Disaster Preparation for Extremely Important Domain Name Auctions

{That might possibly be my longest post title of all time… but I digress…}

My domain (acquisition) game doesn’t really revolve around category killers or home runs. Really, it revolves around mini-category killers. Strong doubles. I love ‘em.

For example, piety and I slugged it out recently on NameJet for the domain name Laramie.com. A solid little geo city domain name centered on a college town in Wyoming. Approximate population is 25k, but once you throw in the University, that number quickly grows closer to 45k+… and the name itself is unique to Wyoming… and to boot, it’s a mini vacation destination… and so on.. not a homerun like Atlanta.com is.. but a nice solid double. (piety beat me out for it – won it for $6,599)

So when those domain auctions pop-up, ones where I might have an outside chance of winning, my entire psyche changes..

I become antsy. Fidgety. Consumed. And I lose sleep : )

I research all historical records of members participating (at least records I have access to). I wanna know how aggressive or bankrolled those individual are. (ie. if NJ bidders po3kjd5nf4b or ebatcave are present, I become concerned)..

Once I determine a rough guesstimate on cash I’d need to win said auction (Lord willing), I begin to lay in place my auction disaster preparation.

Well, maybe small scale disaster preparation.

Preparation in case my electricity goes out. Preparation if internet goes out. Preparation if a crazed ex girlfriend is taking batting lessons on my car my computer crashes. Everything I can possibly conceive..

So many steps, actually, I thought it’d be interesting to chronicle each one.

Here we go (in this case, I’ll use a NameJet auction as the example):

• Electricity Goes Out / Internet Goes Out

I make sure to have my iPhone handy, pre-loaded with NameJet, fully charged up, and logged in, and auction page loaded up.

• Computer Crashes

I’ve got an old spare junky PC, and it serves as my drone during these coveted domain auctions. And similiar to electricity & internet, I’ve got NJ full logged in and loaded. Computer crash be damned.

• Browser Freezes (Firefox)

I keep Chrome & Safari open, fully loaded with NJ & auction.

• Internet is Up, NameJet seems Down

I jump on http://downforeveryoneorjustme.com/ to see if it’s localized. Sometimes I’ll Skype friends to see if it’s up for them. I’ll then fall back on iPhone, or drone computer. If that don’t work, I’ll get on the horn and call my wifer/bro/friend to have them login through their computer and bid for me.

• Cat Jumps on Computer

Sounds dumb, but cat owners know it happens. So when I’m participating in a coveted auction, the Cat Patrol is removed from the vicinity.

• I forget / become distracted

I’d like to say this doesn’t happen, but it does. To counteract my limited brain capacity, I set up 2 or 3 alarms to go off 20 mins or so before end of auction. One alarm on my iPhone. One on my Google Calendar. And sometimes one on my old-timey kitchen timer.

• Auction Goes on For Hours

The recent ($131,400 sale) auction of huddle.com on NameJet went on for hours (a little over 2hrs, if I’m correct).. To prepare for these marathons, I block off a rough two hour window around the auction. No visitors. No chit-chat. No errand running. No consulting. Just me & computer.

• TV’s on and Maury’s About to Read the Results of a Paternity Test

I hesitantly turn TV off so I can concentrate.

Now, of course, to truly avoid all these problems, I could simply place my absolute top bid days in advance, then step away and skip last minute bidding… but..

what’s the fun in that?