"INSIDER TRADING" in expiring domain names

S

SFGuyNY

New member
I am sure a lot of people have gone through the frustration of patiently monitor a domain name in the drop list going through its final stages, checking every so often to see if it has become available and then suddenly it has been grabbed by a registrar/associate and added to their existing cache and even have a cookie-cutter website is up and running if you check.

Firstly domain names are public domain property that should be available to everybody. How is it OK for someone to use "insider" information and technology that gives them the ability to grab and register a name before someone else for a pittance and then relist them for sale for huge profits? Forget getting a premium name, but even not-so-premium names these days are being held hostage by these companies. I am pretty sure that they are able to determine how many people are quering a name thats dropping, so they can decide which names to take up. It is fair that someone else beats you into registering a domain name manually before you - how can you ever beat a process where you have to navigate multiple screens and then enter some letters or number that you see on the screen which the registrar has in place to prevent automated registrations but use automated systems themselves?

Simply put this practice must stop, and registrars/associates who are in the business of registering domains should not be allowed to register domains unless for their own use. It creates a conflict of interest, and is clearly illegal or against the professional code of conduct in other industries - and Martha Stewart' case had created this awareness in every American that it is unacceptable. I am just throwing this out to see how others feel about it and if anybody had suggestions on how to take this up.
 
On one hand, companies are allowed to do this. It is legal and they are in the business to make money. This is simply a way to increase profits and perhaps lower costs that will be passed on to consumers. On the other hand, it is unfair to the average consumer because they do not have access to this technology. IMO, domain names may be used for whatever the registrant intends to use it for.

Consumers can backorder domain names through many registrars, which supposedly allows them to grab the domain name as soon as it expires. I do not know of the success rate of backordering a domain name, however.

Also, on a side note, Martha Stewart was not convicted of insider trading, rather she convicted of lying to officials.
 
webfreak08,

"On one hand, companies are allowed to do this. It is legal and they are in the business to make money."

If you look at other industries - they generally have a professional code of conduct that they need to adhere to, and I think ICANN should have one as well. e.g. if there is a news on a particular stock and the price is expected to go up, stock brokers cannot just go and start buying up that stock to hold and sell at a profit to customers simply because they can do so before them. Or if a real estate broker or firm who sees a lot of potential for a property he's listing goes out and buys the property to sell it later at a higher price can lose his licence if found out.

"Martha Stewart was not convicted of insider trading, rather she convicted of lying to officials."
Maybe it wasn't the perfect example, what I really meant was that she created an awareness.
 
SFGuyNY, you make a valid point. However, the Internet is relitively new to other industries, and lawmakers are unsure how to deal with it. Domain names are cheap to register. Many places will register one for less than $10.

How would ICANN "know" if you registered a domain name simply to sell it to someone in hopes of making money? It seems very hard to me when domain names are accessible to everyone with a credit card.
 
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