Dynadot API Opened

I just received an email from Todd Han that Dynadot.com has now opened up it’s API to all users. This is great news for Dynadot customers who enjoy drop catching domains but were turned off by the $500 spending / pre payment. Now any Dynadot customer can tap right into the API system without having a bulk account.

In the past Dynadot required API users to prefund their accounts with $500 or spend $500 every year to qualify for a bulk account. The API was then enabled for bulk accounts and you are able to hook into the API system for catching domains & managing your domains.

For the past couple weeks, I have noticed a huge increase in speed with Dynadot’s API. It went from a 4-5 second pause between each try to less than one second per try. Sometimes, the API seems so fast, I swear it’s cramming 2 tries per second. I’ve never seen it operate so fast & this leads me to believe that Dynadot.com has acquired additional registrar connections or has accredideted additional registrar(s).

Dynadot.com’s API has always been my favorite. It’s been the easiest to use, it’s well documented & it actually works. Unlike other API’s like Moniker where you have to basically beg & beg for API access, Dynadot works for it’s customers. Out of all the drop catching software I’ve sold, the Dynadot tool is the one I’ve sold the most of.

It’s also nice for the company to have a president that cares. Todd Han & I have talked on the phone in the past. Todd is a good guy to work with and his concerns are for all his customers equally. Todd was very open to the software I create & how to make it easier for Dynadot’s customers to put the API system to use.

For those of you who are not aware, Dynadot.com’s API system allows users to create their own programs for registering domain names instantly. The API system ties into the live registry connections at verisign. While pending delete domains expire from the registry, various users & other registrars utilize these realtime connections to attempt to register the domains they’d like to own.

While Dynadot’s API may not compete with Snapnames & the like for the big money drops, it does work exceptionally well for low to medium grade domains. Alot of domains slip through the cracks daily & the API will surely beat out the hand reggers everytime. Dynadot’s speed increase should prove a success against other registrar API’s and drop catchers.

I will run some tests on the API and compare the speed difference. Off the bat, the API was attempting up to 10 domain registration attempts every 60 seconds. Now I am closer to 40 or more registration attempts every 60 seconds. This speed increase should yield more captured domains that I chase.

Dynadot’s API Offers the following commands to the best of my knowledge:

- Domain Registration

- Delete Domain

- Set Nameservers

- Check Availability

- IDN Domain Support

If you are looking for drop catching software which integrates with Dynadot.com’s API, you should visit my website: http://www.dropking.com. DropKing.com offers software which is used by many daily. I’ve receieved great feedback from the dropking tools & invite you to give them a try.

To my delight, I received an email yesterday from someone who uses my desktop drop catching software daily. In an attempt to secure a great .com pending delete domain, he considered backordering at Snapnames – but went with a GoDaddy backorder.

Just in case, he decided to use my Dynadot API drop catching software. About 15 minutes into the drop, he noticed a success message in the drop catching window. He quickly logged on to Dynadot.com & sure enough, my drop catching technology caught the name for him at reg fee of $7.75.

It’s always great to hear success stories. I am willing to bet the domain was backordered at snapnames also. This is not the first time one of my drop catchers has beat the big backorder companies. When a domain hit’s “Pending Delete” it’s a free for all registrars.

Attached is a screenshot of my tool in action. I have omitted the domain, however if you have any questions – the winner of the domain is willing to share about his successful capture here.

splattered.com
flammables.net
suffixes.net
conceptualist.net
compensation.us
foaming.us
fuels.us
buckets.us

As you can imagine, the best ones were taken by backorders. I did however catch 3 of the drops. Here’s what I grabbed:

flammables.net
suffixes.net
foaming.us

These will be warehoused & auctioned off at DNKO at a later date. I am not dissapointed with what I was able to catch. I admit there were others I liked, but I wanted to see what I could grab without being greedy about it.

Drop catching is a funny business. It’s about 1% in your drop lists & list order & 99% luck. You never know what you can or can’t land until you try.

What suprises me is that I made an upgrade to my Dynadot API drop catcher. It basically scooped up all the domains I caught into one account. I have high hopes for the upgrade I made & I will be investing in more Dynadot bulk accounts.

This is one of the first times I have succeeded at capturing dictionary word .net’s. I also noticed that the domain: conceptualist.net was also caught at Dynadot.com Perhaps with my own drop catcher script that I sell. This is encouraging news for me to increase the quality level of what I chase & what I can grab.

We’ll see what tomorrow brings.

Hello,

I talked to the engineer that maintains the API. Only the search command is supported for uk domains. The register command is not supported. The same goes for EU domains. I’ll add this info to our help section.

Best Regards,
Dynadot Staff

—————————— After further interrogation:

Hello,

Unfortunately, it won’t be added any time soon. Each .co.uk registration requires a registrant, reg type, and possible company number. Currently, the API doesn’t handle those additional parameters for registrations. I will add the request to our feature request list.

Best Regards,
Dynadot Staff

So for all of you .co.uk expired domains drop catchers.. I guess it’s a “no go” to try & utilize the Dynadot API for catching expired .co.uk domain drops! Doh..! Bad news for Dynadot, my favorite registrar.

I hope they change it soon, the expired domain drop market is getting bigger by the day!