The fee is the smallest number in any GoDaddy Auctions purchase. All GoDaddy pages below were checked on 27 October 2026, with prices in USD as shown to a US visitor. If you are still comparing venues, our best domain marketplace guide sets GoDaddy against the alternatives.
What membership costs and what it gets you
The GoDaddy Auctions page shows “Become a member today $4.99 /yr”. Its FAQ says you will “need to purchase a GoDaddy Auctions® membership … before you can participate in an auction”, and that it is bought “for a year”. GoDaddy’s help page on bidding on GoDaddy Auctions domains is more precise: “You’ll need a GoDaddy Auctions® membership to place bids on expired domains and valued priced domains.” It also says “A GoDaddy Auctions® membership isn’t required for submitting offers.”
Joining does not give you an unlimited bidding account. GoDaddy’s bidder verification help says bidding “can start immediately”, but you will be “limited to placing 2 bids at any given time or placing US$1500 total in bids”. To go beyond that, you verify with a government photo ID, a photo of you holding it, and an address document “issued within the last 90 days”. Verification is not needed if you only buy with “buy now” or “make offer” below the US$1,500 limit.
Members also get a watch list showing “the current price, the asking price, the number of bids placed on domains, and the auction end time”, SMS alerts (“only available in the US”), and expiry API access “for all Auctions members” (GoDaddy blog, August 2026). If you already pay for Discount Domain Club Domain Pro, the Auctions membership is included, and it renews “at $0 as long as your Domain Pro membership stays active”.
On renewal of a standalone membership, GoDaddy’s pages say nothing specific. Many GoDaddy products renew automatically by default, so check Renewals and Billing, then Manage Subscriptions, after you join.
One thing membership no longer does is let you sell. From 29 April 2024 GoDaddy stopped accepting new member-to-member listings, “This includes 7-day public auctions, Buy it Now listings and Offer/Counteroffer listings.” Sellers now go through Afternic; how to list a domain for sale covers that route.
Expired auctions vs closeouts
GoDaddy’s listing-types help splits listings into offer-style (Offer/Counter-Offer, with or without Buy Now) and bid-style: Value Priced Auctions, Expired Auctions and Expired Closeout Domains. Value Priced names are listed “when the previous domain owner no longer owns the domain”, open at a price from “GoDaddy’s valuation process” and run for 15 days.
Expired names are “automatically entered into auction 26 days after expiration” and the auction lasts 10 days. A name with no bids moves to closeout. GoDaddy describes closeouts as domains “with Buy Now prices as low as $5.00 USD”, lasting 5 days, working “as a reverse auction where the price decreases daily”. GoDaddy’s expired-domain timeline puts the Final Closeout at 37 days after expiration, and notes that “The current registrant can still manually renew the domain until it’s purchased by someone else.”
On timing, GoDaddy’s two sources describe different moments, so keep them apart. The help timeline says that at 43 days after expiration “All auctions end. If there was a winning bid, the winner is assigned as the registrant.” The Auctions Membership Agreement says change of ownership “will not be completed until forty-five (45) days after the original date of expiration”.
A closeout is “the last chance to capture expired domains for just the closeout fee plus renewal or transfer fee”. GoDaddy publishes no daily price schedule for closeouts on its current pages, so treat any you see quoted elsewhere with care. How proxy bids, increments and reclaims work is covered in how domain auctions work.
What you actually pay when you win
The Membership Agreement (last revised 29 August 2025) says expired names “must be renewed upon purchase”. You owe “the successful bid amount plus the one (1) year renewal or transfer fee (from the end of the domain name’s previous registration period), plus ICANN fee, if applicable” within 48 hours of the auction closing. After that, GoDaddy charges your payment method on file. Note that the added year runs from the old expiry date, not from the day you buy, so it is not a free year.
GoDaddy does not publish the exact renewal amount added to a win. The table uses its standard listed .com renewal price as a reference point only.
| Cost item | Amount or rule (checked 27 October 2026) | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Membership | $4.99 a year | GoDaddy Auctions page |
| Winning bid | Your bid; closeouts from $5.00 | Help, listing types |
| Renewal or transfer fee | One year, added to the bid, running from the previous expiry date | Membership Agreement s.6 |
| .com renewal for reference | $22.99 a year, GoDaddy’s standard listed price (excludes taxes and ICANN fees) | GoDaddy .com domains page |
| ICANN fee | Added if applicable | Membership Agreement s.6 |
| Payment deadline | 48 hours, then charged automatically | Agreement s.6; Help, after an auction ends |
| Accepted offer | 30 days to pay | Help, after an auction ends |
| Transfer to another registrar | Locked for 60 days after change of ownership | Membership Agreement s.7 |
If GoDaddy cannot collect payment for an expired win, “you’ll forfeit any rights to the domain and your auctions membership will be suspended.” Each bid is “a binding contract”, so do not bid on names you have not checked. Delivery is typically “within 15 days of receiving payment”, and the 60-day lock means you cannot move the name to another registrar straight away.
GoDaddy is not holding your money in escrow: its agreement says it is “not acting as a trustee, fiduciary, or escrow agent”. Traffic and valuation figures on listings are “for informational purposes only”. For a fuller tally of what expired names cost across venues, see expired domain price.
When membership is not worth it
If you only make offers on listed names, you do not need it. GoDaddy says so directly, and an accepted offer’s price “won’t exceed your maximum offer amount plus the one-year renewal fee, if applicable”. Names held at another registrar may add a transfer fee.
If you want one specific aged name rather than a steady flow of expiring ones, the membership adds little. Aged names sold by their owners are compared in aged domain marketplace.
Check a name before you bid
Because bids bind you and traffic figures are informational, do your own checks first. Our Expired Domain Finder lists aged and expired domains, scored and explained, so you can shortlist names before they reach auction. The Domain Spam History Checker scans a domain’s archived pages for casino, pharma, adult and hacked-site spam, with the archived pages linked as evidence.
The other route is buying an aged name that is already listed with its history shown. The SERPHeroes marketplace is smaller than GoDaddy Auctions. Each listing shows the registry age, an archive spam scan and whether ownership was verified. Where a listing has an Ahrefs traffic estimate, the page shows it; treat it as an estimate and check the rest yourself. Buyers pay no SERPHeroes fee and check out through Escrow.com, or pay SERPHeroes directly by a method arranged with the team, and the seller is paid only after the transfer is confirmed.
Frequently asked questions
How much is a GoDaddy Auctions membership?
$4.99 a year in USD, as shown on the GoDaddy Auctions page on 27 October 2026. It is included at no charge with Discount Domain Club Domain Pro.
Do I need membership to make an offer?
No. GoDaddy says membership “isn’t required for submitting offers”. You need it to bid on expired and value-priced auctions.
Can I sell my own domains at GoDaddy Auctions?
Not any more. New member-to-member listings stopped on 29 April 2024. GoDaddy now points sellers to Afternic.
What happens if I win and do not pay?
After 48 hours GoDaddy charges your payment method on file. If it cannot collect, you lose the domain and your membership is suspended.
The takeaway At $4.99 a year, membership is worth it if you bid on expiring names, and pointless if you only make offers. Budget for the bid plus renewal, check every name first, or browse aged domains with checked history on the SERPHeroes marketplace.
