Becareful where you search for Domain names
Today I searched for a domain name "findversion.com"
And within few hours its gone, brought by sav.com
The following two domains are also purchased in few hours after I searched.
The only domain search tools I used are namecheap and leandomainsearch.
I am very very suspicious about leandomainsearch.
I know GoDaddy is the worst domain-runner, if you have any comments\suggestions\stories please share them.
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This is an ongoing problem. Domains are swiped up. Someone once posted on Hacker News demonstrating a random, keyboard-smash-like domain that was picked up after they searched for it a couple of times.
https://instantdomainsearch.com (without pressing enter, which shortcuts you to sites like GoDaddy to make the purchase) was the recommended way of doing this by Y Combinator (the seed-stage startup fund). It is quite fast too, which leads to nice brainstorming sessions. So much so, I think they might have even asked the creator of it to join one of the YC classes? I can't quite recall.
The speed of that site alone makes it kind of worth it, and knowing that without pressing enter you're reducing the risk of swiping to a very low probability helps too.
However, I would also recommend folks keep in mind that domain names can be changed with growing success
I have done tens of search on namecheap and never had this problem. In my experience, it is the best with namesilo.
Co-sign this, also same goes for 123reg.
Same here. I've done way too many searches and came back weeks later… Still available.
I have used Namecheap for years too, and not once have I had a bad experience with them. I used to buy elsewhere, but after coming across Namecheap's reputation, I transferred my domains over to them. The other registrar I have heard good things about is Gandi.net.
same
I've recently started buying my domains through Google for fear of this happening while I was deciding which domain(s) to go with or projects. Haven't had any problems with them so far 🤞🏽
I am planning to move to Google domains now.
Second this. I've been buying domains through Google, too, with no issues. I use Google for pretty much everything, so it's convenient. And I can't imagine them doing underhanded things like swiping domains that people search for. They're too big for it to matter.
GoDaddy pricing skyrockets every year. I just received a $19.99 renewal notice for a .net domain withOUT privacy (costs an extra $9.99). Google domains is a flat $12 per year, WITH privacy included. Also, prior to transferring, they give the option to import my current DNS records, so I don't have much or anything to configure. Greedy GoDaddy can GoSuckAnEgg!
The word greedy doesn't exist in the context of actual businesses. A fat kid who doesn't share and wants your candy bar is greedy. Adults and businesses can't be called greedy when every single adult and company on the planet has the exact same ambition and goal. Non profits don't want to save only a few children or trees, they want to save as many as possible which takes money.
As an adult, the word greedy automatically translates to admirable/smart/successful/etc.
Basically, there is no criteria that exists that would be able to classify any company as being a greedy company.
Thanks for your comment.
I don't agree that "every single adult and company on the planet has the exact same ambition and goal."
Also, I don't believe "as an adult, the word greedy automatically translates to admirable/smart/successful/etc." While there certainly can be overlap between greed and what you describe, it's definitely not a requirement, and being greedy is not a straight line to those things. In fact, it often leads to the opposite.
Still, I suppose in some ways you're right. They're charging what they think the market can bear, but I feel they are breaking implied price/value promises made when I signed-up (the regular annual price was under $10 for a .com or .net) and their price/value is quickly moving farther and farther out of whack (I cannot bear it - so I'm switching to a dramatically better offering).
Thanks again. Have a good day.
Can you name any company that doesn't aim to generate as much X as they can? X can be money or anything else, my point is that referring to a company as greedy makes no sense because it's their sole purpose. That's like calling a track and field runner greedy for being as fast as he/she can. When it's your sole purpose, it's not greed, it's success. Its positive not negative and the word greed always has a negative connotation so it's just an inappropriate word to describe any company.
Excelling in something extremely challenging isn't greed. Greed is more along the lines of when you want something for nothing or wanting more than you deserve. Imagine working your ass off day and night for years in order to attain certain goals and then someone refers to you or your work as greedy....it's like making fun of everyone who works hard without knowing the details.
To achieve success in a market as competitive as the registrar or web hosting space, where you don't even turn a profit on each customer until year 2,3, or 4 is not easy. What you said wasn't the end of the world, it was just a flippant remark you made to vent your frustration, I get it man I have more than 300 domains registered with them and don't like paying $20 renewal fees which is why I bulk transfer them back and forth to a cheaper option every year.
