Missing domain names in my GoDaddy account

[anunt]

I have about 90 domain names at GoDaddy.

I login my GoDaddy account today and see only 66 domain names in there.

Where are my domain names???

I’ve have listed all 90 domains at Afternic.

So I chat with GoDaddy support manager and he is saying my domain names are in Afternic account.

I told him Afternic is a marketplace, not a registrar. Godaddy should have all my domain names.

He said you can transfer them out of Afternic and into your godaddy account.

I said I have listed ALL 90 domains at Afternic. Why are 66 domains in my GoDaddy account?

I said if you were correct, my GoDaddy account should show zero domains.

And this was a Godaddy support chat manager. First I chat with a normal person at GoDaddy support and he didn’t know crap so then asked for a supervisor or manager.

So does anyone here know why all my domain names are not showing up in my GoDaddy account?

Thank you for your help.

 

[Sutruk]

Hi @anunt
Your domains are indeed in a premium hold - this simply means that one or more customers has added your domain names to their cart and were in the checkout process. These names do not leave your account while they’re in a premium hold, but they are no longer visible to you because of the pending transaction.

Geez, you can't be serious...

Are you saying that just for adding a domain to the shopping cart, the domain is gonna disappear from owner's Godaddy registrar account?

Usually, you wouldn’t see this, since domains tend to be purchased immediately once they are in the cart.

You must be kidding on this one.

I have dealt with many buyers and many of them take days, and some even weeks, to make the damn payment.

And you tell us that usually people purchase domains immediately once they are in the cart? Man, you must be kidding.

But the bottom line is that no domain, never, should disappear from the owner's Godaddy account unless the domain has been bought (and this is, once the buyer has paid, not just added it to the damn shopping cart), as plain as that.

 

[Altetra]

I has something similar with other registrars, only there the domains were missing after Transfer in, that is why I begin writing physically on paper, every domain I ever registered, but also keep TXT files with all domains, even screenshots.
You never know how a domain may end dropped, that is why guys be careful and pay attention every time you do transfers, to verify if the domain is available in your account.

 

[anunt]

GoDaddy is worth $23 Billion dollars and can not solve these simple problems.

Looks like somebody else complained about this last year and it’s still not solved.

I only have 90 domains and don’t know which domains are missing. I can’t imagine owning 1000+ domains and trying to figure out which domains are missing.

This problem is not that hard to solve. The domain names should be visible in the owners GoDaddy account until it’s completely sold.

My apologies to GoDaddy support chat. It’s not their fault.

I still love and recommend GoDaddy!!!

 

[dirk]

Raise the issue with ICANN. It's ridiculous.

Imagine them pulling these shenanigans with a domain in use by an end user.

Unacceptable. Period.

 

[pb]

If you only do renewals once a month, it's easy to see a scenario where domain missing = domain expired.

This sent chills down my spine. That's exactly something I would do. Maybe it has happened before and I don't even know?

 

[Future Sensors]

A warning to customers having their domains registered through GoDaddy.

GoDaddy customers have reported serious issues with their domain assets being silently removed from their registrar accounts without any notification. These domains are then transferred to a GoDaddy holding account, effectively changing ownership. If customers are unaware of this, the domains will remain removed and invisible to the registrant until they notice themselves, and contact GoDaddy to restore the domains to their accounts.

We've seen similar practices at domain registrar Epik.com, where customer domains were also quietly transferred to corporate holding accounts, leading to major issues with lost domains. Your domain assets should never leave your GoDaddy account, unless they have been paid for and sold in the aftermarket. At most, GoDaddy can just mark them as e.g. "pending sale" but beyond that, they don't have permission to remove your domains from your account.

This issue, which has been reported before by Domain Name Wire and by several members of this forum, is attributed to a glitch involving aftermarket domains placed in a cart through one of GoDaddy/Afternic's partner registrars, resulting in significant concerns about domain ownership, possible missed renewals, and possibly even denial of service for the visibility of listed domains on the aftermarket.

If GoDaddy will not resolve this serious issue promptly, despite the repeated attention from DNW and discussions on this forum, registrants may escalate this matter to ICANN to address policy violations.

