Karma's a Bitch...

[Ms Domainer]

Karma's a bitch.

As the old saying goes, "Don't get mad, get even."

Stay tuned for more details.

By the way, MOST transgressions are not worth stewing over, but this one is a doozy, a spectacular breach between company and customer.

And I have found a way to exact an appropriate payback to two VERY BAD players in this industry.

I can't say much right now -- next week I'll be more specific.

Someone crossed the wrong person...

I'm slow to explode, but when I do...

Ka-Pow!!!​

*

 

[DU]

Finally ………..some quality entertainment i can base an entire evening around

Do you accidentally dislike everything you find entertaining?

 

[Kate]

At least Go Daddy offers a generous renewal policy. I used to think that GD's 45-day renewal policy was too generous, but now I'm leaning the other way. I still think GD should not be auctioning off expired domains at day 25 but should wait until later in the cycle.

Nodaddy likes to portray itself as the cool guy in the industry but it has had its share of shady dealings too
http://domainnamewire.com/2008/12/03/standard-tactics-llc-how-godaddy-profits-from-expired-domains/

And by the way we could also mention Enom aka Acquirethisname

 

[Domainace]

Basically, the whole business in shady. You don't have to be a shady person to be a domainer (there are lots of wonderful and very ethical domainers, in fact), but you do have to recognize that the game is rigged to some degree. And you have to learn to ignore the "he's a great guy" talk in the forums and blogs. It's ridiculously easy to earn "great guy" status that way. (The better to fleece you with.)
But also recognize that, while a wild west atmosphere involves a lot of bad guys, it also provides a lot of opportunity that wouldn't exist in a more protected/regulated environment.

 

[NPer]

And you have to learn to ignore the "he's a great guy" talk in the forums and blogs. It's ridiculously easy to earn "great guy" status that way. (The better to fleece you with.)

I read about the "great guy" often, but I don't get why these characters feel the need to say such things on a forum...as if everyone else is the opposite of great.

Many a time, "the great guy", ain't great at all. There's clearly some game going on... which involves exchanging sh!t domains for newbie money... Yeah- He's definitely a "great guy".

 

[Ms Domainer]

Nodaddy likes to portray itself as the cool guy in the industry but it has had its share of shady dealings too
http://domainnamewire.com/2008/12/03/standard-tactics-llc-how-godaddy-profits-from-expired-domains/

And by the way we could also mention Enom aka Acquirethisname

*

I vaguely remember this Standard Tactics case; I had been in the business about a year and didn't fully understand the nuances (except that something seemed shady and off).

Apparently, Go Daddy pretty much stopped this (but I don't think entirely -- I found a few of their escrow domains parked on a certain nameserver shared by Net Sol and Register.com, among others).

The head scratcher: some of the domains involved are not all that great. I suppose they think that snatching mediocre domains will allow them to fly under the radar.

My article is narrower in its scope, but I'm willing to see any case of malfeasance to be rooted out, including AcquireThisName, or whatever. Perhaps my article will get the ball rolling a bit.

When we choose to be blind to these situations, then we become a part of it.

And when we participate in expiring auctions -- I'm guilty of this; I'm no saint -- we become a part of it because our participation allows these companies to thrive.

*

 

[DU]

*
The head scratcher: some of the domains involved are not all that great. I suppose they think that snatching mediocre domains will allow them to fly under the radar.

Define mediocre? A name earning $10 a month might be mediocre, might not.

When we choose to be blind to these situations, then we become a part of it.

And when we participate in expiring auctions -- I'm guilty of this; I'm no saint -- we become a part of it because our participation allows these companies to thrive.

There's something wrong with expiring auctions?

 

[Ms Domainer]

Define mediocre? A name earning $10 a month might be mediocre, might not.


There's something wrong with expiring auctions?

*
Should a company try something fishy with names like Sex.com, this is likely to attract mega attention in the mainstream media, but ones like YouHaveFriends [dot] com (which I hand registered recently) would not. These are the types of names involved -- in addition to the exact names of small companies and personal websites.

There is a bit of a taint to expiring auctions, simply because they occur too soon in the expiration cycle, a mere three weeks later.

This IS a gray area, though, given that Go Daddy allows renewals up to day 45, but other companies are not so kind, some of them snatching domains the day after expiration and holding them hostage in shell companies. John and Jane Doe do not know that the registrar and the shell companies are often one and the same -- at the very least in a seamy partnership.

