here are some more results (these are in US dollars)
landscapes.ca – $1,452
savemoney.ca – $1,145
spycam.ca – $190
toyshop.ca – $460
actiongames.ca – $80
cardiology.ca – $1,325
lawns.ca – $6,400
medication.ca – $2,810
queencharlotteislands.ca – $575
stocktraders.ca – $600
skippackages.ca – $1,091
whistlerhotels.ca – $3,161
rr.ca – unsure, but at least $10,171
Written by admin · Filed Under Canadian Domains
This was my first TBR auction and it left me very confused. It was a relief to find your post. I’m new to the .ca space–a Canadian living in Los Angeles. The auction was set for the 9th, but the next thing I knew it was moved to the 10th. Also, between last night and this morning, a majority of the ‘obviously interesting’ names disappeared. I haven’t checked the TBR list to see if they’re moved to next week. I was the highest bidder at Sibername for a couple of names. But when I got home from work I hadn’t actually won any names. I think I understand now that ‘winning’ the auction at the Registrar level, doesn’t mean you won the domain. It means that IF they got it, THEN you won it. Disappointing. All day long I was under the impression I’d won a few decent names.
I did receive an email from Sibername stating that they’d discovered the anomalys you discuss in the post.
I guess I understand now, that the proper strategy would be to have the domains backordered on as many registrars as possible. Sounds like Pool is a good bet here.
I for one would definitely like to hear more about the .ca space on your blog.
Thanks!
Welcome woolwit! Yes, the process is confusing in part because each registrar handles it differently.
From what I’ve seen, Pool and Sibername are the best drop catchers. Then there are a number of smaller ones – how many you register with depends on how badly you want the name versus how much time you have to spend.
I do like the auctions that continue after the name has dropped. It’s very frustrating to be bidding on a domain name furiously when you don’t even know whether the registrar will catch it.
The Sibername auction system is pretty new, so it’s probably too early to evaluate. But it appears that the serious bidding really only starts after the drop.
Los Angeles sounds nice!
Hi Jeff (read your About)
I could ask a brother in Toronto, but… Do type-ins from a browser in Canada resolve to a .ca address? Do Rogers or Bell or other big Canadian ISPs serve up .ca by default?
About the .ca auction process… if the Registrars can only catch one domain every 5 seconds, it follows that they’d prioritize the high dollar bid domains.
Los Angeles is a mixed blessing. Ultimately it IS the weather that keeps me here.
Thanks Again!
I’m not entirely sure why you mean? I don’t think what you are asking is happening, but I want to make sure I understand the question.
Yes, most registrar admit openly that they go for the high dollar domains first.
If I go to an empty browser bar window, where normally you’d type http://www.SOMEWEBSITE.com
and type:
SOMEWEBSITE
and then hit Return or GO, my browser will take me to
http://www.SOMEWEBSITE.com
.com is the default destination for the browser/DNS.
I’m wondering if when you do that in Canada– type your destination, like ‘usedcars’, into the browser, then hit Go or Return, your browser takes you to http://www.usedcars.ca or if perhaps it takes you to http://www.usedcars.com or??
I did get confirmation from Sibername today that they do prioritize high bid names in the auction.
It also turns out that they made an error–I was allowed to bid on domains that they hadn’t actually won. That shouldn’t have happened.
Thanks Again.
The way I’ve got it set up is that I’d get a search on Google.ca for “usedcars.” I don’t recall what the default setting is – I’ll check around.
Hi, I too would love to hear about the Canadian space, am also living in the us, but am into .ca’s