I probably didn't use the most diplomatic choice of words but I'm literally just trying to help you out so you might avoid saying something that sounds so childish or inaccurate for your own sake because I don't think you can name any companies that deserve to be referred to as greedy. Can you?
Thank you for your response.
Yes, I can name companies that don't "aim to generate as much X as they can" - most B-corporations, which look to earn profit and serve some social good.
I also think many non-B companies also serve more than one mission (fixing a problem they care about or doing something they love - like music or woodworking - and profit is simply the outcome, helping their communities and employees flourish, etc.) though profit is certainly (and appropriately) at the top of most lists.
I also don't agree that when maximizing profit is a company's SOLE purpose, "it's not greed, it's success." Anything-goes-in-service-of-profit behavior often leads to decisions that result disasters for third parties (environmental disasters, bailouts, etc.).
I don't agree that my referring to GoDaddy as greedy was flippant, or at all "like making fun of everyone who works hard without knowing the details." I am referring to this specific company* and I DO know the details.
(* I've had lots of encounters with nice, helpful customer service people there, so I'm actually referring to the ownership and executive management)
To answer your last-paragraph question, yes, I can name a company that "deserve(s) to be referred to as greedy":
It's the same company that doubled my SSL cost at renewal, after being with them 10+ years: GoDaddy.
Do you think their decision was motivated by something other than greed?
I do believe in the market as the best way to allocate resources and rewards, but I don't believe in 100% pure capitalism (regulations should as be clear and minimal as possible).
I also want companies I do business with to provide good value and earn a healthy profit. I'm happy for my auto mechanic to be able to buy a boat, but I don't want to buy the entire boat for him at once, because he greedily rips me off on something.
I will gladly read any response you share, but I think I'm done contributing to our discussion here.
Thank you again for your time and thoughts. -M
Not to worry, you'll learn the realities soon enough. All I did was try to describe to you how things work, not how I wish things worked. In an ideal world, everything would be as you describe.
I really like NameCheap and never had this problem with them so I doubt the issue is there.
Two other reasons to useNameCheap for searches: you can use "beast mode" to search hundreds of domains at once across multiple extensions, great for broad thesaurus-based queries without wasting a lot of time and let's you see the competitiveness of certain keywords quickly.
The second is the .is domain that has only recently been opened up. NameCheap is the cheapest (and one of the only) places to register those right now and it hasn't been overrun by squatters yet.
Another place to check on whether or not a domain name is taken is ICANN's own lookup tool (presumably, no snooping third parties): https://lookup.icann.org/
Same happened to me on my current project. Whatever, i'll pick a new name.
I have used uniregistry.com until I realized that namecheap.com is >50% cheaper for one specific domain I was interested in. Thanks for sharing
I've always used godaddy, why is that bad? I hope people can give some tips and ideas!
Please check other replies about godaddy and and if you search google you will see alot about their wrong-doings.
Many people I know faced domain-runner issues on godaddy especially if you search for same domain more than once, and it is having noted keywords it will immediately made into premium or booked.
I personally faced over charging for services which I never requested for(the charge was more than 10 times to the domain price). And strangely I was supposed to call their support system(no emails work) to get back my over-charge fee and their support system is not easy to reach.
Also please check @joyed reply here.
Hey i am very interested in this, more than anything because my domains are purchased thru godaddy.
why is godaddy a bad domain-runner?
Thanks
I don't say this from personal experience, but years ago I used to visit a few SEO forums where GoDaddy had a very bad reputation. The following are the kinds of stories I used to hear about them:
Names getting registered (good sounding ones) minutes or hours after they were searched. Many folks have multiple names in mind for their projects and they tend to search for them multiple times while deciding.
It seems GoDaddy used to offer a free domain with their shared hosting plans. However, it seems they registered it in their name instead of the buyer's name. As a result if you ever wanted to move hosting and you valued that domain, they'd ask you to pay a hefty amount in order to transfer the domain to your name.
There have been stories of domains getting stolen/transferred from GoDaddy without the owner's knowledge/permission. This could simply have been a matter of the owner not having been careful but folks used to sound as if this happened in spite of all necessary precautions that could have been taken by the owner. I think a Google search with the right words would bring up these stories so you can evaluate for yourself.
