For domains that are scheduled for deletion, Pool has the upper hand over SnapNames.
Time and again, I’ve found that if I back-order a domain at both, Pool wins it 100% of the time.
If I use SnapNames only, then I either lose the domain to a private label drop-catcher, or SnapNames catches it.
In other words, SnapNames appears to have lost its value as a pure drop-catching service, and switched over to the auction market.
I used SnapNames a lot in the past, during the era of the infamous halvarez, with mixed results. Pool has been consistent though; it even produced the seed for my biggest sale to date.
The bottom line is, that using both services as a back-up, you’ll find out that Pool wins the domain and SnapNames sends the somber message below:
“We attempted to secure the following domain names: […] …as they were released by the registry, but the attempts were unsuccessful. We’re sorry that we were unable to acquire these domain names. We have thousands of other great names available – you can click on the domain names above to see similar domains in our inventory.”
Thanks, Pool.
I’ve found about equal results between the two when I backorder at both. That said, Pool still kicks Snapnames in the jimmy for this reason alone: They don’t catch your domains into MyDomain.com. I am seriously considering never backordering a domain with Snapnames again because of the nightmare I’m going through with MyDomain (aka MyDomains, aka Domain.com, aka CocosislandDomains, and whatever other iterations of registrar that all seem to share the same backend as Dotster) which all need to be taken out behind the barn and put down.
Acro, what do you mean by “private label drop catcher”?
Thanks for the info about pool.com. From my research, the top three sites for getting deleted domains are Snapnames, NameJet, and Pool.
I thought that covered the bases but I don’t know what a private label catcher is.
Even when it is a Google/WildWestDomains expiring domain?
I have to agree with Mike about Mydomain.com – they are by far the WORST snapnames partner. Their new platform is horrible and does not work properly. Auth codes are not sent and domains can’t get unlocked. Their support staff does not answer support tickets. Try calling their support staff and they do not answer, however sales picks up the phone immediately! Mydomain.com your service and customer support is the worst I have ever seen.
Not to turn this into a MyDomain.com bashing party, but it was those comments that encouraged me comment. Pool and Snap are on par IMO, but Mike hit the nail right on the head. The fact they’re dealing with a registrar like mydomain.com is a little bit of a hinderance. Hopefully, they’ll start getting more feedback from people that have had all these problems with them.