Drop Catching Costs

mobillica · May 3, 2021

Hi folks, after a year of pretty much being unable to catch UK domains despite booking slots with dropcatching services I'm looking into setting up my own script. I do know its hyper competitive in the UK but I guess just want to increase my chances.

I'm only looking to catch 5-10 domains a year for SEO purposes really.

Just wondering if anyone could offer any advice or info regarding costs?

I know Nominet membership is around £400 and a DAC at £25. Also finding a server close to Nominet's rack.

There are a few scripts about (transcom) or I could develop my own.

I have a budget of around 2-3k to get something off the ground.

Thanks for any advice

webber · May 3, 2021

To get started it would probably be best to use a hosted DAC service. See:
hostedchasing.com by @sigh
dropcatcher.co.uk/dc-plus by @DropCatcher-co-uk
caught.co.uk/dac.php by @aquanuke
domaincatch.co.uk
@untagged used to offer this too
These guys have spend years optimising their code and server setup.

When I was looking at buying someone's compiled code a couple of years back, the costs were in the high £xxx, but not a lot of people were selling.

To write your own code is really not that difficult, but your success rate will be dependant on how well it is optimised, how much you can reduce your latency, and your strategy. That's the difficult and time-consuming part.
It's like Formula 1 – everyone has more or less the same car, but some teams can get slightly more power/grip/brakes/aerodynamic efficiency or have a better driver, enough to gain a few milliseconds.

If you only want to catch a few domains a year I don't think it would be worth it for you.
Like you said, this is a highly competitive industry and your success rate is going to be inevitably low.
Of course, once you are a registrar and member and are set up to catch domains you might as well go for other high value domains too, but that takes time to research.

And a small correction on Nominet fees:
£400 + vat joining fee
£100 + vat annual subscription
£25 + vat annual DAC fee
But if you own more than 100 .uk domains than the annual Nominet fees will be worth the savings over any other registrar pricing.

Before you jump on becoming a Nominet member just to dropcatch domains, make sure you try all these:
autobackorder.com
catchdrop.uk
catchtiger.com
caught.co.uk
pfukcatching.co.uk
docky.ly
domainjunky.co.uk
domaintree.co.uk
dropcatcher.co.uk
hexonet.net
ukbackorder.com
wizedrop.com

Siusaidh · May 3, 2021

Also, be aware before investing too much that there is a possibility that the whole governance/membership structure of Nominet may be altered in the coming year. In the advertisement for the new Chair, they flag up 'governance change' as one of the issues they seem to be prioritising.

One possibility is that access to names will no longer be connected with Nominet membership. Membership will be one thing (and I wouldn't be surprised if membership costs are changed). Right to access names wholesale may be another thing that can be purchased, without actually being a Member. Where DAC comes in all this would be uncertain. Presumably it could be one of the routes you can buy.

Nothing has changed as things stand, but I believe there is a governance shake up on the horizon. It is also pretty likely that control of the company will be shifted in the direction of the largest customers by increasing the voting cap or removing it altogether (less likely).

Thanks to Ciprian / Webber for great overview.