Question about getting my domain back!

That's quite a tar pit that you're in.

How you got into it I don't really understand.

Even if you're "a few days late" paying for your domain, the place where you purchased/registered the domain is supposed to -- by law -- hold it for 30 more days. During that 30 days you have the opportunity to "buy back" the domain for the original fee PLUS an additional fee.

"What is the Domain Redemption Period?

The redemption period is a Domain Registry period of up to 30 days that occurs when a domain name is deleted after having expired unrenewed. Instead of just getting deleted and returning to the pool of domain names available for registration, the existing registry keeps a hold on the domain name in a what is technically called as REDEMPTION PERIOD. During this 30-day redemption period, the original domain registrant (owner of the domain) is allowed to retrieve the domain name from deletion by contacting their Registrar. This process costs an additional fee.

This extra 30-day period - redemption period - extends the time available to renew expired domain names by 30 days. However, all names that enter the redemption period are removed from the zone files in the global DNS, as a result, any Web site or email services associated with the domain name gone into redemption period will stop working and would appear offline.

Pending Delete Phase

In addition, after the 30-day redemption period there is a 5-day Pending Delete Phase. When a domain is in Pending Delete Phase, no one is allowed to renew the domain and it cannot be yet registered because its still not returned to the public domain pool. After the 5-day Pending Delete Phase the Registry will release the domain name back into the public pool of available domain names enabling fresh registration.

Renew domain before redemption phase

It is strongly recommended that you renew your domain registration in time before the domain name is placed in redemption lock because once its placed in redemption, the zone files of such domain gets automatically removed from the Domain Name Service and associated website and email etc services will cease to work. "

Sounds like a case of domain tasting.

Domain tasting - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

When you get this figured out, move your domain to Namecheap. They give you 27 days to get it back if it expires.

Yea something sounds fishy, I though the redemption period and other last resort chances added up to like 50 days before it finally dropped , having to pay a pretty penny to retrieve it in the last stages, though it's said some registrars shorten the ICANN specified timeline.

WOW! Thanks for all the prompt responses!
Yes, to be honest my registrar did offer it back to me for a couple hundred dollars at first. Didn't know I was the exclusive party who could renew the domain at that point...

But it's been long enough (probably a few weeks) since this guy has owned the domain that I have a feeling it's not domain tasting. I guess my questions are...

1) Can he really be using the domain if the DNS servers are as I described?
2) Why would someone own a domain but the for-sale thing still be listed as the DNS server?
3) What do you think my chances are of getting it back? As I said I bought it on Buydomains.com, a semi legitimate company, on Saturday night. But I understand that some of their domains are already sold and in that case they'd just issue you a refund.

Any help is appreciated! Feel free to query the WHOIS database if you want to see what I mean...

CHEERS!

Thanks again for the response! Yes I'm sorry, I meant "recently" in a pretty vague sense, but I guess a few months isn't really defined as "recent!"

But my real question is, the guy who's listed as the current owner isn't affiliated in any way with Intrust Domains, yet the DNS server says for-sale at intrustdomains dot com. Does that mean ownership hasn't completely passed to the new guy, and does it mean he can't be using the domain while those fake DNS servers are present?

First off, you weren't just a few days late on renewing it. Registrar on whois history shows Enom (Vexxhost thus is an Enom reseller) - you'd have had about 30 days or so after expiration to renew it, and another 45 days or so after that to redeem it (yes for more money but it's your name domain - would have been worth it).

I searched and it doesn't appear the name is for sale - even on intrustdomainsstore.com it's not listed anywhere. I would guess the nameservers are what they set any backordered or newly registered expired name to in efforts to try and sell the name quickly to the previous owner. To be honest I'm not really familiar with them. Unfortunately there's not much you can do if they're not willing to sell it. Even from a legal standpoint, if you filed a UDRP, you could show 2 of the 3 criteria but you'd need to show all 3. Bad faith could be difficult to prove, especially if he's telling you directly it's not for sale and there's nothing on it yet. Bear in mind UDRP isn't cheap either.

You could always call his possible bluff and say "if you ever would be interested in selling it, I can offer X." He likely spent at most $69 on it (cost of a backorder and I doubt that name would have been bidded up), so consider that. Chances are you'd need to make a $200 or $300 offer to possibly get him to budge. If he doesn't, then oh well...get a different extension and learn the lesson!

Are you Grant Hardy? What is the purpose of wanting to own that particular domain name?

Oh yes, I'm learning a rough lesson, that's for sure. I can't really make any excuses for not paying the money to renew the domain during the redemption period, and honestly at this point I don't know what was going through my head...

The domain was up on Buydomains.com as of two days ago, I bought it and they confirmed the sale went through. But honestly, I have a feeling it'll turn out to be a bogus sale and Buydomains will probably say it was sold a while ago and should've been removed from their portfolio. Anyone know if that happens a lot?

I've told this guy I'll pay whatever he asks (even several hundred dollars) but no go as of yet! Ah well, as you guys rightly said it's my mistake and life is about learning!

I'd be interested in anyone's opinion on the Buydomains thing and after that I'll leave this thread, and y'all, alone! Many thanks again!

Hi all,

I've been in touch with Buy Domains (the company who supposedly sold me back my domain, Granthardy.com). They told me that the domain was posted to their site on May 17th and that it takes ten days to process. They told me if there was an issue with the seller "you probably would have heard about it already" and not to worry. They said they sell a couple of hundred domain names per day and there are only one or two per month that can't be sold.

Yet near the beginning of August the registrant of Granthardy.com told me he's actively using the domain and therefore won't sell it to me. (Yet I still don't see how he can actively be using it since the DNS servers are invalid!)

Anyone have any idea/speculation about what's going on?

So Buydomains finally contacted me and told me that Intrust Domains didn't remove Granthardy.com from their list of domains for sale and that I wouldn't be able to get it. They advised me that I might be able to take legal action against Intrust Domains for not fulfilling their legal contract to sell the domain name to me. What do you guys think?

I've tried offering the guy money...but when you're dealing with a businessman (as this guy is) money really isn't much of a bargaining chip since he'll have lots already! :- But you live and learn.

Unfortunately, no - it's just my name. I will say though, that while the guy apparently bought it for some other Grant that he knows, he's still kept it under his name and he's still just squatting with it. Perhaps that would be enough to take action?

Give. It. Up. Someone else owns it and doesn't want to sell it back to you. End of story. You have no grounds for any kind of action - whether the person actually puts a website up using the domain is irrelevant. You can't prove any kind of malicious intent, and there probably isn't any.

You didn't renew it when you were supposed to, then you lost it. Learn the lesson in that and move on.

Whoa!

You could have just said "at this point there's really nothing you can do." No need to be snarky!

But your point is well taken.