Someone stole my domain name!

[Gamezilla]

Hi all,

I would first like to start off by saying that I have been in the planning stages of my online business for a little over a year and a half, maybe close to 2 years.

I have made a business plan, marketing strategy, have done ALOT of research on what my business will be about, and MOST IMPORTANTLY, have spent about 2 months thinking of the PERFECT domain name.

Well, after I have finally found the perfect domain name, I checked to see if it was available, and to my luck it was!

I was the happiest man alive when I found out that the domain I really really wanted was available, so I decided to go along with my plan, and started searching for a web designer. I finally found one that was perfect for the job about a month later.

We started to discuss all the details, and we finally finilized everything, and began the work. My plan was to have him start the coding which he said would take approximitly 2 months, and then purchase the domain along with the webhosting.

Well, I just happened to come by a great deal for web hosting that I decided to register my domain a little earlier, and when I entered the domain I was, to my surprise, IT WAS TAKEN, by 1&1 Hosting Company.

I am like in a complete rage right now, I am sooo angry and mad that I could just go outside and play grand theft auto in real life.

Does anybody have any suggestions on how I could possibly get my domain back?

I am willing to pay the person who registered the domain, whatever charges he incurred for registering the domain, but can anybody please tell me how I could get in contact with this person?

All help would be greatly appreciated, thanks

 

[armstrong]

"Stole" is such a strong word. Can you prove prior right to this domain name? Can you post the domain name?

 

[deleted984054565403]

I learned the hard way, and it appears you have too -- always, always, always, always register the domain before you start any planning based on that name. You should email the administrator contact in the whois information (http://whois.domaintools.com). I can tell you now that you won't get your domain, whatever it may be, for the registration fee. The person that registered the domain knows you want it once you make an offer and will set a high asking price.

I'm sorry to hear this happened to you, but you should learn an important lesson from it.

Also -- it's not "stealing" unless you were the original registrant and the domain didn't expire or you sold the name.

 

[Gamezilla]

"Stole" is such a strong word. Can you prove prior right to this domain name? Can you post the domain name?

the only thing that I have as proof were my blueprints, but I never really registered the domain, so i guess thats useless...

and if I post the domain, i think I'll have even more problems trying to get it back...

 

[-db-]

It doesn't like anybody stole the domain (notice I said "the" and not "your"). It sounds like you procrastinated on registering it, and by the time you finally got around to it, somebody else had already got it. That happens every day - a million people are searching for names.

Unless of course there is more to the story we don't know?

I am sooo angry and mad that I could just go outside and play grand theft auto in real life.

That's not really funny, and hopefully just a wild exaggerated reference.

 

[p0werm4n]

Well you should have registered right when you came up with the domain. It sucks, but you'll have to blame yourself on this one.

 

[deet]

Well, since you never registered the domain, it was never stolen.

You should have registered the domain the first time you did a search for it.

These things happen all the time.

 

[Gamezilla]

It doesn't like anybody stole the domain (notice I said "the" and not "your"). It sounds like you procrastinated on registering it, and by the time you finally got around to it, somebody else had already got it. That happens every day - a million people are searching for names.

Unless of course there is more to the story we don't know?


That's not really funny, and hopefully just a wild exaggerated reference.

i was just expressing my anger there, i wasnt really going to do that...LOL

 

[IAmAllanShore]

Unless it was registered by your web designer in an attempt to extort you or similar, I have a hard time with the whole "Someone stole my domain name!" reasoning...

Sounds more like you procrastinated on a purchase that is almost always the first step in any sort of online business.

And 1&1 probably aren't the ones who actually registered the name (Here's where the syntax matters...) but are rather the sponsoring registrar... Post the whois information here, with the personal names redacted and address redacted, etc. We can help walk you through the process of figuring out what to do to get the name "back", although it could cost a pretty penny.

-Allan :gl:

 

[HBK216]

I feel no sympathy for you as if you wanted the name you would have registered it imemdiately! Secondly 1&1 did not "steal" it from you. No one did but the point is whomever got the name probably took them up on their free privacy offer.

 

[Dave_Z]

It's understandable why you and numerous people would feel "it's my domain
name, and now it's gone!". But no one has absolute exclusive rights to any
unregistered domain name until it's taken.

As more and more people converge on the 'net every hour, the chances of 2
people coming up with the same idea increases. The possibility of 2 people or
more searching for the same domain name is no different.

So if you see a domain name that's available, you should grab it on the spot.
No excuses, just register it before someone else beats you to it.