I do wish ICANN would rule (and enforce) on the rights of both registrant and potential buyers of expired names.

*

 

[DU]

*
I do wish ICANN would rule (and enforce) on the rights of both registrant and potential buyers of expired names.

*

The rights of a registrant are those that exist in the contract that they've signed. If it says that you lose your domain after not renewing for 16 days you lose your domain. Your direct contract will always hold.

As I understand it, the registrar is charged for the next years renewal so extending you a break is a financial burden to them (depending on scope and size, obviously). I recently had a domain expired for more than the period allowed and the company was nice enough to renew it for me (despite clearly me missing the deadline - though the page I looked at for the deadline was contradictory).

I don't know why but for some reason we want to think that missing a renewal is somehow not a problem. If you don't pay your electric bill they will eventually cut off your power. If you don't pay your cable bill you will eventually be watching OTA TV. if you don't renew your domain they will take it away and get rid of it in the manner they see fit.

Your right as a registrant is limited to what contract you sign unless that contract contradicts some higher legal provision.

As John Berryhill has stated before (roughly) - if you want to have a domainer friendly registrar - set one up.

 

[Kate]

When we choose to be blind to these situations, then we become a part of it.

And when we participate in expiring auctions -- I'm guilty of this; I'm no saint -- we become a part of it because our participation allows these companies to thrive.

You know, I really think that the vast majority of expired domains are effectively abandoned.
How do I know ?
Because I have bought hundreds of expired domain names and I have seldom heard from the previous registrants. I suspect that in one or two instances I was even dealing with persons posing as the previous owner because their stories didn't add up... (there was a guy who actually was sent to jail because he was posing as a lawyer and grabbing domains by making threats).

But we all understand that there is a conflict of interests here.
The registrars have an incentive to screw you if you own great, liquid domains.
Renewals = low margins. Auctions = big margins

How could they screw you ?
Here are some tricks, that may actually be common practice (or not )

1. Unfortunately, people rely on the courtesy E-mail reminders. If you don't get them, you risk inadvertently losing your domains.
   
2. Jack up the renewal price when you renew late (even 1 day); even when the domain name is still in grace (vs redemption) period. Purpose: deter the cheapskate from renewing potentially valuable domains. Naming names: register.com, netsol (surprise !)
3. Mess up with the system, allow convenient 'bugs' that prevent normal use of the website for critical, time-sensitive operations like renewing the domain in time
4. Payment errors (declined credit card) leading to failure to auto-renew. No notification of the failed payment.

Hey, I am not saying it always happens, or that it's intentional. It just could happen

 

[RelativelyGenius]

*

Here's a taste of what is to come:


Read More: NewVenturesServices.com

Still gathering details.

*

I have personal experience (unfortunately) with this EXACT scenario occurring with more than 30 domain names. Included, varying degrees of admission of wrongdoing from multiple employees and little or no action or accountability after such admissions. I have sat on the the matter for about 2 weeks while deciding whether or not to pursue legal avanues. Have you looked into moving forward? Included in the list: SEDO - who is partnered with Web/Register/NetSol and readily allows easy aftermarket sales of such domains with very little due diligence. I'd like to know, who and what action NP members have taken.....?

 

[RelativelyGenius]

Karma's a bitch.

As the old saying goes, "Don't get mad, get even."

Stay tuned for more details.

By the way, MOST transgressions are not worth stewing over, but this one is a doozy, a spectacular breach between company and customer.

And I have found a way to exact an appropriate payback to two VERY BAD players in this industry.

I can't say much right now -- next week I'll be more specific.

Someone crossed the wrong person...

I'm slow to explode, but when I do...

Ka-Pow!!!​

*

see: https://www.namepros.com/threads/pe...termarket-site-read-before-responding.825013/

 

[RogueWriter]

Worst issue I had with a registrar was a couple years back when Dotster 'upgraded ' their system. I look back and wonder if this was when they got bought out. Every single domain in my account disappeared, and they were unable to tell me what domains had been in the account. I had a printout from a few weeks before, and -think- I retrieved all of my domains, but it made me wonder how many people 'lost' domains from their ignorance.

