D&P Is it true that domain registrars "steal" your domain name idea when you check if it's available?

[SummersBase]

I had a feeling about this before, and yesterday, I was searching for domain names to use for a new project. I tried out many combinations of names, words, and TLDs, and eventually, I found a great and brief name that was available for registration for $9.98 per year. However, when I tried to register it today, the same name was being sold for $1000. Do you believe that domain name registrars increase the price of a good and short name by over 10,000% if it's not bought immediately?

 

[Cahalfie]

This is a common occurrence that happens frequently.

Numerous registrars profit significantly from auctions and frequently engage in such practices.

Out of curiosity, which platform or registrar were you using to check the availability of domains?

 

[DarthBradley]

I have come across several discussions on other domain forums regarding the same issue you mentioned. However, these discussions are mostly based on speculations, and no concrete evidence has been provided.

It is possible that the issue could be attributed to a bug or technical glitch. May I ask where you checked the availability of the domain? Lately, I have personally experienced some issues with GoDaddy, where it erroneously showed a domain as available for hand registration when, in fact, it was already registered and listed for sale at a higher price by sellers.

 

[Galowear]

This is a common occurrence that happens frequently.

Numerous registrars profit significantly from auctions and frequently engage in such practices.

Out of curiosity, which platform or registrar were you using to check the availability of domains?

That's a wise approach. It's a good idea to create a list of desired domain names and test their availability all at once before making any purchases.

Usually, I check availability on Google Domains. However, in this particular case, I was checking on Namecheap. It's surprising to see how the price for a domain can vary significantly, as it was listed for $9 yesterday and has now spiked to $1000.

 

[RocksVod]

I understand that there have been instances of inaccurate information and glitches with domain availability at GoDaddy. However, in this particular situation, you are highly confident, around 99%, that Namecheap has essentially taken or acquired your desired domain name. It seems like a case of your domain being "stolen" by Namecheap, so to speak.

 

[Verbtern]

To clarify the situation, you can perform a WHOIS lookup on the domain to determine if it was registered between yesterday and today. If you find that it was actually registered prior to yesterday, then the fact that it appeared as available yesterday was indeed a bug or an error in the system.

 

[ChiriMo]

By any chance, does the domain name have a non-.com extension with premium renewals or registrations? Could you please specify the extension? Is it currently listed for sale on the Namecheap marketplace, or is it an unregistered domain with a high registration fee? For example, something like Reactions:Flavio A.

 

[DubyaLawn]

I had a feeling about this before, and yesterday, I was searching for domain names to use for a new project. I tried out many combinations of names, words, and TLDs, and eventually, I found a great and brief name that was available for registration for $9.98 per year. However, when I tried to register it today, the same name was being sold for $1000. Do you believe that domain name registrars increase the price of a good and short name by over 10,000% if it's not bought immediately?

Namecheap doesn't have live availability checker, the domain could've been registered already.

Even if it wasn't, this happens often with domainers who search the same lists (like recently dropped domains).

It's usually just other people who register it before you.

I used to write lists of decent available domains, some from dropped lists, others made up by me or generated. I'd check the list periodically and they'd get registered over time fairly fast, depending how good they were.

Sometimes they weren't even that good, but people think the same way sometimes and will find your domain ideas eventually.

I don't think registrars do this. It doesn't make sense to them. They prefer a lot of $9 sales rather than a rare 1k sale because it means more customers and recurring revenue compared to almost no customers and a bad rep.