Domains expire soon, friend registered them and is now unreachable

[jax40]

I'm the website administrator for two domains. They'll expire in a few months. The problem is that my online friend registered them for me and we were trying to get them transfered to me and now he's stopped responding to my emails. Its clear that they will expire and I know there might be people backordering them. I've read some articles on how to grab domains in the drop process. One article said if its a GoDaddy domain, I should use their own auction process. I've heard of SnapNames.com so I'm thinking of using that too in addition to Pool.com.

I've tried to tell the domain registrars that I'm the webmaster of the domains. I've given them links to prove that. I cant imagine the scenario where someone else would basically "steal" the domains. I'm the rightful owner, atleast theoretically if not legally or officially. That had no affect on them and they said if I'm not the owner I cant do anything other than backorder them like any other regular person. I understand that.

I'm very worried. How do I make sure I get the domains after they expire? I'm willing to pay a good price to make sure I get them. Any advice would be appreciated.

 

[Domainace]

First, I assume that you know the administrative email for the domain (check on whois). If you can get access to that email account, you could simply send the registrar a lost password request. In many cases, that's all you'll need.

If you end up using an auction, make sure to bid at the last minute. Some bidders make a habit of bidding on anything that has a bid already, and your bid also pushes the name to a higher visibility position.

Unless your names are valuable, or have heaps of backlinks, I doubt there will be much competition.

If you provide the name of the registrar, I'm sure you can get more detailed answers here. Don't give the names themselves, just the name of the registrar.

 

[mrjohn]

If you don't have the login and you are not listed as the admin email or the admin street address, then you are screwed.

 

[jax40]

hi DomainAce
The admin email is protected by private registration. I have a guess of what it could be but I'm not sure if he used the same email there. Even if I knew the email address, I dont have access to it. Only he knows the password to the email and to the domain account. I dont know his street address too. The domain registrar is Wild West Domains. Yup I had heard about bidding at the last possible moment. Thanks for the confirmation!

Unless your names are valuable, or have heaps of backlinks, I doubt there will be much competition.

It will only get interest from a few people who are interested in that area so yes I hope there wont be much competition.

If you don't have the login and you are not listed as the admin email or the admin street address, then you are screwed.

Yes, none of the above. :=(

 

[mannoo2005]

if it's Wild West Domains, then don't worry. I think it has very little competition unless it has much traffic or high pagerank.

so, back order through: godaddy, pool, snapnames, namejet (most famous)

Good Luck

 

[mrjohn]

If it's WW and you're willing to pony up the money, you should be able to catch it in the pre-release auction in about 30-45 days.

Sucks what will happen to the site's SERPs over that time, but I think the pre-release auction is going to be your last good chance to secure the site before it drops.

 

[Domainace]

I second mrjohn. Prerelease auction at Godaddy. It should never get to the backorder stage. Forget the other services, as you won't need them. Also, if you catch it at prerelease, the name won't lose its age, and should recover the search ranking soon enough.

Keep on top of it, and you should get it back for a reasonable price. Good luck.

 

[jax40]

so, back order through: godaddy, pool, snapnames, namejet (most famous)

Thanks.
I had a question: Suppose the expirty date on the Whois is June 15, 2010. Now I need to be on top of the computer for certain times for the auctions I take part in. I guess I can create auction accounts right now to be ready for bidding later on. On what date and time do I actually get on the computer and start bidding on these various systems? How often do I need to be on the computer? I'm willing to do anything. I assume this is the maximum I can do?

but I think the pre-release auction is going to be your last good chance to secure the site before it drops.

Agreed, thanks!


Its funny. The whois says:
--------
Registered through: Mad Dog Domains & Cattle Company
Current Registrar: Wild West Domains, Inc.
--------

I contacted GoDaddy to ask them if Wild West Domains is a company of theirs and they said:
------
Because Mad Dog Domains is a 3rd party register, we do not have the specific information as to their affiliation with Wild West Domains.
------

I'll ask both of them as to who is the real registrar. I'm thinking its Wild West, but if its them I dont understand their reply.

 

[RazorNF]

Its funny. The whois says:
--------
Registered through: Mad Dog Domains & Cattle Company
Current Registrar: Wild West Domains, Inc.
--------

I contacted GoDaddy to ask them if Wild West Domains is a company of theirs and they said:
------
Because Mad Dog Domains is a 3rd party register, we do not have the specific information as to their affiliation with Wild West Domains.
------

I'll ask both of them as to who is the real registrar. I'm thinking its Wild West, but if its them I dont understand their reply.

Wildwest is GoDaddy's reseller arm. And there are probably thousands of resellers out there.

The whois will all look like above - The Registrar as Wild West, and Registered through whatever the reseller's site is. And since they centrally handle the customer service for the resellers, they probably give as vague/generic an answer as they can, in order to maintain the impression that they are all individual registrars.

So your domains will end on sale at Godaddy, before they are allowed to actually drop.

