Domain Search Means Domain Registration at Network Solutions

“Domain Search Means Domain Registration at Network Solutions”

What do I mean by that headline? Suprisingly it means just that; if you do a search at Network Solutions to see if your chosen domain is available … they register it right away. That domain you were thinking about? It’s now theirs. All you can do is wait for it to expire or buy it from them. For your convenience. Much more expensively than your usual domain company.

Let me show you what I mean.

First we do a search …




… oh great, the domain is available!




Oh, but if you check … no it isn’t!




Try it in your browser …




Your idea, their domain. If you want it you can buy it back for up to three times the price of a normal domain registration.

My advice is to ask around your friends for recommendations of friendly and efficient domain registration companies and keep your domain ideas to yourself.

Posted on January 10, 2008 by Chris Garrett 
Filed Under IT

Comments

9 Responses to “Domain Search Means Domain Registration at Network Solutions”

  1. Jack @ Tech Teapot on January 10th, 2008 1:56 pm

    Pretty scummy thing to do…kinda like a patent clerk stealing patent applications. Oh wait, that happens too!

  2. Sukhdev Singh on January 10th, 2008 2:50 pm

    This is very unethical. I think some other providers also resort to such tactics. I have similar experience but not that explicit. I wanted a domain name for a community related to my native place in Punjab. I searched through some Domain Search Engine (sorry I don’t remember it, I didn’t knew it could happen, I just had googled it). It was available. However when I really tried to purchase it through an Indian service provider, I found it was already purchased by someone in US. I gave the idea of purchasing it. Then again I checked it after about a week – thank god, it again became available. Ultimately I was able to purchase it through a normal purchase order.

  3. Chris Garrett on January 10th, 2008 4:20 pm

    @Jack – Yup, it is basically holding you to ransom as far as I can tell. Thing is lots of people look for a short list, discuss then come back later – they can’t here.

    @Sukhdev – Happens a lot on fringe domain sites, never expected a big name like this to do it. Problem is, all those domain speculators will snap up the domain after the “hostage” period so it is either pay the thirty plus dollars they want or wait and pay a few hundred on the after market :(

  4. Tony on January 10th, 2008 5:27 pm

    First, this is unacceptable by them. Second, I checked out their Vision and Mission on their site. Seems to me they aren’t really leading with a ‘Customer First’ philosophy… Problem lies in that if you search google with ‘Domain Registration’, they are #1 and Go Daddy is #2. People just won’t know until it’s too late.

    Company Vision: Recognized leader in helping customers use the Internet to enrich and enhance their lives.

    Company Mission: We embrace a ‘customer first’ philosophy in delivering solutions and services online designed to make our customers successful.

  5. Chris Garrett on January 10th, 2008 9:49 pm

    Good points Tony, and all the links they will get over this I guess will only help keep them there :(

  6. Modesto on January 10th, 2008 10:27 pm

    I tried it to reproduce it but I can’t get it to work, as in the domain name remains unregistered instead of it being registered by Networksolutions.

  7. pracas upreti on January 28th, 2008 8:02 pm

    very unofficial ,

    thanks for tracing the great and highly hidden bad act from NS ,

    really i’m totally fade up from those kinds of acts , people are very busy in cybersquatting ([internet] registering a domain name of interest to someone else (e.g. a business of that name) in the hope of selling it for a profit) these days

    even a useless cybersmart does the thing , reserves the domain name and asks a huge amount , but i get shocked when the domain register giant Network Solutions is also busy on this thing.

    In my view its totally a cheap thing to do such a act, it must be checked by ICANN and treat them.

    pracas upreti
    biratnagar nepal

  8. MarcusBrutus on February 23rd, 2008 4:58 pm

    I’m getting pretty tired of seeing these copy and paste accusations with no follow up. Here’s the truth to the whole network solutions deal- Yes they register the domain, it’s called “domain tasting” and it lasts FIVE DAYS, then the domain reverts to unregistered status, it’s not some evil plan to make you buy from them, it’s an evil plan to make you THINK you have to buy from them. Just wait a week and you can buy your domain from another provider if you wish. It would be ignorant to believe that every domain searched is actually purchased by NS.

  9. Zapp on May 29th, 2008 12:09 am

    Thank you very much for documenting how NS works, Thank you.

    And to MarcusBrutus, NS actually do register ever single search. Try searching for Network-Solution-is-a-very-bad-registra
    and see what happens, they register it :)

    And what you say about FIVEDAYS, yes fivedays, then it is dropped, but then you must be very very quick and in that second they drop it, reg. it, or else some other “domain taster” as you put it, will take the name and drop it 5 days later again, and this will go on if you are unlucky.

    NS reg. the domain and tries to sell it to you for tripple the amount??? where is the service here?.

    Thanks again and best regards,

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