Domain name I found was registered a day later...

[AlTheGr8]

I just wanted to get warriors' opinion on this interesting thing that just happened to me. Last week I found a great domain name that was available. I was surprised that a name like that was still available. For some stupid reason (I cannot stop kicking myself) I didn't register it right away and just decided to do it today. To my surprise it was no longer available. It was registered a few days ago, next day after I found it. I just did a little research on the guy who registered it. It looks like he owns over 20,000 domains. He has a Linked-In profile where he says he owns an "online advertising agency". The Web site of his "agency" lists different online services they offer, mostly marketing, both online and offline.
The only site I used to check the domain availability was GoDaddy. I also tried putting it in my browser address box. How could he possibly sniff my domain??? I am thinking he could be affiliated with GoDaddy or work for some ISP and monitor DNS lookup failures. I googled for the guy's name and "GoDaddy", his company name and "GoDaddy" but couldn't find anything useful. I know that GoDaddy uses some black hat techniques for registering expiring names but not new domains like this. Any thoughts?

[Imran Naseem]

Which domain name was it? Was it for a celebrity?

[Curt Dillion]

I know someone who found three domains at Godaddy that were available. He left the site and came back half an hour later to find that all three had been registered. That sounds crooked to me.

[Ernie Lonardo]

Yeah its obvious people use software that scans what domains people are searching for, and then they register the domains themselves.

My friend lost a domain like that too, but his was registered only HOURS after he searched for it.

[Steven Carl Kelly]

I use only GoDaddy to register my domains. I once found a tremendous domain name which later sold for a pretty decent sum. Anyway, I failed to register it when I found it (don't ask me why, it was a pretty stupid reason) and then came back sometime later (probably a week or ten days) and it was still available.

I registered it, then sold it for a decent price.

[Andrew Maule]

Lesson learned here? If it's good, buy it immediately, I'd say.

[Anthony Smith]

I've heard some things about that too. I personally tried to get JVBrokers.com, which was open, then a moment later after doing some other finagling, it was taken. Had to go with JV-Brokers.com instead. Definitely sounds a little fishy to me now that i hear similar occurrences.

[AlTheGr8]

Originally Posted by Imran Naseem

Which domain name was it? Was it for a celebrity?

No, the domain wasn't celebrity - related. It was technology related. I was thinking of using it for my blog.

[flnz400]

This happens ALL the time... never search for a domain on a registrar unless you intend on purchasing.

Very often, even Godaddy, will monitor search results, and snag a name that has had a few hits, and throw it into the premium auctions. Extra $$$? You bet! How's that for ROI.

[danielmcclure]

I've heard rumours of this happening. Once I was waiting for a domain to expire and but didn't backorder and forgot about it. About a week later somebody actually sent me an email offering the domain at a premium. I did have a similar address so perhaps that was their source of reasoning.

[AlTheGr8]

Originally Posted by Ernie Lonardo

Yeah its obvious people use software that scans what domains people are searching for, and then they register the domains themselves.

The software could be used to scan something. In this case, there's nothing to scan. This information should have been only available to me, GoDaddy and Internet service providers along the route. "Fishy" is the right word to describe it.

[Melkor]

Network Solutions is (in)famous for doing this kind of front running though there are other registrars (RegisterFly, anyone?) who engaged in even more egregious examples of domainjacking.

[Kay King]

This is done on many domain registrars - companies make a good living running software apps that temporarily registers any domain someone has searched for.

It's simple to avoid - when you find a domain you want, buy it. If you aren't sure what domain you want - go to a site like nameboy and search for available domains with your keywords to find what you want (this doesn't identify your choice - just shows you the choices). Once you find it, go to your registrar and register it right then.

Chances are if you check next week the domain will again be available if you really want that one.

kay

[geosmithny]

I've had this happen as well.Even fishier, I once had name that had been
registered the very day before I looked it up.Great,now they're port sniffing
our brains:>(

[Bruce Wedding]

One more reason to use NameCheap.com. I've never had that happen and I search and buy domains all the time.