Are your domains attached to live websites? If so, keep in mind, that during the time that the domain is expired, your sites will become inactive.

 

[jax40]

Thankyou!

If so, keep in mind, that during the time that the domain is expired, your sites will become inactive.

Whoa, I guess that will draw attention to the domain and thats the last thing I want. Maybe I could put up a notice like "site will be down for a few weeks for maintainance etc", or something? So it lets people know we'll be down and it doesnt give the impression that we've lost the domain.

 

[RazorNF]

Thankyou!


Whoa, I guess that will draw attention to the domain and thats the last thing I want. Maybe I could put up a notice like "site will be down for a few weeks for maintainance etc", or something? So it lets people know we'll be down and it doesnt give the impression that we've lost the domain.

Unfortunately, what happens during the time it is expired and listed at Godaddy, is that they slap the domain on their parking page full of ads, and state prominately on the top that the domain has expired.

If you run a high-traffic site, you may end up going up against other bidders anyways, as Godaddy also counts the traffic during this period and lists it with the name on the auction listing.

 

[jax40]

Whoa ok, thanks, I'll be ready for that then. I guess I have no choice.

 

[mrjohn]

Here's a question: do you know the site's Alexa rank and Google PageRank?

Especially an Alexa rank of any real worth will attrack bidders.

If it was a small site and was driving less than 100 visitors a day, you have a healthy chance of getting back for between $20-50 total.

 

[jax40]

The alexa rank is around 250,000 and the Google page rank from some website is 4/10. I get around 800 visitors a day, so its not too big but a few people in that area want the domain since its a nice short name for what we do. I'm willing to pay a thousand if I have to just to get the domains so the price is not much an issue unless someone really rich comes on and decides they'll pay a lot more. Then I'll be in some trouble but thats ok, I can go higher if I have to.
I'm concerned about what I should be doing when. Suppose the expirty date on the Whois is June 15, 2010. Now I need to be on top of the computer for certain times for the auctions I take part in. I guess I can create auction accounts right now to be ready for bidding later on. On what date and times do I actually get on the computer and start bidding on these various systems? How often do I need to be on the computer? I'm willing to do anything. I assume this is the maximum I can do? Also I really thought that me being the admin would give me some advantage but it looks like its no use at all.

 

[RazorNF]

An expiring Godaddy name will not "drop" if backordered at Godaddy.

But with that said, I have seen dumb things happen there before, when what you expect to happen, doesn't. So it doesn't hurt to backorder it everywhere else as well, especially if it is that important to you.

But keep in mind, backordering names in advance can also garner attention to it.

You can set proxy bids with the max you are willing to pay at most dropcatchers, if you can't be online at the time the auction is scheduled to close.

 

[jax40]

An expiring Godaddy name will not "drop" if backordered at Godaddy.

You mean if someone else has backordered, then it wont come up in the auctions? In that case, I need to backorder and do the auction thing? Correct?

Some people said above I need to pick it up from the GoDaddy auctions (since the domain comes from a sister company/reseller of GoDaddy). Yes I'll also be trying the other sites like SnapNames and Pool etc. Good idea about the proxy bids.

 

[ecigs.net]

800 visitors a day with a GPR of 4 is a lot. I think that you are going to find that people will want to get this too. I would. I disagree with the people telling you to wait. Do you have proof that the domain is yours? How did you pay for the domain? Did you pay this person with a check, cash or credit card. Is the domain name the same as your business name? For example, is your business name Widgets, LLC. and the domain widgetsllc.com? Do you have a lawyer? You need to establish proof that this domain is your property and that the individual who registered it worked for you. Then you need to contact the GoDaddy legal department and try to get it turned over to you now. If you have a lawyer, he/she should handle this for you. I have had to deal with the GD legal department before and they are not going to cave in on this issue unless you have some real proof of ownership.

Take the other steps too, especially the suggestion to backorder the domain at GoDaddy. GoDaddy only allows one person to backorder and individual name, so if you are first that will help you.

Don't wait for these drop programs, starting acting on this problem now. There are companies that buy and park expired domains. Some of these will not sell a domain for any reason other than a nice payout. If one of them grabs the domain you say is yours, you'll never get it back.

 

[jax40]

Thank you very much for the lawyer suggestion. That gives me some hope. I've contacted a lawyer now and will contact more.
I have no proof that the domain is mine, other than I'm the administrator of the site and can offer all kinds of proof for that. The domain belongs to that friend and he paid for it. He did work for us, in a volunteer way. Yes it has the same business name as the domain.

 

[mrjohn]

800 visitor, an Alexa below 300,000 and a PR 4?

Get ready to pay some cash. It's gonna cost minimum $120 to get that domain back.

 

[jax40]

Cash isnt a problem, I'm willing to a pay a lot more as long as I get the domains. Someone suggested I talk to a lawyer to see if I can get the domains before they expire so lets see.