NamePros

From HandWiki

NamePros is an online community for domain name investors. Its services include discussion forums, a domain name marketplace, and domain sales landing pages.[1][2][3]

NamePros was founded by Ron James in 2003.[4] In January 2012, domain parking company Bodis acquired NamePros.[5]

History

Ron "RJ" James publicly launched NamePros in February, 2003. He created NamePros to fill the hole left by Afternic, a popular online community that was quickly failing.[6] NamePros started to see success around June, 2003, four months after its launch. Ron James dismissed the idea of adopting a subscription business model, favoring free services.[7]

Acquisition by Bodis

Bodis, a domain parking company, acquired NamePros in January 2012, and the acquisition was publicly confirmed later that month by Bodis owner Matt Wegrzyn. Wegrzyn stated that improvements to the website and its services would follow and that Bodis would continue to keep NamePros an open community.[8][9]

On May 14, 2013, NamePros released a series of updates to its service, including a new layout and the addition of a domain sales history tool. The new tool, developed by a community member, scraped domain sale information from other websites and RSS feeds. According to the announcement, the tool indexed over 80,000 sales that members could query.[10]

Ownership Change (2013)

NamePros changed ownership again in July, 2013.[11]

In May, 2014, NamePros released another series of updates. They migrated from vBulletin to XenForo, resulting in significant changes. DNForum, a competing website, made a similar update a month prior.[12][13]

By the mid-2010s, industry coverage described NamePros as the primary forum for domain investors, as older competitors declined. Domain Name Wire wrote that NamePros had been the "go-to place" to discuss domains with peers, and later noted that DNForum was "supplanted by NamePros" and went offline in 2016.[14] [15]

Services

Forum for domain investors

NamePros provides forums for domain investors. Namecheap has described NamePros as a “go-to” forum for domain name investors where users discuss purchases, seek appraisals, and buy and sell domain names.[16] The service implements a freemium model: typical use is free, but users can purchase additional features on a subscription basis.[17]

Domain name marketplace

As part of its forums, NamePros provides a domain name marketplace, where users can buy and sell domain names. The marketplace combines various models, including auctioning, fixed price, and bargaining. Domains considered particularly valuable can be listed in a dedicated area.[18]

A 2021 Namecheap guide described the NamePros marketplace as organized into categories (for example, numeric, brandable, and traffic domains) and using thread-based listings, including fixed-price sales, auctions, and offer-based formats.[19]

Around 2008, NamePros also offered live auctions.[20]

Domain sales landing pages

In April 2023, NamePros launched NamePros Parking, a free service that allows users to point domain names to “for sale” landing pages and route inquiries to the seller.[21] In 2024, NamePros added an optional fixed-price workflow that can require buyers to confirm an email address before viewing the price, allowing sellers to capture lead information while offering a “buy now” option.[22] In August 2024, NamePros introduced custom short and long descriptions for its landing pages.[23]

Domain investor chat room

In May, 2014, NamePros revived its online chat service for domain investors. It had offered a chat service previously, but it had been discontinued. Initial reception was positive.[13]

Reception

GoDaddy has listed NamePros among domain investor resources, describing it as providing updates, industry information, forums, and news.[24]

A 2025 Hostinger guide on domain flipping recommended joining domain-related forums such as NamePros and DNForum to seek advice and discuss strategy and valuation.[25] A 2026 guide published by Name.com recommended promoting domain listings on domain forums such as NamePros.[26]

In 2018, several technology publications cited NamePros reporting in coverage of DuckDuckGo’s acquisition of Duck.com from Google, including The Verge, TechCrunch, and Gizmodo.[27][28][29]

In a 2024 report about the domain registrar Epik, Wired described NamePros as a domain-name forum used by domain-industry professionals (“domainers”).[30]