[AverageGuy]

I can't remember where I heared this:

domain registration companies, such as godaddy, they can 'hold' (not sure whether it is the 'right' word) the domain for 10 days or so without paying anything. That's why when we check domain availability, if we did not register it, they may 'registe' it, and try to sell it in 10 days. If it is not sold, then, chances are the domain name will be 'available' again.



david

[Curt Dillion]

I've tested NameCheap this way, and it's not being done there. When I discovered that it happened at GoDaddy, I quit using them.

[Kat Bartone]

Hi Al,

I've had the same experience with GoDaddy. After a bit of research, I stumbled upon some info that indicated that this sort of thing happens there a lot.

Since then I've been using NameCheap. I've had no further problems.

I haven't yet transferred all of my domains away from GoDaddy yet, but working on it.

Good luck,

- Kat

[Sonomacats]

This kind of thing has been going on for ages. When I had it happen to me, I made a couple of rules.

Before going to NameCheap (or whoever) to check availability, list the domain names in order of preference so that if your first choice is already taken, you can snag the next one or the next one that's available.

BUY IT NOW! Don't put it off for any reason!

If you don't have the money right now, don't go online to see if it's available. Wait until you have the funds.

If you can't decide between 2 good ones, buy both of them. You can always do something with the one you don't use (like sell it).

If you always operate as if some sneak is watching over your shoulder, you won't get ambushed and you're more likely to get what you want.

I once heard a great line and I'm sure someone knows where it came from (cause I don't remember): Just because you're paranoid, doesn't mean someone isn't out to get you.

If you operate that way online, you're less likely to get screwed. It's not a great way to look at things, but it does save you a lot of headaches (kind of like virtual virus protection)

Anyway, my condolences. Hopefully you were able to get a good variation on the name anyway.

[Adam Kenzington]

My mom isn't very tech-savy. She wanted me to go to Godaddy and register her name (unusual name, rare last name) so she could have an e-mail address/domain with her name.

I looked and found it available. I called her to tell her. She told me to register it. 15 minutes elasped from the time I searched and my going to purchase. The name was taken. 5 day later it was available again.

Somebody's playing games, here.

[davezan]

Originally Posted by Adam Kenzington

My mom isn't very tech-savy. She wanted me to go to Godaddy and register her name (unusual name, rare last name) so she could have an e-mail address/domain with her name.

I looked and found it available. I called her to tell her. She told me to register it. 15 minutes elasped from the time I searched and my going to purchase. The name was taken. 5 day later it was available again.

Somebody's playing games, here.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Domain_tasting

FYI, folks, Network Solutions' ex-CEO was quoted in Infoworld they'll stop the
original practice of temporarily registering any domain name searched in their
site but not taken on the spot. It appears they've kept their word, as I have
not seen them register any domain name I search on their site these past few
weeks. (unless I missed something...)

One thing I'm rather perplexed here, though, is why people think an available
domain name would remain that way by the time you finally do get around to
registering it. A car dealer or a bookstore can't guarantee the Toyota model
or the last book copy you want will still be there if you can't buy either on the
spot, so why do people expect available domain names to stay available until
they get to it?

OTOH, registrars like Go Daddy have confirmed of receiving lots of complaints
from people being beaten to their desired registrations by even a few seconds
or so. They've already complained about it, one of ICANN's committees have
decided on a measure to address this, and they recently announced a report
that that measure appears to be working:

ICANN | AGP Deletes Down by 84%

Time will tell, though, if it'll indeed cut down domain tasting, kiting, essentially
this problem being discussed here. Until then, and as others have said, do be
ready to register the domain name on the spot.

[oortcloud]

mind blowing stuff and confirms alot of suspicions.

So, regarding the original poster's situation, if godaddy
did jack his domain they couldnt register it in the name
of godaddy, that would be too obvious. So I guess they
use this other dudes name. Which may have a deal with
godaddy, or it might be an employee of godaddy or might be
be a friend of an employee of godaddy. So this might be
sanctioned by godaddy or might be some rogue employees
running scripts on the system.
Reminds me of the dude who hacked into a online poker
system and could see everyones cards and won everytime.
It was a system hack, so the online poker company didnt
know. So godaddy might or might not know.

