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Is it just me - Or do domain names disappear when searching G.D??

by Theone24
19 replies
I was looking at whether I would be able to outrank certain sites and was about to check go daddy, just out of curiosity.

Then I remembered.

Once, I was searching through names and decided to wait until the next day. It was late, the first domain I had ever brought and I decided to leave it. The next day. The .com was taken, .org , all but two extensions if I remember correctly.

Is it just me, or has anyone else had the same problem?

I should have learnt but I think it has happened twice!

It won't happen again, whether it is just coincidence, or this is an actual problem.
#disappear #domain #names #searching
  • Profile picture of the author sbucciarel
    Banned
    I've heard the same things about Godaddy, but really, who can say. There's got to be thousands of people searching for domains at any given time so if you find one you want, buy it immediately. I use Namecheap to do my searching, but I still buy immediately if what I want is available.
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    • Profile picture of the author Theone24
      Hi sbucciarel,

      It is difficult to say for sure. However, I would not want to support a company I do not trust.

      Thanks for the recommendation as well.
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  • Profile picture of the author ~kev~
    Do a few google searches on this issue - this has been a long time problem. Because I remember reading some articles on this 4+ years ago.

    Some companies keep track of domain name searches, when a good name combo comes up, the company will buy the name, and then put it back up for sale for 2, 3 or sometimes 4 times the regular price.
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  • Profile picture of the author Kay King
    There are companies that do temp registrations of a domain when it's searched for and not purchased. Usually if you wait a week, it's available again but it's a pain.

    Easy to avoid by just buying the domain when you find it available instead of waiting.

    kay
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  • Profile picture of the author Theone24
    Namecheap may be the way forward, but your right, and the only way to be sure will be to buy them straight away.
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  • Profile picture of the author Digital Traffic
    Not to mention all those keyword research tools that send information out to third parties.
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  • Profile picture of the author CDarklock
    Here's my suspicion on this.

    It would be completely stupid for GoDaddy, as a matter of company policy and strategy, to register domains people were looking for.

    It also seems unlikely that ALL the lost domains people report have been registered by other domain buyers simply by chance.

    So my bet is that there are individual employees at GoDaddy who sell the whois logs to investors that look at what people are searching, and invest in the names that catch their eye.

    And I'd make an additional side bet that if these employees got caught, they'd lose their jobs.

    But I'm just throwing darts with the lights out, so I could be completely wrong.
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    • Profile picture of the author Kay King
      It's not the registrar doing it - it's a third party that is allowed by most registrars to do this and I believe it's just done with software.

      Someone asks about availability of a domain but doesn't buy it - the software immediately does a temp registration of the domain (the registration expires after a few days when the domain fee is not paid).

      If someone wants to buy the domain a day or two later, the registration is completed and the company sells the domain at a higher price. At least that's how it seems to work.

      It will never be a problem for you with any registrar as long as you register the domain when you find it. If you take a day to think about it - you will probably find it "taken"...if only temporarily.

      It's not new - has been done for a long time and is only a problem if you don't understand what's happening.

      kay
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    • Profile picture of the author MarkWrites
      Originally Posted by CDarklock View Post

      Here's my suspicion on this.

      It would be completely stupid for GoDaddy, as a matter of company policy and strategy, to register domains people were looking for.

      It also seems unlikely that ALL the lost domains people report have been registered by other domain buyers simply by chance.

      So my bet is that there are individual employees at GoDaddy who sell the whois logs to investors that look at what people are searching, and invest in the names that catch their eye.

      And I'd make an additional side bet that if these employees got caught, they'd lose their jobs.

