That's how Snapnames makes money: Backorders after 1 year without notification

[sOliver]

Back in July 2008 I backordered a domain at snapnames.com and they were unsuccessful (as a consequence the backorder auction should have been closed and the domain removed). Pool successfully backordered the domain for me.

One year later I let the domain expire.

Last week I receive a mail without prior notification:
"You have successfully backordered domainxyz.com"


Seriously their service is really garbage .. I mean come on, the very least thing I expect is a mail. Why can't they just send out a notice that this domain is about to expire we will try to snap it..

Then I would have had enough time to cancel it.

Oh well .. lesson learned ;(
I'm not being ignorant it was partly my mistake, but still they could easily improve their customer experience.

At least this motivates me to develop the name..

 

[Spade]

I had identical situation. Told them I didnt want it anymore and they cancelled =) I also had them wipe clear my old backorders.

 

[bmugford]

Yes, I had the exact same thing happen to me several months ago. SnapNames also canceled the backorder. That part of their system needs to be changed.

Brad

 

[sOliver]

I had identical situation. Told them I didnt want it anymore and they cancelled =) I also had them wipe clear my old backorders.

Was that before or after they charged your CC?

Well, you had more luck than me then... they just closed my support ticket and did not cancel it ;(


On which site did you contact the support?

 

[Nsane Domain]

I agree they need to do something about this.

My personal remedy is to wipe the slate clean (delete backorders) every month or so when I place a fresh backorder or join in an auction. Seems to work pretty well for me, but, one more useless step IMHO.

 

[DotWeekly]

Knowing how the system works is important, but I can see why SnapNames would want domains you ordered to go into "backorder" mode again if they missed them or the domain was renewed.... NameJet does the same thing.

Make sure in your My Account / Account Info that you put a check mark next to the last thing on the page.

"Automatically remove orders from my account if SnapNames is unable to acquire the target domain."

The one thing I think it doesn't remove if you have this checked, is if the domain get's Renewed by the old owner and it never goes to auction. I will email Craig about this today. :tu:

 

[sOliver]

Knowing how the system works is important, but I can see why SnapNames would want domains you ordered to go into "backorder" mode again if they missed them or the domain was renewed.... NameJet does the same thing.

Make sure in your My Account / Account Info that you put a check mark next to the last thing on the page.

"Automatically remove orders from my account if SnapNames is unable to acquire the target domain."

The one thing I think it doesn't remove if you have this checked, is if the domain get's Renewed by the old owner and it never goes to auction. I will email Craig about this today. :tu:

Yep, I had it checked and they still backordered the domain, although they were not able to backorder the domain one year ago, because Pool.com was faster. So the system is bugged..

Customer support is ignoring me. I gotta love their service. If they don't refund me I'll make sure to use pool only and transfer all my domains from moniker to somewhere else.

 

[Michael]

This actually just happened to me for the first time this week too. They emailed me to let me know I won an LLLL.com that I backordered more than a year ago that they missed catching the first time around. It was my fault for thinking that they remove it from my list, but a quick email to support and they refunded my money, took back the domain, and cleared out all my old backorders without any argument.

 

[Spade]

Actually, I go ahead and put a prepaid CC on file with the backorder companies. This way, they dont "accidentally" charge my real credit card. Saves me hassle and grief. Easier not to give them money and correct it, then vice versa.

 

[Michael]

That's a great idea, thanks Justin. They ended up billing my card, but the refund came in the next day. I'm really impressed with their support, but I'd like it even more if their system didn't allow for this confusion in the first place.

 

[1901gt]

Actually, I go ahead and put a prepaid CC on file with the backorder companies. This way, they dont "accidentally" charge my real credit card. Saves me hassle and grief. Easier not to give them money and correct it, then vice versa.

Lol, I got banned for using this method. -_____-
But then, mine was a totally different situation. I was away when I won the domain and they couldn't charge my debit card cos the money haven't been deposited yet. Worse is its for multiple domains won.

But oh well, nowadays I rely more on NJ. Found some good deals there as well. :D