About two weeks ago I found a domain name that I considered registering. I wasn't sure if I wanted it, so I thought about it for a while. About a week later I checked if the name was still available, but someone had registered it a day prior. I checked the whois and it was some domain name holdings company that registered it and the domain name led to page stating that it's for sale and that they wanted $1000 for it. Today, for some reason I searched for the status of the name, and noticed that it was available. I registered it immediately after. How is it possible that the domain name became available one week after it was initially registered?

Some registrars offer a "change of heart" period where you can delete a newly registered name. Maybe this person was just trying to see if the name was worth hanging on to for offers...

It's called "Domain Tasting", or in Bob Parsons (owner of GoDaddy) words "Domain Kiting".

Your whois search has been monitored and the domain was regged. They were probably looking to see if there was any traffic on the domain, or to sell it to you at an inflated price. These pseudo-registrars can reg and drop a domain within 5 days without costing them a cent except for the lost interest on the regfee which they have to deposit with the registry.

A good place to start to read more about this is at Bob Parsons blog, www.bobparsons.com, although I find him a bit too shrill for my taste.

See http://www.webmasterworld.com/forum25/3833.htm

One or more registrars have been squatting for free on domains that people check on. If the person panics and buys it, or there is sufficient traffic to make them ad money, they profit.

They have an unfair advantage, because only the registrars know what domains people are checking on.

Actually, the article I pointed to isn't as relevant. I was bit quick on that one. Parson's blog is more to the point.

BOHICA.....

I'm not sure that, with the information given, one can presume out-of-hand that the domain in question was acquired by the "taster" as a result of an availability check. This has been covered in other threads, but without knowing how the availability check was done and what registrar the "taster" used, there just isn't enough information to leap to that conclusion.

Not knowing the domain in question it's impossible for anyone to speculate on how "desireable" the domain is, but I still find it very very hard to believe that any registrars are selling their logs to third party companies that then "taste" domains that were checked but not registered.

Witt: How did you check the domain's availability? A web site, or with a command line-based whois client? Do you know for certain which registrar the "taster" used? And, if you're willing to share (since you've acquired the domain and it's moot at this point 'cause no one else can get it) what was the domain in question?

No one has yet provided certain data that a domain they checked at a particular registrar was grabbed shortly thereafter for tasting. The other thread that I recall had a command line-based whois check -- no registrar sees those. And, if Verisign (or some other registry) is participating in an unfair advantage scheme by sharing their data with a third party, that would surely raise some eyebrows.

Inquiring minds want to know, as the saying goes....

I can't sight any specific cases at the moment, Domainitor, but there have been so many cases surrounding the Intercosmos Group (Directnic and their cohorts) that it's a pound to a penny that it is happening. I'd give most registrars the initial benefit of the doubt, but not Intercosmos and their associates.

I agree, without all the facts, I had to make a small leap to come to my conclusion. But domains just don't get registered and dropped by normal people. But I agree it could be entirely a coincidence that the taster thought up the same name as witt after he'd done his search ;)

Sweet. :)

I guess I've not been on the forum long enough to have seen the Directnic nonsense.

Good to know... good to know....

It doesn't affect me (I own a registrar) but it's amazing the depths to which some companies will sink for a buck. :(

I think you should make that a buck or two :)

it's amazing the depths to which some companies will sink for a buck. :(

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English isn't my first language and I am amazed how you put the above sentence. Kudos!!!

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