The domain aftermarket has a big problem - Domain Name Wire | Domain Name News
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Domain aftermarkets need to clean up their inventory. Let me start this rant with some good news. This month, I sold a domain name for $6,500 that I found through Domain Academy’s Afternic advanced search tool. I bought the domain for less than $100. Now for the bad news: I spent a lot of time […]

Here’s my take:

The domain aftermarket has a big problem… it exists. This market shouldn’t ever be allowed to exist in the first place. ICANN should’ve blocked this bullshit a long time ago and forced registrars to just let domains expire and free the space. Also add a few provisions about unused domain names and about selling them.

  • Godort@lemm.eeEnglish
    392·
    9 months ago

    Domain squatting is incredibly scummy, but I have no idea how it would be possible to have any other system.

    My understanding is that domains do expire unless you pay the fee to renew for another year.

    Regarding unused domain names, how would anyone know if a particular name is being unused? Domain names are used for more things than browsable websites. You’d have to have a system that could determine if traffic is going to those names, which seems bad from a privacy standpoint and also pretty easy to script around.

    • TCB13@lemmy.worldOPEnglish
      251·
      9 months ago

      My understanding is that domains do expire unless you pay the fee to renew for another year.

      The problem is that this isn’t what happens today. If you register a domain and never pay for it again then providers will often renew the domain and keep it to themselves and try resell it later. This is one of the biggest issues in the domain name market and GoDaddy is one of the worst offenders.

      Regarding unused domain names, how would anyone know if a particular name is being unused?

      Yes that’s a good question but I’m sure that ICANN with all it’s wisdom and infinite resources and teams could define something reasonable. I believe the first step could be to simply make sure registrars can’t do what I describe before.

    • jqubed@lemmy.worldEnglish
      16·
      9 months ago

      I accidentally let my personal domain expire because I was using PayPal with my registrar but they couldn’t use that for auto renew. Someone else bought it but they’re not doing anything with it. I can’t see who owns it because they’re doing a private registration with the same registrar I used, so as far as whois is concerned it’s the same registration it’s always had. This happened once before to me years ago and the people who bought it that time put up a fake YouTube clone in French but I just waited them out and they abandoned it a year later. This has been going on two years now and it still hasn’t been abandoned. It’s not critical to have but it’s annoying that someone’s squatting on it hoping I’ll pay a premium to get it back. It’s not that valuable to me.

      • TCB13@lemmy.worldOPEnglish
        4·
        9 months ago

        I can’t see who owns it because they’re doing a private registration with the same registrar I used, so as far as whois is concerned it’s the same registration it’s always had.

        Maybe it isn’t another person, it’s more likely to be your registrar holding the domain to sell on auction later on. This is the typical GoDaddy behaviour.

        • jqubed@lemmy.worldEnglish
          31·
          9 months ago

          I’m using Namecheap but I have had this suspicion that they’re the ones holding it this time. If I could confirm that it would definitely have me looking for another registrar. That feels like it should be against ICANN rules.

  • Simon@lemmy.dbzer0.comEnglish
    212·
    9 months ago

    Oh no, speculators’ third party products don’t work. Anyway… get a real job fuckface.

  • Cort@lemmy.worldEnglish
    11·
    9 months ago

    I even recall a time I negotiated back and forth on Sedo to buy a domain name, and it turned out the seller didn’t own the domain.

    I’m sorry, how is this NOT fraud?

    I agree with OP. Domains should just expire if they’re not renewed.

    And honestly, I’m against the hoarding and resale of them too. They’re a finite resource and should be limited to a fixed number per human being. And only transferred for free not resold.

    • TCB13@lemmy.worldOPEnglish
      61·
      9 months ago

      They’re a finite resource and should be limited to a fixed number per human being. And only transferred for free not resold.

      While I don’t agree with the free transfer I agree with the the other part. ICANN should fine and obliterate registrars that keep domains for themselves and individual hoarders.

    • VelociCatTurd@lemmy.worldEnglish
      4·
      9 months ago

      Even if they are finite, the number would be so impossibly large that for all practical purposes this would not be the case.

      • Cort@lemmy.worldEnglish
        3·
        9 months ago

        While you’re technically correct (the best kind) I’d still argue that the subset of finite addresses that are human readable and relayable is significantly smaller. If you disagree just fill out a form on my website:

        complaints.dng8jeispqo9rjrjejqkfns6gusjehrjrow7pwjqlqejtbdkwo0118999 8819991197253fja3k1wjri55foem8wms.co.biz

        • VelociCatTurd@lemmy.worldEnglish
          1·
          9 months ago

          Sure and I know that you meant. But I also think that with a little creativity and compromise it’s also not difficult at all to get something that’s not that long and also easily said.