Every now and then I will take note of especially good or bad domain name services by awarding the good ones a “Hero” and the bad ones a “Goat.”

Read on for today’s Heroes and Goats:

Hero: NameJet.com

They’ve worked out most of the bugs, though a few remain. Nevertheless, I appreciate the quality of the domain names being offered, and the atmosphere has not yet become as competitive and heated up as Snapnames. Also, every day NameJet sends me lists of their most active backorders, 6 characters and under, and 7 to 9 characters. Some of the domains on today’s most active backorders list are:

• afad.com
• jokeathon.com
• programme.com
• sunbay.net
• videochat.org<

Goat: Sedo.com

I recently sold installer.mobi at Sedo’s premium dot mobi auction. Two weeks later, the buyer has still not made payment. Sedo claims they are still attempting to secure payment from the buyer.

What will Sedo do if the buyer defaults? Nothing.

Sedo will not suspend the buyer’s parking account (if he has one), they will not send the bill to a collection service, and since they do not require any pre-paid deposit to bid, they cannot even award me a deposit. There are absolutely no repercussions for failing to pay on a winning bid at Sedo, and I find this maddening.

Certainly there are things about Sedo that I like, but this inability to enforce payment on auctions turns the whole process into a joke and wastes everyone’s time. Why Sedo does not create a sensible policy on this matter, such as requiring a deposit to bid, or banning non-paying bidders from future auctions, is a mystery to me.

As far as the non-paying bidders themselves, they have no integrity. Just because there are no consequences to non-payment does not make it acceptable. Let’s hold ourselves to a higher standard. This: $ – is nice, but a clean conscience and a sense of honor are priceless.