More often than not, it's the same price 'til the registrar decides to suddenly
increase or decrease the price. Or offers a special.

Anyway, use the WHOIS lookup to see the contact details. If the domain is
using a privacy service, your next option is to email the one listed on record
and hope it gets to the owner.

Incidentally there's a on-going practice among various registrars where they
register a domain name after it's searched for but not taken. They'll keep it for
about 120-hours before pulling the plug if no desired results occur.

Whenever you use someone's site to search for domain availability, you are
feeding them data. They can use that any way they see fit...except for a few
possible exceptions.

So here's my suggestion: don't contact the domain's registered owner yet. And
don't access the domain name on your browser or any of those WHOIS search
sites, either.

Based on the creation date, calculate roughly 120 hours after that. Again, if
the domain's registrant gets no results whatsoever, then there's a chance s/he
might let it go.

Check back after 5-6 days. If it's a .com domain we're talking about here, use
the COM Registry's WHOIS lookup at http://registrar.verisign-grs.com/whois .

Every registrar checks the authoritative Registry for any results of a .com. But
the Registry won't broadcast the results to other registrars. (at least I hope
they don't. :D)

By then the domain name might become available. If that happens, then get it
on the spot!

What just happened here is a similar result: I'm composing and reviewing my
response to your thread, and already other people have posted their answers
with more or less the same ideas. :hehe:

 

[barefoottech]

Boohoo ,Someone "STOLE" your Name
NewFlash , No-one has a 100% title to any name they have registered, so no chance if you never registered it.

Get real , Jeez ,Some Business planning you did.
A supposed key component of the New Business ,Your chosen name, was not registered the absolute minute you decided it was essential to the business.

GOOD Domain names are like ICE-CUBES in Summer sun, grab and use NOW ,because they soon Disappear

When you decide to get really business-like and decide another Domain Name.
RUN to your computer and Register it straight away.

 

[athletec64]

Uh, why didn't you just reg it earlier....waiting two months in domaining is very long. You shouldn't have tried to save the few dollars by buying the domain with webhosting...

And it's like saying, OMG i was gonna reg sex.com 10 years ago, but someone stole it, can i have it back?

The person who regged it is not going to care that you thought of it...you have no rights to it.

 

[Gamezilla]

Here's the whois info, and I'm revealing the domain here, so please try to help ME get it back, and not "steal" it for yourself:

 

[HBK216]

Game: As I told you whomever got it took up 1&1's offer of free private registration. If you looked up most if not all my names at 1&1 the whois would be exactly the same. If you really want the name, look it up on Sedo & make an offer through them. Possibly check ebay & see if it comes up. I have seen a few sellers who have sold names through registered at: SCHLUND+PARTNER AG

 

[IAmAllanShore]

Cleaned up to keep things "private" as this is a "public" forum.

Look at Davezaan's post above, and follow it to the letter

-Allan :gl:

 

[RJ]

Here's the whois info, and I'm revealing the domain here, so please try to help ME get it back, and not "steal" it for yourself:

Yup, just email the owner and make him an offer he can't refuse. The name was registered on March 6, 2006. It's way past the "tasting" period davezan mentioned. The new owner has rights to it at least until March 2007, and then if they choose not to renew it, it may drop around June/July 2007.

It's almost laughable that you expected a good domain to sit unregistered for two months, and then act like it belonged to you. I don't mean to sound crass, just next time you have a great idea for a domain and find it available -- REGISTER IT! It won't truly belong to you until you do, no matter how much you have emontionally invested in it.

Not sure what your big project was, but since ChoseYour----.com is gone, consider ChooseMy----.com and ChooseThe----.com as alternatives. Both are available.

 

[deleted984054565403]

Perhaps next time you could mail a letter to yourself with a copy of your business plan in it if you're going to wait to register a domain and don't open the envelope. The post office stamps a date on it which will prove you had the name first if you don't open the letter.

 

[IAmAllanShore]

Perhaps next time you could mail a letter to yourself with a copy of your business plan in it if you're going to wait to register a domain and don't open the envelope. The post office stamps a date on it which will prove you had the name first if you don't open the letter.

Pretty sure that won't help you at all, but it certainly is clever :tu:

Having the idea of a domain name / business grants one almost no rights...

-Allan :gl:

 

[RJ]

Perhaps next time you could mail a letter to yourself with a copy of your business plan in it if you're going to wait to register a domain and don't open the envelope. The post office stamps a date on it which will prove you had the name first if you don't open the letter.

That might work for copyrights or patents, but as far as domain registrations go... he who registers the name first, owns it.