[Eric Stanley]

DEFINITELY something going on. This has happened to me sometimes as early as 30 min.. POOF & Gone. Every time I search for a domain, if its available, I buy it no matter what. It's gotta be scripts searching for what people are searching for. I've searched for some really niche domains and there is no way someone else would have registered that quickly by 'coincidence'

[Monetize]

This is old news. Keep up with current events and next time you
decide upon or come across a snazzy domain name be prepared
to register it right NOW - not five minutes later or tomorrow.

[JustVisiting]

Yep
It's happened to me. Could be sheer coincidence of course, but I doubt it.
Found a great domain, tried the following day to register it only to find it was no longer available.

[SpudDS]

I have never had it happen with name.com.
Lots of times i search for domains on there and then when i have decided on which ones i want go back days later and they are always still available

[Simon Johnson]

This sort of thing happens quite a lot. It could be a variety of things:

* Registrar looking at what their users are searching for
* Browser plug-in spying on you.
* Proxy information from your ISP
* Clickstream data - your ISP selling your data

The bottom line is that if you see a name that's available, register it on the spot.

Simon

[BizBooks]

google for "domain tasting".

[twistedpixel]

Read "The Domain Game" if you want a real look into the practices of the domain market.

It's a real eye-opener. Funny thing is, The book portrays the owner of GoDaddy as the one trying to stop the questionable practices among registrars.

It also hinted that "domain tasting" is no longer allowed due to it's massive abuse.

[MaryT]

there are sniffer program that can capture your queries, if they are not encrypted the request appear in plain text

so probably some domainers use these software

i don't think Godaddy had anything related to the people who snippe these domain names

Mary

[AlTheGr8]

Originally Posted by MaryT

there are sniffer program that can capture your queries, if they are not encrypted the request appear in plain text

so probably some domainers use these software

i don't think Godaddy had anything related to the people who snippe these domain names

Mary

My Internet traffic could be sniffed by my system administrator while I am at work (which I am sure he's not doing) or by Internet service providers. This is impossible to do for some random domainer. At this point I am pretty sure GoDaddy is involved and I am not usually paranoid like that.

[Dave Ward]

Stealing Domain Name Research is common in the domain business.

Top Tips:

Avoid address bar guessing.
Avoid search engines that don’t make a billion dollars a year in revenue. Many search companies sell their NXD data.
Avoid browser plug-ins that send data back to the Internet.
Go directly to trusted registrars and whois companies.
My tip:
If you want to search for a domain name go to domaintools.com and search the whois to see if it is free. They do not allow stealing domain name research. but many do.
Go Daddy claim they do not allow this practice, but Go Daddy have been exposed recently for doing things they claim they don't. I reg names at Go Daddy but I don't ever search there first.

[Shafiq Kamal]

Same happened to me with Godaddy.

[DonDavis]

I've had this happen at GoDaddy a few times. I have used NameCheap for quite some time and haven't ran into this. But any more I don't take a chance. If I want it I snag it and don't wait around.

[Tsnyder]

Look... all these conspiracy theories are fine but it all really
boils down to the fact that you couldn't make a decision on the
spot so someone else did... plain and simple.

As has already been said many times... if you want the domain
be prepared to act immediately... problem solved.

Tsnyder

[WebSlicers]

It happened to me, too. I searched for the availabilty domain that our client wanted and it was available. I called our client to inform him about it and said we could register it for him. Five minutes later, it was already registered so we had to come up with another domain that was similar to the original domain he wanted and registered it right away. Two days later, the domain we originally wanted was available again so we registered it as well. Our client ended up having two domain names. And, yeah, we searched from GoDaddy, too.

[Platinum Matt]

Godaddy suck. I wouldn't put it past them at all if they had something directly to do with it.

[Jenni Mac]

Psychic Whois

That's what I always use when searching and I never have any problems whether I leave it a few days or buy straightaway!

[tommygadget]

Whenever a domain name expires out of my GoDaddy account, I move it to namecheap. I have at least $100 in that account at all times. When inspiration strikes, I register all domains right then and there. I have over 200 now and counting. Some day, I'll prune the tree

TomG.

[Anthony Smith]

Originally Posted by Platinum Matt

Godaddy suck. I wouldn't put it past them at all if they had something directly to do with it.

What domain registry provider would you recommend then?

[mm365]

I'm not surprised one bit that GoDaddy would do something like this.

I used to use GoDaddy, however there was a technical problem (their end) and they ended up charging me $199 instead of $77. I emailed them, disputed the case with Paypal (they couldn't help me as it was for a service) so I decided to never use GoDaddy again.

It was an expensive lesson to learn.

[IMChick]

This is called front running, and it's done quite a bit.

This happened to me on my FIRST domain purchase--within 15 minutes of my finding the domain! Just awful to feel like someone is pulling a fast one on you. What a heartbreak. Here's how I got around it:

1. Use goDaddy only if you are typing, clicking 'accept' and buying that domain right away. They will register the domain (temporarily for 5 day, or permanently). Helps the bottom line to sell the same thing back to you for more $$ a few hours later.

2. use google or nameboy or whois or domaintools (a big third party) for research.

3. only to onto the registrar site with a short list of your choices, and be prepared to purchase them on the spot.

4. Grab the domain, don't hesitate, get both or all three if they're similar and you can't decide. You can always develop or sell or abandon them later if it doesn't work out.

5. Consider reading the terms of service of the domain registrar carefully--GoDaddy can actually 'park' and use YOUR registered domains for their purposes.

Hope this helps--with my short list and credit card in hand I haven't had any problems.

[AlTheGr8]

Thank you everybody for your feedback. I heard that Network Solutions was doing something similar - once you find an available domain on their site they were "locking" it so it could only be purchased on their site. I knew that GoDaddy was doing a few things that weren't exactly ethical but this should almost be illegal...
Thanks again to everybody, I've learned my lesson

[brucerby]

Since November I have had this happen at least twice. Very frustrating.
I wasn't aware there was a way GoDaddy could tell what names you searched?
Live and learn.
______
Bruce

[Texas_Guns]

The above is the EXACT reason why I stopped
using GoDaddy awhile back and moved to
NameCheap as well.

Quite a little back-end secret business GoDaddy
has there...

[Leanne King]

Wow! I thought someone was mind tapping me I found a great keyword domain name at GoDaddy couldn't believe it was available! Grabbed a coffee - came back and it was gone .

Lesson should be buy at the same time and perhaps don't use GoDaddy for your research.

Leanne

[BizBooks]

I use

Instant Domain Search?Domain Name Search Tool

it gives you live results. they have a secure version too- but I have never had a problem with them snapping up a domain, even after several days.....

try them- its hard to explain in a few words-- it seraches all possibilities as you type.

[Derek S]

This happened with me just last week using namecheap.com

it seriously sucks and gives you that pissed off sinking feeling when you miss out on a kick butt domain name.

pretty much all you can do is grab it right away. I always search NameCheap in retailmenot.com to get the latest coupon code first.

crazy to know this happens often

[TimGross]

I've never had a problem when using Dotster to search/register names.

Not sure why people seem to continue using Godaddy to research when there's so much anecdotal evidence that there's an issue.

[AlTheGr8]

Originally Posted by money2spare

This place is too funny, You people and all your domain conspiracy theories need to give it a rest. You have absolute no proof.

Originally Posted by money2spare

But for you to slander a companies name for your failure to act is ridiculous.

Originally Posted by money2spare

I will not and cannot believe such stories.

Then maybe you should to read this...

GoDaddy Moves To Close Shady Standard Tactics Subsidiary

It looks like the "conspiracy theories" are more than theories. Read the comments on that post too...