I registered names that were already registered!

[Tess]

I just received this email message and four more just like it for five domain names I registered yesterday on a different website. Any ideas how this could have happened and more importantly, what I should (or can) do about it?
Thank you, Tess

The following domain name has failed to be registered:
LLLLLL.DE
Error: LLLLLL.DE: cannot register - already registered
We will evaluate this error and retry the registration
if appropriate.
If we are unable to successfully register the domain
name, your account will be credited accordingly. Please
allow one business day for the refund to be processed.

 

[Michelle]

This is very normal and any amount you have been deducted will be credited back to you within a day or two

 

[Tess]

Thank you mellowmasher for your quick reply. I didn't know this was normal. It's just that it's so frustrating. What if I had already started negotiations to sell one, thinking I owned it?

 

[Michelle]

Thank you mellowmasher for your quick reply. I didn't know this was normal. It's just that it's so frustrating. What if I had already started negotiations to sell one, thinking I owned it?

Always best IMO to get purchases confirmed before any neg start for sales

Normal may have not been the correct term to use but ... this does happen alot even when trying to grab names from drops..

You just need to make sure the name is really yours before you try and resell

 

[Tess]

Sorry for my ignorance here, but how do I confirm the purchase? Thank you.

 

[Michelle]

Sorry for my ignorance here, but how do I confirm the purchase? Thank you.

Please dont say sorry we only learn from asking..

Normally failed registrations are very quick to show and you will normally get an email from the registra like the one you received above.

I often own names from drops for all of 20 seconds

 

[tricolorro]

Sorry for my ignorance here, but how do I confirm the purchase? Thank you.

Check your Control Panel at your Registrar and see if the domain is listed
in your account.

Then check at the Registry to be sure the domain was really registered.

By the wording used in the Notice you received ,it sounds like you used GoDaddy (or one of it's Resellers) to register your domain.

Was the Registrar GoDaddy?

Was the domain recently expired?

I ask because registering recently expired domains takes too long at
GoDaddy.

Many times you think you were successful because GoDaddy confirms the order and has a receipt available.

Then you receive that same notice you showed in your email account that you didn't actually get the domain.

Someone else did.

That's why you need to use a faster Registrar if you ever want to register expired domains.

 

[AdoptableDomains]

Registrar data can sometimes be out of synch with the registry itself, showing a name available when in fact it isn't. I wouldn't say it's common, but it does happen occasionally. The best way to tell if the registration if valid is if the REGISTRY shows it in their whois. Sometimes the reigstrar will show it until they find their database is out of synch and correct it.

This happened for a while when you would register a .us that was on the "reserved list". Since it technically wans't registered, bugs in the registrar software would take your money and send a confirmation email. Later, the registrar would find the error when they didn't get it to sell to you.

I've also seen this happen when the whois wasn't live and two people registered at about the same time. both registrars showed it was available and sold it, but only one got it for their customer.

 

[snowbird]

Yeah, there isnt much that can be done for you in this situation. Basically you paid for the registration and the system was unable to register it for you for some reason. In these circumstances the most you will get is a refund for the registration fee. At the time of registration, all its worth is reg fee even though you know it may be worth more once someone owns it.

Sometimes a domain may be already registered but will show as available if the provider has difficulties checking the availability of the domain when you add it to your cart. Or, maybe someone just beat you to the punch where someone else was trying to register the same domain around the same time as you. I have heard of that happening before as well.

 

[bluesman]

Well, since he didn't say he was playing any name drop games, it is rather unusual to register a half dozen regular domain names and then overnight suddenly they ALL just up and fail to go through.

Naturally every situation is different, but awhile back I noticed that a really great domain name I'd been watching for years was now up for grabs - the guy had apparently finally forgotten to pay up his "rent' and it had lapsed on him.

Well, wouldn't you know that my registering the name suddenly served as a "wakeup call" to that guy, and he frantically rushed back to try to reregister it in his own name again? Because I had beaten him to it, though, it was rightfully confirmed that I had prevailed, and my reg went through.

But the creepy thing about that whole scenario was that for a brief while there during one week I was being given every indication from a few emails that he might just be able to elbow me away from that name, anyway!