 

[Ms Domainer]

I have personal experience (unfortunately) with this EXACT scenario occurring with more than 30 domain names. Included, varying degrees of admission of wrongdoing from multiple employees and little or no action or accountability after such admissions. I have sat on the the matter for about 2 weeks while deciding whether or not to pursue legal avanues. Have you looked into moving forward? Included in the list: SEDO - who is partnered with Web/Register/NetSol and readily allows easy aftermarket sales of such domains with very little due diligence. I'd like to know, who and what action NP members have taken.....?

*

Have these domains been hijacked from your account? When a domain is hijacked, it's difficult to prove, unless you have screenshots proving your ownership or access to tools that capture the history of the domain.

Or have they expired? If expired, you might not have much legal recourse, BUT we can expose their bad behavior toward customers. My way of moving forward is this article.

Sedo accepts domains from any seller; I don't think they check beyond the current Whois info...

*

 

[RelativelyGenius]

I have sales confirmations (hardcopies and screenshots.) know better than to not retain copies of EVERYTHING until or unless they sell/expire. Each hijacked domain was checked prior to initiating a phone call/claiming any ownership rights and I went so far as to do a thorough WHOIS search on each. The only pattern I was able to establish was with the mysterious Reg. Change occurred (in each scenario) 30 days after but not past 90 days of new registration. All were paid for under 1 year contracts.....a good majority through the reseller "DomainName.com."

 

[Ms Domainer]

I have sales confirmations (hardcopies and screenshots.) know better than to not retain copies of EVERYTHING until or unless they sell/expire. Each hijacked domain was checked prior to initiating a phone call/claiming any ownership rights and I went so far as to do a thorough WHOIS search on each. The only pattern I was able to establish was with the mysterious Reg. Change occurred (in each scenario) 30 days after but not past 90 days of new registration. All were paid for under 1 year contracts.....a good majority through the reseller "DomainName.com."

*

After the the domains were hijacked, did you get a refund for them?

SUPPOSEDLY, a former registrant still has "rights" of renewal until day 45 of expiration, but as far as I know, Go Daddy is the only registrar that honors this (albeit at a premium).

If your domains were simply hijacked without a refund, then this is exactly the situation I'm talking about and something that has happened to others.

*

 

[RelativelyGenius]

No refunds, although to be quite honest - a refund of purchase price is not the appropriate remedy - at least not in my view. Why? Only after I was able to confirm that this happened more than once or twice, I had already been in position to sell 3 of the domain - for a much heftier profit. Due to the fact that I had not only lost registration/ profit or potential parking profit and sales profit, I ascertained a fair market value for each name or for the entire list of hijacked names. In any case - just prior to my recommendation to settle for a more than reasonable sum vs. allowing myself / my domain names to have be subjected to further dealings with any of the above named companies, negotiations and any discussion ceased (specifically on the part of Web.com.)

That is where things stand, although I am not finished. I needed time to focus on other matters as well as gather more facts before pressing on. THIS was THE REMINDER I needed to not snooze another day on this issue. My strong belief in wrongdoing on the part of all 3 (perhaps 4) companies has been reinvigorated.

 

[forge]

I have personal experience (unfortunately) with this EXACT scenario occurring with more than 30 domain names. Included, varying degrees of admission of wrongdoing from multiple employees and little or no action or accountability after such admissions. I have sat on the the matter for about 2 weeks while deciding whether or not to pursue legal avanues. Have you looked into moving forward? Included in the list: SEDO - who is partnered with Web/Register/NetSol and readily allows easy aftermarket sales of such domains with very little due diligence. I'd like to know, who and what action NP members have taken.....?

I think you should compare notes with Ms. Domainer. Maybe if you can find others you can gain some momentum, but IMO if you go it alone you'll go nowhere (in these types of situations).

 

[Ms Domainer]

*

I understand why you would be skittish about being more specific (even in a pm), but can you reveal the registrar of record when the domain was in your name and the company to where the domain was transferred?

Might it involve one or more of the four companies mentioned on my website?

*

 

[RelativelyGenius]

yes....
PM me to discuss in depth. (I urge others who may have also had the same or a similar experience to not only speak out and share it here, but also PM me. There is PROFOUND strength in numbers....)

 

[DU]

Included in the list: SEDO - who is partnered with Web/Register/NetSol and readily allows easy aftermarket sales of such domains with very little due diligence.

SEDOs contract between buyer and seller totally covers them from liability. I am curious what you would mean by partnered with and what you are accusing them of exactly? Is it different than namepros, craigslist, or any other forum where exchanges are made?