Domain registrants with GoDaddy are urgently advised to thoroughly check their accounts for any missing domains. In general, regardless of the registrar used, it's always recommended to maintain an offline "master" list of all your domain assets.

More details can be read in this ongoing thread.

 

[HotKey]

If this is not an expiration or sales issue, than highly concerning.

@James Iles

 

[bmugford]

If this is not an expiration or sales issue, than highly concerning.

@James Iles

There is just no justification for it to be happening in the first place.

"That's just how it works" or whatever similar logic is not acceptable.

There is no reason it has to work like that. It is simply how GoDaddy has designed it to work.

It can lead to a lot of potential issues, especially if you have a large portfolio.

I mean, how am I supposed to notice a domain or two missing out of thousands?

Domains you own should not disappear from your control panel, for any period of time.

It seems like some people have also had issues where the domain was not automatically returned to their account, and required some level of intervention.

Brad

 

[HotKey]

Hi @anunt
Your domains are indeed in a premium hold - this simply means that one or more customers has added your domain names to their cart and were in the checkout process. These names do not leave your account while they’re in a premium hold, but they are no longer visible to you because of the pending transaction.

Usually, you wouldn’t see this, since domains tend to be purchased immediately once they are in the cart.

We’re working with our team to understand more about the specific circumstances around the multiple domains being in a premium hold, and we’ll let you know more as soon as we can.

That's insane. How about, they are not visible/avail to the 3rd party entity until the transaction is verified and met? Meaning, DN's never leaves the account holders status until completion of process.

The in-between portion could simply allow for a "graying out" of further actions by the original owner with the DN still visible in their account.

 

[Future Sensors]

@bmugford, if I remember correctly you were using the extra domain protection for your GoDaddy domains. I wonder if you would have received a phone call with such a transfer to GoDaddy's holding account. Probably not... But it's fun to think about how it's supposed to work.

https://www.godaddy.com/help/what-is-domain-protection-32311

 

[bmugford]

@bmugford, if I remember correctly you were using the extra domain protection for your GoDaddy domains. I wonder if you would have received a phone call with such a transfer to GoDaddy's holding account. Probably not... But it's fun to think about how it's supposed to work.

https://www.godaddy.com/help/what-is-domain-protection-32311

I use extra security (DTVS), and have still noticed domains temporarily missing from time to time.

So, whatever movement is going on behind the scenes circumvents that.

Now, I am going to do a more full inventory.

This system makes me feel very uncomfortable. @GoDaddy

I only have 90 domains and don’t know which domains are missing. I can’t imagine owning 1000+ domains and trying to figure out which domains are missing.

I don't really understand how around 24 of 90 domains have disappeared.

Are we really to believe that over 26% of the op's portfolio is in someone's cart? That doesn't really make sense. @GoDaddy

And, like the op said, they are not even sure what domains are missing.

Now amplify this to a scale of thousands and thousands of domains.

It's a serious issue.

Brad

 

[Future Sensors]

It's a serious issue.

And once again neglected by GoDaddy, despite having been written and reported about before, as we're also seeing with the many bugs at Afternic.

Complaining is really not my hobby. My intention is always to improve the services provided. But the entire system is now becoming increasingly unreliable on all fronts.

 

[Future Sensors]

@James Iles

James would have written an article about this issue on his blog for sure.

But I think we now need to address GoDaddy. To keep roles properly separated.

 

[HotKey]

James would have written an article about this issue on his blog for sure.

But I think we now need to address GoDaddy. To keep roles properly separated.

He left GD?

 

[Future Sensors]

He left GD?

No, he's still our liaison for the domain investor community. But afaik he's now only using @GoDaddy for responding to issues related to the company, not his @James Iles account.

 

[Garet]

There is just no justification for it to be happening in the first place.

"That's just how it works" or whatever similar logic is not acceptable.

There is no reason it has to work like that. It is simply how GoDaddy has designed it to work.

It can lead to a lot of potential issues, especially if you have a large portfolio.

I mean, how am I supposed to notice a domain or two missing out of thousands?

Domains you own should not disappear from your control panel, for any period of time.

It seems like some people have also had issues where the domain was not automatically returned to their account, and required some level of intervention.

