Got a domain that was accidently? Put up for auction

[jake123]

I bought an aged domain on Google auction, only to discover afterwords that it's tied to a large active site. It had not expired.

The site had changed hands 4 times in the last year on flippa, selling much more than the domain auction price, it's at a growing with free services, break even phase, I can't imaging the last buyer would have just abandoned it.
The site appears to use a potentially expensive to maintain custom database & interface. It's on an expensive server.

I suppose the most correct and most profitable action on my part would not be one and the same.

My domains are usually proxy registered, should I keep my contact info visible so the last owner can approach me, or should I just call them? I don't really want to make a squatter ransom call...but.

Any pro advice would be appreciated.

 

[accent]

Well, the first question (beyond what is Google auctions) is do you really have the domain in your account? Check whois by copy/pasting the domain name (at the top right of Moniker.com homepage). If you still see the old website online your registrar could still have the DNS set to his servers - which is a thorny legal position for you and needs to be resolved.

Google or whoever should not be able to transfer ownership of a name without the owner's cooperation unless the renewal fee is not paid. Transferring securely is what the Auth codes are about.

Sometimes a domain expires unknown to the owner. By the rules, unless there is a trademark (and perhaps even if there is) the new owner has clear title. I unknowingly bought such a name last year. The old owner contacted me several months later (and there was 2 months grace before it was auctioned).

I did not believe that he had owned the domain (nothing in Archive.org), so I treated it as a normal sales inquiry. Late in the negotiation I started believing it was true. It didn't really enter my thinking that I should give him the name for free. I sold it to him for what turned out to be 2/3 of what he had paid for the name the first time. I haven't felt a bit of remorse. Luck of the draw --- BUT I would not buy a name for that purpose.

 

[jake123]

It was not expired, it had been put up with a buy now price.

I had paid, but it didn't get pushed by the owner.

I heard from the guy after asking goDaddy why things were stalled.

He kind blamed goDaddy for the domain for a fully developed site being mistakenly put up for auction. I believe it got mixed in with a bunch of lesser domains he was dumping.

"Sorry for the confusion, I notified GoDaddy about this error"

People can just back out like that with no consequence?

I was given a dispute resolution link, but yea it had to be a mistake or a junkie in need of fix money.

 

[chillaxin]

tdnam or google auctions?

 

[John Baron]

is google also got into the domain buissnes now?:P