Listings still mucking up domain sales process — Orphaned domain

When domains change hands or expire, “for sale” listings remain.

[Update: I received a message from GoDaddy saying a solution is in the works and ought to be complete within a couple weeks.] [Update 2 Feb 20: GoDaddy states it has fixed the problem. If anyone has the same problem in the future please let me know.] In October I wrote regarding how domain name marketplaces still struggle with “orphan listings”. These are domains listed for sale that have either expired or were listed by their previous owner.

A couple people have recently relayed to me issues related to orphan listings and how this has become a bigger issue with listings being syndicated to GoDaddy.

In one case exactly like the one I described in October, a client tried to hand register a domain on GoDaddy.com that had by now expired. The domain was still listed on GoDaddy Auctions, though. GoDaddy.com stated the domain wasn’t available for registration but could be purchased on GoDaddy Auctions. The user ended up having to use the GoDaddy app to register the domain. (GoDaddy doesn’t show auction listings in the registration path to mobile users.)

I discovered another person on NamePros who won an expired domain backorder and promptly listed the domain for sale on GoDaddy Premium Listings. He was surprised what he saw when he searched for the domain on GoDaddy. Instead of showing his Premium listing, the site showed an old Sedo “buy now” listing from the previous owner.

I know there are domains I own that still show up for sale on Sedo that were listed by previous owners. This can cause a whole slew of problems. I keep waiting for the day that someone files a UDRP on one and claims I listed it for sale on Sedo…when it was really someone else.

There are solutions, at least when it comes to fixed priced domains. Both Afternic and Sedo have mechanisms in place to monitor domains listed with instant transfer capabilities. But that doesn’t cover all domains, as was the case here.