discuss Is Domain Front running Still A Problem?

[Cdomains]

First let me say I realize domain investing is very competitive.

Years ago there was a suspicion that some registrars were monitoring the search queries at their sites and registering domains searched for by people typing domain names into their search boxes.

Lately I have been wondering if some of the whois tools and smaller registrars or their employees monitor the search boxes used in their sites for good quality, available domain name ideas, and possibly registering these names themselves, or perhaps telling a friend outside of their company, and the names are quickly registered.

Lately when I generate a list of domain names to check and run them through some of the checkers at some of the well know smaller registrars, and come back hours later or maybe the next day, all the most obviously good names are gone, more times than not.

As I said at the start, I realize domain investing is very competitive and sometimes names go quickly, but it just seems a little suspicious to me sometimes, especially when I test some good .co names for example.

While .co's are being registered a lot more lately, what are the odds of having these registered just hours after checking them at a registrar?

I may be very wrong about this, I don't know, so I do not want to mention a particular company and risk harming their rep and their business.

My question is - does anyone else notice this, or am I just imagining this?

 

[Casey L]

What do you mean by "good domains"? Are you referring to chip patterns that are just catching on or generic terms?

 

[DNScholar]

Maybe other people also searching for the same domains and perhaps competition is high.
Recently I registered a domain which I searched 1 week back and it was available.

 

[Cdomains]

What do you mean by "good domains"? Are you referring to chip patterns that are just catching on or generic terms?

No chips. I am talking about good old fashioned two and three word .coms, orgs, and .co's.

I used to be impulsive and buy right away. I learned over time to take a break and come back with a clearer frame of mind. It has helped me keep from registering crap, although some do slip through still.

So I will mull over a purchase for an hour or three, and sometimes until the next day.

 

[Cdomains]

Maybe other people also searching for the same domains and perhaps competition is high.
Recently I registered a domain which I searched 1 week back and it was available.

Sure, a week I can understand. After a week the odds are greatly increased that one or more will be registered. But how about hours later or the next day, and on less common keywords?

 

[Cdomains]

I don't know. Maybe it's just me. I was just curious if anyone else has experienced this recently.

 

[Casey L]

Not saying it's impossible, but generally all of the good domains are registered already and any that become available get scooped up pretty quickly

 

[Cdomains]

Not saying it's impossible, but generally all of the good domains are registered already and any that become available get scooped up pretty quickly

Good point.

 

[Asfas1000]

Unlikely, if you ask me. There are several thousands of domains being searched every day, how would they know which to reg

 

[ctmixing]

Im not sure if domain registrars are doing this but.......

I had some store credit with GoDaddy and I had to call in to buy the domain name. I was chatting with the sales guy while I bought my brandable domain. I registered selfora.com. I purposely didnt purchase SelfAura.com because I think it looks ugly.

The sales rep I was talking to name was matt and he purchased selfaura.com a few days later.

 

[TestCase]

I remember experiencing this issue a few years back but haven't personally experienced in the last couple of years.

But I learned from that experience and ever since I:
1) make a list of domains that are of interest
2) think very seriously about names on the list and delete the weakest ones
4) check the availability of the remaining
5) immediately register those that are

 

[ctmixing]

Great method. Sounds logical but I never do that. lol. I will definetly do that from now on because that was a real low blow. I search the guy's portfolio and my idea domain name is his only domains. lol

This is the first time that has happened to me and it will definetly be my last.

 

[bytedo]

Had a similar experience but in a reverse kind of way. I listed a name on a marketplace, for some reasons there was a problem with the listing so contacted customer service. Next day I was informed the domain sold. WTH. Just like that? Couple of days later I looked up the name, it was under privacy and relisted for sale with make offer. Couldnt help but think the customer service rep liked the domain and bought it.

 

[Cdomains]

Im not sure if domain registrars are doing this but.......

I had some store credit with GoDaddy and I had to call in to buy the domain name. I was chatting with the sales guy while I bought my brandable domain. I registered selfora.com. I purposely didnt purchase SelfAura.com because I think it looks ugly.

The sales rep I was talking to name was matt and he purchased selfaura.com a few days later.

I had a weird experience several months back. I was talking to a GD rep about a problem with my account and he was a pretty helpful, cool guy, but during the call he kept saying "wow, you have some really good names".

He said it several times during the call, and it really made me nervous, and I became worried I might check my list and find some missing.

I did check a few times after that, but I have a big list and unless I check it over carefully I think it would be easy to miss if one was gone.

Anyway, to this day that call bothers me.

 

[Cdomains]

The sales rep I was talking to name was matt and he purchased selfaura.com a few days later.

This kind of thing bothers me - - conflict of interest much!!

 

[DomainZombie]

Why would you use a registrar to check the names. Check them directly with the registry and no scooping can be done.
I have a software that checks the availability for a list of domains directly so my ideas stay mine

 

[Cdomains]

Why would you use a registrar to check the names. Check them directly with the registry and no scooping can be done.
I have a software that checks the availability for a list of domains directly so my ideas stay mine

I used to only use a command line utility on my PC to do this, but lately I have gotten lazy.

Maybe I should go back to my old way of doing it.

 

[DomainZombie]

If you are on a linux box, just write a script to loop the list.
I'm on win so mine is a desktop soft

 

[Cdomains]

If you are on a linux box, just write a script to loop the list.
I'm on win so mine is a desktop soft

I used to use Linux a lot more, but most of my favorite and most useful progams are Windows programs.

There are similar things you can do no Windows.

Using the cmd line can be tedious at times, especially if you are bad at typing.

 

[frank-germany]

If you would know what crap people are searching for, you wouldn't wonder if the registrar will gonna autoreg them