7 Questions With Famous Namejet Bidder……… “NameJet Reserve”

Many of you don’t understand.  You don’t understand what or who the bids called “Namejet Reserve” are.  Are they Namejet running the price up?  Are they the account of a VIP?  Fortunately we tracked down him down and Mr. Namejet Reserve was able to answer a few questions to clear things up.

Q. Mr. Reserve, tell us a little about your background and how you got your name?

A.  I have to admit when people first see my name they think I am a fine aged whiskey but after a while they realize I am just there to make sure the auction ends at a fair price. It’s something I’ve been doing for a while.  I’ve used a lot of names in my past like “Hasn’t Met Reserve”, “Reserve Not Met” and “Reserve Price is Higher” but the word Reserve seems to always be a part of my job.  I once went by “Crazy Dick Dangler” but that was in my stripping days right out of High School before I got these Reserve Gigs.

Q. Some say you work for NameJet to drive up the price.  Is that true?

A. I actually work for the seller.  Before the auction starts I’m told what is the lowest price that he/she will take and make sure that whenever anybody bids, they know if they have or haven’t gotten the bid high enough to make the owner sell the domain.  I would prefer to just put the words “Cheap Asses Below” in the bidding but the guys over at Namejet seem to want to keep it professional so I’m only allowed to put up my name “NameJet Reserve” after the reserve has been met.  Until that time my job is too annoy people and remind them that they are cheap.  My favorite is when only one person is in the auction and he is merely bidding against me, Mr. Namejet Reserve.  It drives them crazy and I’m laughing the whole time.  It’s simple.  If they are willing to pay more than what the seller is willing to let it go for then the auction will end.  And yes, my girlfriend works for Namejet as well.  Her job is to console the auction winners who get their name thrown into a Network Solutions accounts, home of the world’s highest renewal fees and missed renewal emails.

Q.  It sounds like a tough job.  Keeping track of all the domains that have reserves

A.  Actually it’s pretty easy.  I don’t know if you’ve ever met Matt Overman, the guy that runs the show over there.  He comes across as a nice guy but he’s a little tougher than he looks.  He understands that getting good names into the auctions means having reserves but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t ask the owners to drop the reserves.

Q.  It doesn’t seem like the reserves are dropped that low.  I always see your name come up in these big auctions

A.  Have you ever been to a reserved auction at Godaddy?  There’s a reason I lost my Reserve job over there.  You can set it whatever you want over there and the names hardly ever sell.  Not at Namejet.  Matt knows the value of names as well as anyone and if he thinks the reserve is too high he simply asks if they can make it lower.  It means most of the names meet reserve and the name gets sold.  I don’t get a paycheck if the name doesn’t sell and neither does Namejet. It only comes up if a bid hasn’t met reserve, plain and simple.

Q.  So Namejet and you aren’t out to screw me and bid up the price?

A.  Are you stupid or something? I said the reserve doesn’t change. It is set up before the name even goes to auction.  My job is to let all the bidders be aware that the price isn’t high enough.  I’m a marker, a informational account.  I was hired for my beauty and kept on because I can type Namejet Reserve out so quickly. If a reserve is $5000 and the bids keep coming  in $100 increments then you will see me,  Mr. Namejet Reserve,  at the top 50 times until it hits $5000.  You think I like typing in my name 50 times?  The only one getting screwed is me.  I have to work a lot harder when people throw pennies on the table.

Q.  Ok I think I get it but why do you even have a job?  If these are expiring names why does there need to be a reserve?

A.  You ever tried to field an NFL team with scrubs and make money?  Well Shahid Khan has an it’s not pretty.  In order to draw people to the game you have to put quality talent on the field and in the case of Namejet it means high quality domains.  While some solid names come through through expiration, the lists are sweetened with domains from private sellers.  Private sellers won’t put their best names unless they have some kind of protection.  That’s how I make my living as Namejet Reserve.

Q.  Sounds pretty nice.  Where do I send my names in so I can use your services?

A.  You don’t.  You think you are going to walk into an NFL stadium and ask if you can play this Sunday?  No, if they want you to play they will contact you. In the meantime just be thankful you have a place to buy quality domains.   Of course you could always go over and buy names at Snapnames.  How’s that working out for you?