See also

  • List of Internet forums

References

  1. ↑ Allemann, Andrew (2020-09-09). "5 Resources to Become a Better Domain Investor". https://www.namecheap.com/blog/5-resources-better-domain-investor/. 
  2. ↑ Allemann, Andrew (2021-02-02). "Where to buy wholesale aftermarket domains". https://www.namecheap.com/blog/where-to-buy-wholesale-aftermarket-domains/. 
  3. ↑ Allemann, Andrew (2024-04-10). "NamePros has a brilliant idea with its new "buy now" feature". https://domainnamewire.com/2024/04/10/namepros-has-a-brilliant-idea-with-its-new-buy-now-feature/. 
  4. ↑ "The 20 Most Influential People In The Domain Industry". 2007-12-06. https://www.thedomains.com/2007/12/06/the-20-most-influential-people-in-the-domain-industry/. 
  5. ↑ "Bodis confirms buyout of NamePros domain forum". 2012-01-19. https://www.above.com/blog/bodis-confirms-buyout-of-namepros-domain-forum. 
  6. ↑ "Domain Industry Ghostbuster: Why Roger Collins Brought Afternic Back from the Afterlife". 2003-07-15. http://www.dnjournal.com/columns/coverstory6.htm. Retrieved 2014-08-29. 
  7. ↑ Simon (2008-07-01). "Exclusive interview with Ron James from NamePros". Archived from the original on 2014-09-03. https://web.archive.org/web/20140903134935/http://www.domainerincome.com/news/exclusive-interview-with-ron-james-from-namepros/. Retrieved 2014-08-28. 
  8. ↑ "Breaking: Bodis buys NamePros domain forum". 2012-01-11. https://domaingang.com/domain-news/breaking-bodis-buys-namepros-domain-forum/. 
  9. ↑ "Bodis confirms buyout of NamePros domain forum". 2012-01-19. https://web.archive.org/web/20140903022033/http://www.above.com/news/bodis-confirms-buyout-of-namepros-domain-forum/. 
  10. ↑ Raymond Hackney (2013-05-15). "The New Look Namepros". http://tldinvestors.com/2013/05/the-new-look-namepros.html. Retrieved 2014-08-29. 
  11. ↑ Raymond Hackney (2015-06-26). "Namepros Actually Changed Hands Two Years Ago – Edward Zeiden Provides Update". http://www.domaincrunch.com/namepros-actually-changed-hands-two-years-ago-edward-zeiden-provides-update/. Retrieved 2015-08-27. 
  12. ↑ "Do You Like the New NamePros and DNForum?". 2014-05-14. http://domainingtips.com/do-you-like-the-new-namepros-and-dnforum.html. Retrieved 2014-08-29. 
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 Raymond Hackney (2014-05-08). "Namepros Getting Set for Major Upgrade". http://tldinvestors.com/2014/05/namepros-getting-set-for-major-upgrade.html. Retrieved 2014-08-29. 
  14. ↑ Allemann, Andrew (2016-12-29). "#4 in 2016: The Death of DNForum". https://domainnamewire.com/2016/12/29/4-2016-death-dnforum/. 
  15. ↑ Allemann, Andrew (July 5, 2021). "Epik becomes latest owner of DNForum". https://domainnamewire.com/2021/07/05/epik-becomes-latest-owner-of-dnforum/. 
  16. ↑ Allemann, Andrew (September 9, 2020). "5 Resources to Become a Better Domain Investor". https://www.namecheap.com/blog/5-resources-better-domain-investor/. 
  17. ↑ "Account Levels". https://www.namepros.com/pages/account-levels/. 
  18. ↑ Elliot Silver (2013-09-09). "Eric Lyon Gives Update on NamePros High Priced Domain Sales Forum". http://www.domaininvesting.com/eric-lyon-gives-update-on-namepros-high-priced-domain-sales-forum/. Retrieved 2014-08-29. 
  19. ↑ "What Is Domain Investing? A Beginner’s Guide". November 19, 2021. https://www.namecheap.com/blog/domain-name-investing/. 
  20. ↑ Chef Patrick (2008-10-02). "NamePros Live Auction Tonight 10/2". http://www.chefpatrick.com/namepros-live-auction-tonight/. Retrieved 2014-08-29. 
  21. ↑ "Free landing pages by NamePros Parking". 2023-04-01. https://www.namepros.com/articles/free-landing-pages-by-namepros-parking.1168019/. 
  22. ↑ Allemann, Andrew (2024-04-10). "NamePros has a brilliant idea with its new “buy now” feature". https://domainnamewire.com/2024/04/10/namepros-has-a-brilliant-idea-with-its-new-buy-now-feature/. 
  23. ↑ Hackney, Raymond (2024-08-30). "Namepros introduces custom descriptions for their landers". https://www.thedomains.com/2024/08/30/namepros-introduces-custom-descriptions-for-their-landers/. 
  24. ↑ Leer, Elizabeth (December 2, 2019). "Domain investor resources to help you start, grow and manage your domaining venture". https://www.godaddy.com/resources/skills/domain-investor-resources. 
  25. ↑ C., Wanda (December 22, 2025). "Domain flipping: what it is and how to get started". https://www.hostinger.com/tutorials/domain-flipping. 
  26. ↑ "How To Sell a Domain". January 21, 2026. https://www.name.com/blog/how-to-sell-a-domain. 
  27. ↑ Porter, Jon (2018-12-12). "Google relents and transfers Duck.com to DuckDuckGo". The Verge. https://www.theverge.com/2018/12/12/18137369/duckduckgo-duck-com-google-acquisition. 
  28. ↑ Lomas, Natasha (2018-12-12). "Duck.com now points to DuckDuckGo, not Google". TechCrunch. https://techcrunch.com/2018/12/12/duck-com-now-points-to-duckduckgo-not-google/. 
  29. ↑ Jones, Rhett (2018-12-12). "Google Finally Gives Up the Duck". Gizmodo. https://gizmodo.com/google-finally-gives-up-the-duck-1831042194. 
  30. ↑ Turton, William (February 8, 2024). "The Far Right’s Favorite Web Host Has a Shadowy New Owner". Wired. https://www.wired.com/story/epik-domain-registrar-new-owner/. Retrieved 2026-01-24. 



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