Has anyone had a domain named robbed using Godaddy?

by 39 replies
47
I'm on Godaddy registering a domain name. I find one I like, I think it over for like 30 seconds to perhaps 1 min tops. Then I decide to register it. Even there express checkout is very long so I go threw that which takes about 30 seconds. By that time they say the domain has been bought by someone else.

Now after having this happen like 3 times I finally was like "SCREW THIS", something is up! My only guess is some kind of bot they might have analysing the keywords you search up. And if it's a good 2 word domain and .com they immediately register it before you can. That's my best guess. Maybe I'm out to lunch, who knows. But when I asked them about what was going on they never replied.

So I'm just wondering if anyone else has had this happen. Using namecheap I've never had that same problem since. :confused:
#main internet marketing discussion forum #domain #godaddy #named #robbed
  • Lol it happened to me many years ago, I found a 3 character domain with a number in it. I got up to answer the phone and when I got back, someone where they are headquartered registered the domain.

    I dropped Godaddy that day and moved all my domains to namecheap.
  • Yes of course. GoDaddy is basically a criminal organization, are they not?
    • [2] replies

    • Of course not, it's not illegal to register domains before someone else does, it's just a little sleazy for a registrar to do it while your getting ready to register it
      • [1] reply
    • Banned
      Actually, they're a domain registrar and host. There's nothing criminal about registering a domain name. You snooze, you lose.

      To address the OP, there's plenty of reports of this happening when you search for domains at Godaddy. I would never search for them using Godaddy. Doesn't happen with Namecheap. OP, you should ditch that Godaddy hosting. Try hostgator. Godaddy is not known for great hosting. Just the opposite.
      • [ 1 ] Thanks
      • [1] reply
  • I've tested dozens of hosting companies over the years and GoDaddy is one of the worst ones of them all. I would never use them for anything, especially for registering domain names or hosting a website.

    I contend to this day that no serious marketer who wants to pull in a high 6 figure or 7 or even 8 figure annual revenue stream would ever consider using them as a hosting solution or even as a registar.

    Their commercials appeal to the lowest common denominator (male marketers who are more interested in hot women wearing Godaddy gear than building a real business on a solid platform) and I find their Terms Of Service and Use to be a huge negative towards marketers.

    Stay away from Godaddy, they are fine for people who want to put up personal blogs, personal websites, but they suck for ecommerce. Your better off with places like Host Gator, Blue Host, or beginner platforms like Blue Domino.

    RoD
    • [ 6 ] Thanks
  • It's just sad cuz I had: ...... doctorsshowcase.com or else it was doctorshowcase.com and someone registered it seconds before I was done checking out. Look it up it was like 2 month ago approximately the domain was registered. (which was when I left them) Which I thought was so suspicious using Godaddy. YOu have to be careful. Then when I talked to them they didn't answer as to what happened, and then I talked to them later and they were like "oh I see your buying your domains elsewhere now".... I didn't say anything but I was thinking .... "you think?????". I'm still with them for hosting as they have some packages but for domain rentals no way. it's such a fraud. But what do you know I got a good 2 word .com domain this morning for 10 bucks!
  • [DELETED]
  • ROFL

    Watch it, I heard some horror stories about their hosting also.

    Your best bet is to just stay away from them
    • [1] reply
    • Not really robbed.

      I had a client that owed me money so I wouldn't release the domain name until they paid.

      They went through a process that allowed them to release the domain name without my permission.

      I spoke to godaddy all along the way and they assured me that the domain name could not be taken away.

      No hard feelings with GoDaddy, it's not their process. Apparently it's a process above GoDaddy like with ICANN or something.
  • I've bought hundreds of domains and have hosting with GoDaddy and have never experienced any issues.
    • [ 1 ] Thanks
    • [1] reply
    • This has been my experience as well. I've purchased probably over 500 domains over the years. Never once ran into this.
      • [1] reply
  • Yeah this happened to me too one time. You think you have found an amazing domain name until you realised it's already taken before you can finish the checkout. Really frustrating but what can you do...
    This only happened with expired domains up for grabs, never new domains i came up with..
    • [1] reply
    • It is NOT robbery in any way - it's almost always a third-party temporary registration on a domain name that was searched for but not reserved.

      YOU could have registered the domain. You found it - it was available - you didn't make the decision to register it. You left the site instead. It's when you leave the registrar's site that the domains you looked up are temp registered.

      You had no claim on the domain - and it was your choice. Software for a third party company then registers that domain in the hope you will come back and end up paying more for it.

      If you don't search for it or look it up anywhere for about 7-10 days....the domain will almost always be available again. It's a temporary registration and godaddy is one of the worst for this.

      The best way to register a domain is to have short list of potential domain names READY before you look for a domain. You can use nameboy or similar site to find available domains without revealing what one you want.

      The moment you find a domain that works - register it. Don't leave to think about it or wait till tomorrow - stake your claim. Avoiding this problem is that simple.

      kay
  • I began using Namecheap when someone told me of the aforementioned practice at Godaddy.

    (Not just for that reason but I transferred away from them the one domain I had registered there.)

