GoDaddy Stole Domain In Redemption Period - HEADS UP !

[crazydomaindeals]

Hi all,
Just wanted to share an experience with Godaddy with you. Godaddy seems to be going through their customers accounts and seeing which domains are valuable to them and posting them on their Godaddy auction site (TDNAM) and selling them without waiting through the lifespan of a domain name. (see below)

Contrary to popular belief, domains do not expire when they say they do. If the owner of a domain does not renew by the expiration date of the domain, the domain goes into “expired” status. For 40 days, the domain is in a grace period where all services are shut off, but the domain owner may still renew the domain for a standard renewal fee. If a domain enters this period, it is a good first indicator that it may not be renewed, but since the owner can re-register without penalty, it can also just be a sign of laziness or procrastination.

After 40 days are up, the domain’s status changes to “redemption period”. During this phase, all WhoIs information begins disappearing, and more importantly, it now costs the owner an additional fee to re-activate and re-register the domain. The fee is currently around $100, depending on your registrar. When a domain enters its redemption period, it’s a good bet the owner has decided not to renew.

Finally, after the redemption period, the domain’s status will change to “locked” as it enters the deletion phase. The deletion phase is 5 days long, and on the last day between 11am and 2pm Pacific time, the name will officially drop from the ICANN database and will be available for registration by anybody.

The entire process ends exactly 75 days after the listed expiration date. For an even more detailed explanation, read the article Inside a Drop Catcher’s War Room.

We all need to be very careful with our accounts with Godaddy as it is very easy for them to take a domain out of ones' account without their knowledge especially when you have thousands or even tens of thousands of domains, who would miss a handful?

I have sent a formal complaint to Icann to look into this and hopefully get my domain back (which was awaiting a transfer out to another registry)

 

[glaxxon]

This is not possible.
I think in your case, prob u had listed your domain for TDNAM or premium listing and had forgot about it or the previous owner could have left it on TDNAM.

 

[crazydomaindeals]

No. no neither of the 2 occured, I called the Office Of The President who confirmed this, it was an insider thing by all accounts. This is something that has happened to many, once a domain expires on a certain date, they try and "fish" for people looking for a particular domain name and hope that the current owner doesn't redeem it (BTW there is a way to recover your expired pending delete domains without paying their ridiculous $80 redemption fee)

They were hoping that we were not going to recover this particular domain but boy were they wrong ... wait to see what ICANN will do about this

Will keep you all abreast of all developments

 

[bmugford]

I recently had someone contact me and "suggest" I transfer a domain back to them with the same argument.

Here is an article that explains the timeline -
GoDaddy Auction Timeline

Below are the key dates -

Day 19 - The domain name can be renewed by the registrant for the cost of a one-year renewal plus an $80.00 redemption fee.

Day 26 - We add the domain name to an expired domain name auction.

Day 36 - The expired domain name auction ends. If there are no backorders and no bidders in the expired domain name auction, we list the domain name in a closeout auction.

Day 43 - We assign the domain name to the winner of the expired domain name auction, backorder, or closeout. If there are no bidders, we return the domain name to the registry.

The first 40 days is the renewal period. After that the domain enters Redemption Grace Period AKA Pending Delete Restorable.

GoDaddy's legal documents cover this and they are within ICANN policies as well.

Brad

 

[crazydomaindeals]

Yes, Brad this may hold true but they have to wait until the registry deletes the domain after the 45th day

 

[bmugford]

Yes, Brad this may hold true but they have to wait until the registry deletes the domain after the 45th day

In general it is -

40 Day Renewal Period
30 Day RGP (Pending Delete Restorable)
5 Day Pending Delete

GoDaddy transfers the domain after the renewal period is up.

I don't think registrars are even required to offer a redemption process during RGP.

If you think they are breaking ICANN or registry policy can you please provide the exact wording that makes you believe that?

Thanks,
Brad

 

[Kate]

Yes, Brad this may hold true but they have to wait until the registry deletes the domain after the 45th day

Welcome to the world of domain names. Many domains just do not go through the 'typical' domain cycle these days. Actually it's been like that for years...
The big registrars auction off their expired names. In fact those names do not expire, they get renewed and transferred to new registrants.
And it's not just Godaddy. Ever heard about Snapnames Namejet etc ?