Can Go Daddy steal domain names from under your nose?

by 46 replies
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I know Go Daddy are known for stealing domain names when someone searches their site for a particular name, but this story is a little different.

I was helping someone come up with names for a new site they're building.

He gave me a few different names then I went away and looked for a few myself using 123-reg.

I came back to him with 3 available names and he liked one of them.

The same day I told him about it someone on Go Daddy registered it.

I thought it was him, but he came back and asked me if it was available when I searched for it (which it was).

Could Go Daddy somehow look at what other people are searching for on other registrars then snap names up, or is it purely a coincidence that someone snapped it up within hours of my telling him about it?
#main internet marketing discussion forum #daddy #domain #names #nose #steal
  • Most probably it's an coincident.
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  • Hey Jamie,

    Long time, no see.

    The law of large numbers and all...who knows.

    There are things afoot in these woods that us mere mortals are un-aware of, I fear.
    • [ 1 ] Thanks
  • This has been prevalent for a number of years. Who can say in your case: either Godaddy taking a nice name or someone else getting the same idea; both are equally likely.

    Never search with the registrar. Use Verisign - Internet Security and Web Domain Names., for instance.
    • [ 4 ] Thanks
  • I did a search and found some interesting accusations regarding godaddy stealing domains. Check this out: www.LetMeGoogleForYou.com

    Then again is it possible that on your first search you did not spell the domain in question correctly?
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    • It was registered on the day I found it according to Who Is.

      If it's a coincidence it's a huge one and probably better odds of me winning the lottery, but I guess I'll never know.
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  • If that's how you treat your customers...
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    • Banned
      #1 He researched it on 123 ...not Godaddy
      #2 Does whois say it is owned by Godaddy? Probably not
      #3 Thousands upon thousands of domains are registered daily. If I find one I like, I register it immediately ... that makes it mine.
      • [1] reply
    • It's no way to treat a customer, but they aim at the people who they know won't be there in a year. So it doesn't make much of a difference, for them, anyway.
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  • Banned
    Yes, they can. After searches on their site or on others.

    As Suzanne rightly says, it isn't technically stealing. It's certainly "scumbag tactics", of the type for which they're understandably famous ... and using the information from other registrars' sites to do so may be illegal (even lawyers don't always seem to agree about that point - and there are places online where they discuss it).

    Different, yes - but by no means unknown.
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  • It surprises me if Godaddy are actually doing this. If an employee of theirs confirmed this behaviour it would be very damaging for there business.
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    • Godaddy is not the only registrar on the planet.

      If they are doing what you allege, and I'm not convinced of it yet although there seems to be some evidence, what is to stop other registrars from doing the same thing? How can Godaddy do this profitably and not any other registrar? What advantage do they have that the other big registrars don't?

      Godaddy bashing seems to be a crusade on this forum. I know some people have legitimate concerns. I also know others have jumped on the bandwagon who have never been wronged by Godaddy but seem to love participating in the feeding frenzy.

      I have registered many hundreds of domains at Godaddy over the past fifteen plus years. I have spoken with their customer service many times. I don't like their sales funnel with all their add-ons, but it's easy to bypass all that stuff. I have never personally had a bad experience with GoDaddy.

      I'm just saying . . . everyone is stoning Godaddy and I personally have a very hard time believing that if they are stepping in front to register domains for themselves, that there aren't other registrars doing the same thing.

      There are ways to keep this from happening as Suzanne has said. I personally don't believe in this monopoly conspiracy.

      Steve
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  • I've had it happen to me. I searched for a domain name on Godaddy, found one I liked, wrote it down but didn't buy it right away. I came back to get it a couple of hours later and it was registered, but available for sale as a premium domain.

    The chance of it randomly being grabbed were slim to none because it was something that was VERY specific and local as well. And then it's available as a premium domain for sale?? Clearly it's not another individual who just happened to have the same idea I did at almost the exact same time for a website.

    Try it out for yourself.

    Go to Godaddy and find a decent domain name. Write it down, but don't buy it. Chances are pretty good that it will be a premium domain when you come back to check it. But, it has to be a good domain. Don't put in some junk like dfneifhiehgur dot com. Try something like reallyawesomedomainsforsale dot com.

    Test it out...would love to hear your results.
  • Godaddy is the worst registrar out there, I would stay away from them, there is a big marketer they shut him down without explanation during a launch. They also support all the evil laws against freedom on the net. I would not be surprised if they can steal domains. Use enom or (enoms' private label name cheap) or anyone but godaddy.
  • I register all my domains with 1and1 and get everyone for .99 . I have never ran into this problem. I did think this happened once but when I checked whois.com it was registered for like 10 years. So looks like I just misspelled the domain in my original search
  • I think Kay King nailed it right on the head
  • I hope not. Sounds kinda shady I suppose. I like godaddy and have been using them since I started a few years ago. Great customer service and never any complaints.

    It doesn't make sense for them to invest in that kind of business ethic and practice. Something a scammer would do....
  • Try to contact the domain owner and tell him that you're interesting with the domain. Perhaps, you'll be able to get an idea that what's going on........ However, this isn't the first time I heard kind of story with Godaddy, but like .........so and so said, ANYTHING CAN HAPPEN
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    • You should go to a third party site to look for available domains if you think Go daddy's integrity is being compromised by someone or somebody.


      -Robert Andrew
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  • Is there actually any hard evidence of Godaddy doing this?

    Other than people looking up domain names and then finding that someone else has taken it when they try and register it.
  • What's that saying "You snooze, you lose".
  • Fortunately, I've never been into this kind of problem. Some of my domains are registered in GoDaddy. I'd better ask some domainers I know now.
  • You snooze you loose.....well I can't really comment on others, but I know that I have taken some extra time in the past to "Think it over" only to come back and see the domain is gone!
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    • I feel sorry for your loss.

      Please send my regards to your feelings.
  • I not sure what happen here. But I think the solution to the problem is....

    When you find domain that you LOVE, try to buy it NOW. Then it wont exist any problem anymore.
  • Surely someone has registered it, but it is not stealing. I am sure you are disappointed and angry, but try to be accurate.
  • There really are some idiots on this forum.

    I'm not going to reply to everyone, so I'll just focus on the last comment.

    Why would I be angry or disappointed when I didn't want to register a domain in the first place?
  • A bit late, but no because every registrar uses a "port" only between them and the Registry to
    check a name. Go Daddy needs direct "permitted" access through that port, if ever, which I'm
    doubtful any registrar will give just like that. Likely coincidence what happened to your friend.

    Oh, some people use (inaccurately) certain words to describe what they feel. Some even use
    "scam" to describe what they feel about such circumstances even if they aren't necessarily. If
    anything, goes to show that people feel whatever they want.
  • I prefer using other domain registrars like name.com

    Although I have some domains on godaddy because of others transferring them to me, I rather use name.com or namecheap.
  • Let's have some fun we'll make a list of 10 ridiculous domain names and all search Godaddy for them and then check back. I'll take the first 15 participants who pm me a really stupid long name.
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