    Truth to tell I noted a domain I fancied -obviously not at Godaddy but at a different domain registrar - and the .co.uk extension was available when I looked. I came back a minute or two later and it was unavailable.

    So instead I registered an alternate domain I liked the look of. Well, well, well... the domain that I'd had my sights on with the .co.uk extension became available again. Interesting. I assure you it's just as I'm saying. These days I ALWAYS check availability first at domaintools.com. Nowhere else.
  • Not sure why people still use GoDaddy, after reading all the horror stories about them.

    They from Privacy issues to slamming you with upsells.

    People just use Namecheap.
    • [2] replies
    • The Godaddy upsells are the worst. I have all my domains registered with Namecheap. They have switch to namecheap sales every so often and I slowly moved all of my domains over to Namecheap.
    • 500 domains, a decade of hosting with them, and not one problem, that's why...
      • [1] reply
  • It happened to me a long time ago with naps.com (it is still on their auctions)
  • No, but I have heard of it! I was advised to go somewhere else at some point- Doster- and I did! But then, I thought that I had not had any probs with godaddy so whenever I buy a new domain name, I go there and transfer it over to Hostgator!

    There is always going to be some risk involved in whatever you do so unless we hear about it every single day, I am not changing!

    Yoan
    • [1] reply
    • I must be choosing all the wrong domain names. Have yet to experience anything like this. I check names all the time and rarely purchase them immediately. Have yet, (knock on wood) to miss one I want just because I waited.

      The only time I lost a name involved hostgator. So I use them for hosting but never for names.

      PJ
      • [1] reply
  • Not criminal or illegal in any way, but yes this happened to me.
    Annoying, but business is business.

    Like any large company, GoDaddy is going to have happy customers
    and people who have had terrible experiences.


    ...That being said, I have had more terrible experiences with them than
    any other company I've ever dealt with, including the absolute worst
    customer "service" experience of my life-- online or offline.

    So while there are some companies which I would never recommend,
    GoDaddy is #1 on my list of only four companies that I actually advise
    people to avoid like the plague.
  • That's why I always use DD Whois- Ajax Whois and domain availability tool
  • I have had no problems whatsoever using godaddy. I register domains there and I've built one website using there website builder tool. Only good things to report.

    I also have had great results using namecheap.
  • Tell you this. Have been a client since 2008 with godaddy.com. Never had any problems with until i started transfering to host gator with my web hosting with any new sites. I still used godaddy to register domains and used host gator to host new sites. I still had my company website and customer data base hosted at godaddy. Now my database has been wiped out and 3 years of data lost. Then I go to check out a site of mine that I built last year and someone else owns it now. I bought the domain in an auction.I called to find out what is going on and they said it already expired. I have over 60 products with godaddy as of now but will be transferring every thing some where else now.
    • [1] reply
    • Sounds like an evil ex-girlfriend, who says "if I can't have you, nobody will"
      • [1] reply
  • I think that happened to me once but it wasn't with Godaddy. I actually always have better experiences with Godaddy but Godaddy is far from prefect. They will try to upsell you on anything lol.
  • I had the exact thing happen to me also.... After the 2nd time I stopped using GoDaddy to search for domain names and then starting transferring them all to NameCheap...

    Not to mention the fees they charge if you get a "spam complaint"...

    Cheers,
    Coby
  • I was told never to use Godaddy even though you can sometimes get cheap domains. I have stuck to that advice and use Namecheap. It is better to pay a little more and know that you will not lose your domain.

    I would say to you - three strikes and you should be high tailing it out of there.
    • [1] reply
    • I don't trust Godaddy. I've heard too many horror stories about them. And their owner is distasteful and makes sex too obvious in my book.

      I would not dream of hosting a site with GD: and their backend is a nightmare to navigate.

      Sure, you can have 100s of domains with them and have no problem for years. But I do believe there is no smoke without fire so I avoid them in general.

      Malc
  • What you are referring to is domain front running. This is a practice that Go Daddy does NOT participate in. For more details on domain front running and domain searching/availability see our article here: Front Running: Debunking the Myth | Inside GoDaddy.com

    ^Colby Go Daddy Social Media Team
    • [1] reply
    • Banned
      That's already been posted in this thread, Colby - and commented on in post #33 above. Some people might consider it "promotional" to present again the same link to a source which can hardly claim to be "objective" in any way. (And I'm saying that even as the person who, in your defense, pointed out that the use of the word "robbed" was unfair to you.) Nice try, though. :rolleyes:
      • [ 1 ] Thanks
  • Just google and find out what they where support in regards to legislation , just for that alone I would never use them. I use enom as well.
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    Has anyone had a domain named robbed using Godaddy?

    I'm on Godaddy registering a domain name. I find one I like, I think it over for like 30 seconds to perhaps 1 min tops. Then I decide to register it. Even there express checkout is very long so I go threw that which takes about 30 seconds. By that time they say the domain has been bought by someone else. Now after having this happen like 3 times I finally was like "SCREW THIS", something is up! My only guess is some kind of bot they might have analysing the keywords you search up. And if it's a good 2 word domain and .com they immediately register it before you can. That's my best guess. Maybe I'm out to lunch, who knows. But when I asked them about what was going on they never replied.