Domain Search Stealing...How fast can it happen?

[aprilfocus]

I ask this because I decided to see if a domain was already registered. I did my search on GoDaddy, and also typed it into leapfish.
Everything but the .com was available. I checked out some other names, went back and registered the .us domain. Did some research and decided to pick up the remaining ones... (.org, .net, .info, etc) and make a package.


Within 20 minutes there was nothing left. I registered the .us, but the other ones are gone now.

Does this sound fishy to you too?

 

[Sam]

Yes, its been noted that Godaddy Saves your searches. Don't search on there.

 

[lzy]

that's fast...do your checking on namecheap. They're clean. :D

 

[xman]

The only registrar I could trust when it comes to checking domain is Moniker. When I check any domain with them I still see the availability after few days sometimes even weeks. Moniker won't steal your search unlike other registrars.

 

[duceman]

Moniker seems to be OK.

GD the worst IMO

 

[fonzie_007]

The rule of thumb is still to register the domain immediately if you want it regardless of where you are searching.

 

[Sameh]

Yes, its been noted that Godaddy Saves your searches. Don't search on there.

i checked more than 150 domains on Godaddy last 2 days for fresh registration and Guess what ! 110 domains out of them registered by Godaddy with Registrant ( Go France , Go Canada , Go Australia , etc.. )

 

[mirrorcube]

Ill echo what some others have said, do not search at godaddy unless you register right after you make the search. Moniker so far has been a safe place to search and one of the reasons why they have be getting all my new registration business.

 

[clocker24]

aprilfocus, check it again in 5 or 6 days. You may find that it's available again. Most likely it has been picked up by a taster who has a deal of some sort with godaddy to monitor domain searches, or perhaps even by godaddy themselves. They will "taste" the domain for five days to determine the traffic and profitability, and if it doesn't meet their requirements they will drop it. Yes it sucks, but now that you're aware of it, when you find a domain you want you should register it immediately.

 

[Alex]

Then let's check those available ugly LLLL.com 's on godaddy. Hopefully they will be bought

 

[aprilfocus]

Then let's check those available ugly LLLL.com 's on godaddy. Hopefully they will be bought

:hehe:

 

[Erdy]

One interesting detail about your story is that you registered the .us version while only the .com was taken. Why? I would have never done that. I would definately pick the .net first.

 

[sanne]

that's fast...do your checking on namecheap. They're clean.

Not in my experience. I have definitely had my Namecheap searches registered by automated domain tasters within minutes. I have only seen it on .com before though. Things must be getting worse if they're registering other extensions now. These days, I usually telnet into the Internic whois server.

Anyway, I suggest being ready to purchase all names immediately at the time of your search.

 

[Sam]

domain tasting will only occur for gTLDS, so i dont think this would apply for ccTLDs at all.

 

[lzy]

Not in my experience. I have definitely had my Namecheap searches registered by automated domain tasters within minutes. I have only seen it on .com before though. Things must be getting worse if they're registering other extensions now. These days, I usually telnet into the Internic whois server.

Anyway, I suggest being ready to purchase all names immediately at the time of your search.

Really? :o

I do all my searches at Namecheap and never have any problem...

 

[markmiddleton]

Always check at moniker, I of course trust fab too but obviously you can't run as many at once there.

The rule of thumb is still to register the domain immediately if you want it regardless of where you are searching.

I used to believe in this rule myself now I line up 20-30 gradually and then replace them with better names until the start of a new week, whereby I register the best 20-30 I have. (This applies to purchased names when I am in the market also but obviously less quantity). I find this avoids the mistake of listening too much to your gut.

I did just miss out on 3 of my last weeks list to a domain drop service and an end user! by 5 days on the end user which was quite frustrating. Still it lets me know I am on the right lines.

 

[Name Trader]

Although some registrars might be clean, I wouldn't do a domain search on ANY registrar's whois. You can use the linux shell whois command if you use linux, you could use your own whois php script, you could use each registry's whois command, or you could use an online whois service known to be clean, such as iWhois. Using registrar's whois for domain searches is just being lazy, and fraught with risk, since not only could the registrar be your competitior, but also their whois could well be compromised in some way.

 

[Dave_Z]

Domain search stealing? I wonder why some people still believe that when the
things they search for aren't theirs to begin with.

BOHICA.

 

[floatingworld]

Really? :o

I do all my searches at Namecheap and never have any problem...

namecheap is my no.1 registrar but I find moniker a safer experience for domain searching.

 

[scandiman]

These days, I usually telnet into the Internic whois server.

Any instruction on how to do this would be greatly appreciated.