Problem registering deleted domain

[nfh]

Yesterday, my company name's dot com domain was due to be deleted after four years of registration by an unincorporated business of the same name. I didn't bother with any of the backorder services, as I thought the risk of someone else wanting our company name was so low and the unincorporated business had never used the domain anyway. I tried all day on various registrars' web sites to register the domain, but all day, they all said the domain was unavailable. I tried register.com (the previous registrar), godaddy.com and domainsite.com amongst others.

It turns out the the domain was successfully registered quite early in the day by a cyber-squatter via domainmonger.com, even when the other registrars were all saying that the domain was not available. Register.com even claimed on the phone to me that the domain was still in pending delete status this morning, even though I could see the cyber-squatter had registered it 24 hours previously.

Last week, the opposite happened in that my surname as a .info was due to be deleted and I successfully registered it via godaddy.com, even when every other registrar I checked was saying that the domain was not available. I was lucky in this case that my chosen registrar (based on price) was the one registrar that would let me register the domain.

Is it normal for registrars' records to vary so much with regard to whether a domain has been deleted? In future, where is the most definitive system of record of whether a domain has been deleted?

 

[Raf]

I've noticed some of the same things you have nfh, it seems that some registars work a different way when checking for domains. Some use the same system as others and some system uses their own. So I guess it would vary really what kind of records one registar may have.

 

[Professer]

Maddening process. Ironically, I'm in the very same position as well. Small business, little known name, backorder, tried to register at various registries, then snatched up today by a cyber-squatter now asking "at least $688".

The whole process smacks! Sorry to hear that we share the same sad boat.

 

[suthra]

WHy dint you backorder them in pool.com,snapnames.com,dropwizard.com,enom.com and namwinner.com?.
Or did you try these to backorder your domain?.

 

[yesonline]

If a backorder service catches a deleted domain name, that this domain name will not show any change till 24 hrs later, that means, you don't even have a chance to see the available window by 1 second of this domain you want. It is my experience, when my backorder service company informed me that the domain I backed order had been snapped successfully by them, I checked the domain whois, still showed it was pending delete. And 24 hrs later, it SUDDENLY belongs to me

 

[mole]

Originally posted by Professer
then snatched up today by a cyber-squatter now asking "at least $688".

Must be BD :blink:

Originally posted by yesonline
It is my experience, when my backorder service company informed me that the domain I backed order had been snapped successfully by them, I checked the domain whois, still showed it was pending delete.

Yes, Pool.com not alerts you AND charges your card way before the whois changes for the public. Now that's service or what?

 

[nfh]

Originally posted by suthra
WHy dint you backorder them in pool.com,snapnames.com,dropwizard.com,enom.com and namwinner.com?.
Or did you try these to backorder your domain?.

As I said in my original post, I didn't bother with any of the backorder services, as I thought the risk of someone else wanting our company name was so low and the unincorporated business had never used the domain anyway.

 

[mole]

Originally posted by nfh
as I thought the risk of someone else wanting our company name was so low and the unincorporated business had never used the domain anyway.

Don't count on it unless your company name happens to be oiuaolrhaohnfwnsafjdvsnsyy.com/net/org/info/biz

 

[spikedo]

Never count on someone not grabbing a domain. That can only be learned thru experience and I think most here learned this way, although no sure most would admit that. Even the most useless sounding domains with small amounts of traffic are being taken.

 

[Professer]

Originally posted by mole
Must be BD :blink:

:bingo: