en.org gets renewed! It was sold for $21,586 at GoDaddy but auction has been cancelled

Last week I wrote about the domain name en.org being sold at GoDaddy Auctions for $21,586. Auction ended on the 14th but the domain was renewed on the 16th by it’s original owner. So the auction was canceled and the winning bidder will get a refund.

Enterprise Network, Inc. gets to keep their domain name en.org which they have had since 1995. That was a close call.

So after this renewal I wouldn’t hold my breath on the next 2 letter .org that is currently on auction at GoDaddy: il.org. IL.ORG was registered in 1995 by the Chicago Convention and Tourism Bureau. Will they renew their domain name? They have about 2 weeks to do it and keep it.

GoDaddy has a somewhat strange system. It auctions expired domains but previous owners have about a week after the auction ends to renew their domain names. If a domain name gets renewed the winning bidder ends up with a big nothing and he also has to wait for GoDaddy to refund his auction payment. So in this case the winning bidder will have to wait for a refund on his/hers credit card or for the wire transfer to be returned. In case of a wire transfer he/she will also lose the wire transfer bank fees. He has got to change.