Go Daddy added a help section that addresses most of the questions that users have for New gTLD Pre Registration Refunds and Auctions.
There is information to answer refund and auction questions for each pre-registration phase:
Trademark Holder (Sunrise)
Priority Registration (Early Access)
General Availability
Here are a few of the questions and answers from the Priority Registration (Early Access) sections that seems to be the most complicated:
Fees Collected: Registration Fee + Early Access Fee
During this phase, you’ll pre-register a domain for one of the seven Early Access periods, and when the day you applied for concludes, we’ll submit your application to the registry. GoDaddy competes with other registrars to get the domain name, which is awarded on a first-come, first-served basis. Therefore, if we submit our applications first, then GoDaddy wins the domain name. From there, we’ll either award the domain to one person or hold an auction if multiple people apply for the same domain name.
What happens when I get the domain I applied for?
If you are awarded the domain name you applied for, you’ll receive and email from us, notifying you that the registration was successful. After that, the domain will be in your account and manageable within 72 hours.
What if multiple people apply for the same domain as me?
There are three scenarios that can occur in this situation:
1. If you submit an Early Access application on Day Two or later, and someone else applies for the same domain name that you want on any day before you, there’s a good chance you won’t get the domain name. The best way to secure the domain name you want is to pre-register on Day One of Early Access.
2. If another person applies for the same domain you do on the same day of Early Access, and only one of you acknowledges trademark claims, the one who acknowledged claims will have the greatest chance being awarded the domain.
3. If another person applies for the same domain you do, and on the same day of Early Access, and both acknowledge any applicable trademark claims, you’ll be invited to a seven-day closed bidding auction hosted by GoDaddy.
If I win the auction, what do I do?
If you win the seven-day closed auction, you’ll be asked to pay the additional money you owe. After you pay, you’ll receive the domain in your account within 72 hours.
what a crock- so much for making domains affordable for the masses and new strings available because good names on existing strings were locked
Affordable died years ago…