      But I'm just throwing darts with the lights out, so I could be completely wrong.
      I'd say you're probably a lot closer to the truth than most theories I've seen on this subject.
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      • Profile picture of the author Etak
        I've often wondered this when I've been searching on godaddy for domain names. I've searched hundreds, but have never had one taken. This is great to know.
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        • Profile picture of the author lloyd02
          I used to think this, but there have been LOTS of times when I searched for a domain and it appeared to be available until I hit the pay button. On one occasion I found a domain at lunarpages I liked, came back the next day and it was gone. I was livid until a "whois" search showed it had been taken for a couple of years.

          lee
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          • Profile picture of the author Phil Craig
            From my experience, they all do it.

            If you find one you want you need to add it to your cart and check out before the cart expires. Or else, it won't be available for about 24 hours.

            Phil
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            • Profile picture of the author Mohammad Afaq
              Yesterday,

              I searched for a domain name and it was available.

              I thought I had struck gold and got excited. Then something happened and I put my laptop on sleep and went away. About 5 minutes later I searched for that domain again and it wasn't available.

              I typed it out in my browser and found out that the domain was parked on godaddy.

              It has been about 24 hours and that domain is still parked on godaddy and no content has been put on it.

              Now I will wait and see if any content shows up on that domain and if it doesn't happen then I'm pretty sure something is wrong.

              EDIT: Also, This is not the first time it has happened to me.
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              • Profile picture of the author marlonpowell
                I have heard about similar problems with Gdaddy - from that very day I stopped searching and registering domains through it
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    • Profile picture of the author Preben Frenning
      Originally Posted by CDarklock View Post

      Here's my suspicion on this.

      It would be completely stupid for GoDaddy, as a matter of company policy and strategy, to register domains people were looking for.

      It also seems unlikely that ALL the lost domains people report have been registered by other domain buyers simply by chance.

      So my bet is that there are individual employees at GoDaddy who sell the whois logs to investors that look at what people are searching, and invest in the names that catch their eye.

      And I'd make an additional side bet that if these employees got caught, they'd lose their jobs.

      But I'm just throwing darts with the lights out, so I could be completely wrong.
      I disagree with your theory. My perception about godaddy is nothing but bad.
      They are some of the cheapest you can find, and you get what you pay for.
      Then they spam you with offers, upsells, emails etc. (At least this was how I felt when I first tried it.)
      It's the same concept as Ryanair really. (If anyone here know them)
      It's the cheapest plane tickets you can find, but the locations are awful, everything extra costs money (I have heard rumors that they charge you for using the toilet on the plane!) etc.
      And since they're the cheapest, they can do whatever they want. (Just check their website:Cheap Flights to Europe with Ryanair - Cheap Flights from UK - it's amazingly ugly, but they still sell plenty of tickets)

      Godaddy is an established brand, and can play their own game.
      I never use them, and never will.

      As for registering domains, I always use namecheap. It's simple, cheap, and it works. I have also never encountered the problem adressed in this thread with namecheap FYI. Thumbs up for namecheap!
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      • Profile picture of the author searchenginepro
        I wanted to get my 2 cents in on this. I've been purchasing domains since 1997. While I don't have any hard evidence, I can say through years of looking at and researching domains for myself and clients, that GoDaddy and other registrars are looking at domain search queries on a daily basis.

        Just this week I was looking at a domain for a client, it wasn't a top tier or first pick for us, but made our top 10 list for a specific niche. As I was double checking my list this evening, I saw it was registered by a possible GD partner and listed as a premium domain for just under $4,000 - It will be interesting to see if it is available next week.

        I've looked at domains and went back to purchase them 10-15 minutes later after doing research to find they had been registered by another party.

        As others have mentioned on this thread, I would brainstorm on paper, but be ready when you start searching...If you find the domain(s) that you might want to use, grab them immediately. Minutes could make the difference between you obtaining the domain you want and loosing it.
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  • Profile picture of the author Thomas W
    Man this is so crazy,, i know you bumped a 2 year old thread, but this is some scary stuff.

    As matter fact I have actually built sites around a domain name that was available and didn't even register it. So far I have yet to get taken under me, but this is something i should really be mindful of
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