Brad

This is a known issue and not considered a bug or glitch by GoDaddy. To GoDaddy, it is exactly as Brad says, "It is simply how GoDaddy has designed it to work."

I have discussed this with my account reps many months if not years ago. They know. I've been a GoDaddy customer for over 20 years. This is entirely on brand and consistent with the GoDaddy way.

They remove the name to protect the possible sale. In typical heavy-handed fashion, they do not even have the courtesy to notify the registrant. It's probably the easiest and most extreme solution. Look at how they are rolling out bulk search VERY slowly in hopes of having it be stable. If GoDaddy's technology was a roller coaster, I would not ride it for safety reasons. Bulk search has to be parceled out over months? That's pathetic.

Registrants are considering this a bug and glitch. It's not that to GoDaddy. 100% intentional.

Why do I still work with GoDaddy and GoDaddy's MLS system (Afternic)? Market share and reach. GoDaddy is not even close to the best registrar from a technical standpoint. They sell names. People know them. So, to various levels, we as sellers adapt and tolerate to our own pain tolerance.

 

[HotKey]

This is a known issue and not considered a bug or glitch by GoDaddy. To GoDaddy, it is exactly as Brad says, "It is simply how GoDaddy has designed it to work."

I have discussed this with my account reps many months if not years ago. They know. I've been a GoDaddy customer for over 20 years. This is entirely on brand and consistent with the GoDaddy way.

They remove the name to protect the possible sale. In typical heavy-handed fashion, they do not even have the courtesy to notify the registrant. It's probably the easiest and most extreme solution. Look at how they are rolling out bulk search VERY slowly in hopes of having it be stable. If GoDaddy's technology was a roller coaster, I would not ride it for safety. Bulk search has to be parceled out over months? That's pathetic.

Registrants are considering this a bug and glitch. It's not that to GoDaddy. 100% intentional.

Why do I still work with GoDaddy and GoDaddy's MLS system (Afternic)? Market share and reach. GoDaddy is not even close to the best registrar from a technical standpoint. They sell names. People know them. So, to various levels, we as sellers adapt and tolerate to our own pain tolerance.

That's an interesting outlook. Almost like two wrongs make a right.

I am very happy to have not to have much "pain tolerance" in spite of less probable reach. We only get one time, don't waste it on companies that don't care about how we spend it.

This is actually easy to fix.

 

[SpareDomains]

I don't really understand how around 24 of 90 domains have disappeared.

Are we really to believe that over 26% of the op's portfolio is in someone's cart? That doesn't really make sense. @GoDaddy

And, like the op said, they are not even sure what domains are missing.

Now amplify this to a scale of thousands and thousands of domains.

It's a serious issue.

Brad

Imagine if ya had an enemy. I'll just go add all of Brad's domains to my cart right before their due to renew so maybe he doesn't see them to renew and they drop.

 

[Garet]

That's an interesting outlook. Almost like two wrongs make a right.

I am very happy to have not to have much "pain tolerance" in spite of less probable reach. We only get one time, don't waste it on companies that don't care about how we spend it.

This is actually easy to fix.

I respect your zero tolerance policy. They do not earn our business with technical expertise or by treating us with respect. GoDaddy exists for me because so many people search for and register names there. Full stop.

I try to be pragmatic. Does dealing with the evil empire help me to sell more names? Yes. Do I have plans in place for when the pain is excessive. Yes, certainly. That ranges from scaling back to full exit. I already scale up and down. Sometimes trying to calculate best interest. At other times because I am fed up.

On the technical front, GoDaddy doesn't seem to know "easy to fix." I would not even consider tolerating this nonsense from another registrar or marketplace.

To their credit, GoDaddy has some good people. They just aren't the ones setting policy, doing PR, or creating stable tech.

 

[Future Sensors]

Imagine if ya had an enemy. I'll just go add all of Brad's domains to my cart right before their due to renew so maybe he doesn't see them to renew and they drop.

To further explore this concept theoretically, I think it's even conceivable that someone could take a random domain from someone else, add it to buggy Afternic without verification, and further exploit this GoDaddy-Afternic vulnerability in some way. It may involve a domain used for an active company website.

From a security standpoint, this is highly concerning.