I did just to check and here are 2 links:
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18655630
https://www.reddit.com/r/web_design/comments/60o6j8/godaddy_is_domain_poaching_becareful/
Here's a text from the first link:
"I can. I used to work at GoDaddy and they have an "Executive Domain Team" that is basically just a fancy word for a group of people that assist domain kiters. If you search for a domain on GoDaddy's whois, they put a hold on it and publish the list to potential domain "investors" (read: kiters) who then have the option of purchasing it out from under you. These are people that literally invest thousands of dollars to buy up domains on the off chance that they can resell them at a profit. Anytime there's a sunrise period on a new domain TLD, these guys go in and buy all the popular and common names wholesale and they have a dedicated person that works at GoDaddy to help them do this.
Anytime you have a question about whether something is a scam or not, just ask yourself where the money is. In this case, it's in GoDaddy making money off of any time a domain name is sold, re-sold, auctioned, or if it changes hands. It's where the majority of their money made comes from, outside of services where people just don't know that better alternatives exist. "
Usually more expensive, constant and annoying upselling, if you want to sell a domain, you have to pay.
This last is anecdotal. I had a domain that I am 99% I had turned off the renewal and it was renewed anyway.
really ? that's a bit sketch. I have one domain that I put to not renew and it should expired in 5 days, will see what happens.
I'll want to hear about this!
---Copy-Pasting from my other reply---
Many people I know faced domain-runner issues on godaddy especially if you search for same domain more than once, and it is having noted keywords it will immediately made into premium or booked.
I personally faced over charging for services which I never requested for(the charge was more than 10 times to the domain price). And strangely I was supposed to call their support system(no emails work) to get back my over-charge fee and their support system is not easy to reach.
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Well, support its been fine until now at least...
will sav leave the domain after 2-3 years if no one buys it?
I don't understand your question.
That's pretty sketchy of them, to be honest. If you're looking for brandable one-word domains, I'd recommend One Word Domains, which is a database of all the available one-word domains paired up with 20+ TLDs for your next side project/startup idea.
Disclaimer: I'm the maker - thus you don't have to worry about the names you search getting swiped because I don't intend on selling user data to any registrars out there.
I've had a few domains get sold after I searched for them, but I'm pretty sure it was coincidence because good domains are usually on expired domain drop lists and since lots of people are monitoring those lists, it's probably just coincidence.
I personally don't believe GoDaddy does this type of thing but for anyone paranoid about it, it's better to be safe than sorry. My suggestion is a simple solution. When you're checking the availability of domains, first do your brainstorming sessions in a text file and then bulk check the availability, I use GoDaddy's bulk tool which lets you check up to 500 at a time.
For the really good ones and ones that you're on the fence about, register all of them. Then you have up to 5 days to finalize your decision because there is a 5 day return policy. This way there's no chance that someone registers them while you're thinking about it.
I think the domain selection process is also a good way for you to determine how serious you are about pursuing an idea. If you find yourself questioning spending a few dollars on a really good domain, maybe you're not that serious about the idea.
Anytime in the future when you're randomly checking the availability of a domain, if it's a good one, just buy it and then make a decision within the 5 day time limit. Even if you forget to return it, if it's worth paying for it even just initially, it's probably a good domain worth a lot more than $9 so you really can't lose either way.
I always use GoDaddy but you have to check the return policy of your preferred registrar because they might be different. For example, domains.google.com only allows you to ask for a refund like once or twice per year or something like that. Basically, they only allow returns for truly accidental situations.
And even with GoDaddy's return policy, I'm willing to bet they have a limit on how many they will do for you so you don't want to abuse it. However, this process will work if you're trying to select a domain for your actual business because you won't be searching for names every day. Just dedicate one full day to buying a domain and be done with it because this process could go on forever since thousands of really good domains become available every day.
Totally agree, I just find myself commiting to purchasing it as it becomes available.
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I dunno. I wouldn't trust GoDaddy too much
Exactly, I heard alot more bad things about GoDaddy than all other registers together. On my first try with GoDaddy, they over charged for a service I never even asked for(hidden text and it was 10 times to the cost of the domain) after a multiple support calls they accepted and agreed to return money.
This comment was deleted 3 years ago.