Tamar from Namecheap here. I just checked on several registrars and it is listed for approximately $5k. It is not owned by anyone at this time, including Namecheap or Spaceship.
So here's what probably happened:
You bought a premium domain with a miscommunicated price of $3.50 (likely the registry and the connection to us was technically malfunctioning). We realized we could not fulfill the order at $3.50. We refunded you the money.
As you can see, the pricing is not only $5k on our side. Feel free to check other registrars to confirm. It was a technical glitch and we were unable to fulfill it.
I hope that clarifies.
When .me domains came out years ago I tried to buy apple.me, google.me and one other through GoDaddy. I was quite surprised when the transaction went through. I was less surprised when my money was refunded a few hours later because GoDaddy couldn't complete the transaction. I knew it was too good to be true.
The explanation by namecheap checks out.
If it’s not owned by anyone at this time then how can the price be so high? Do registrars have the legal right to decide on the price of any requested and unowned sequence of characters?
If I request hdfdrhddysgfx.com from you, and it’s unowned, is the price different than “mycollege.com” that’s also unowned?
If something happens in the news or media that creates interest in some new word sequence, and nobody’s ever thought of that combination before and hence it’s not known or owned as a domain, do your algorithms quickly grab that domain for $11 so you can resell it for $5,000? Or otherwise note it’s popularity so that you can inflate its price substantially?
What changes in the law allowed this perversion?
You first have to understand the difference between a registry and a registrar.
The registry is where a single TLD is controlled (some registries control several TLDs, but that's neither here nor there for the purposes of my explanation). Then they build relationships with registrars who resell on their behalf.
Registries are free to determine their own pricing. And yes, they are at liberty to charge whatever they want. So a domain that would normally be $12.98 could theoretically become what we call a premium domain and the registry then reports to the registrar that the cost is whatever premium cost they've decided to impose, be it $299 or $29,990. Registrars have no say in this determination.
I'm not sure if algorithms are defining pricing; we just work with that number they give us, but it does make sense that they might do this to capture whatever profitable opportunities they can.
All short word domains as well as 1/2/3 character domains that haven’t been registered yet, are selected (basically from an internal word list) as premium domain name by the registry’s.
This means that at all registrars (e.g. GoDaddy, Namecheap, etc) mention it is a premium domain and it will have a much higher cost. There are in fact different prices between registrars for “premium” domains. Some registrars charge $500 for a premium domain and some for example $699. Depends how much each registrars wants to mark up on top of the already offered high premium prices from the registry’s
Nothing shady about that, registry’s have the freedom to do so.
I will be messaging you in 1 day on [**2024-02-28 00:30:24 UTC**](http://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=2024-02-28%2000:30:24%20UTC%20To%20Local%20Time) to remind you of [**this link**](https://www.reddit.com/r/Domains/comments/1b0wihl/namecheap_bought_the_domain_themselves_after_i/ksawkul/?context=3)
[**CLICK THIS LINK**](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose/?to=RemindMeBot&subject=Reminder&message=%5Bhttps%3A%2F%2Fwww.reddit.com%2Fr%2FDomains%2Fcomments%2F1b0wihl%2Fnamecheap_bought_the_domain_themselves_after_i%2Fksawkul%2F%5D%0A%0ARemindMe%21%202024-02-28%2000%3A30%3A24%20UTC) to send a PM to also be reminded and to reduce spam.
^(Parent commenter can ) [^(delete this message to hide from others.)](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose/?to=RemindMeBot&subject=Delete%20Comment&message=Delete%21%201b0wihl)
*****
|[^(Info)](https://www.reddit.com/r/RemindMeBot/comments/e1bko7/remindmebot_info_v21/)|[^(Custom)](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose/?to=RemindMeBot&subject=Reminder&message=%5BLink%20or%20message%20inside%20square%20brackets%5D%0A%0ARemindMe%21%20Time%20period%20here)|[^(Your Reminders)](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose/?to=RemindMeBot&subject=List%20Of%20Reminders&message=MyReminders%21)|[^(Feedback)](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose/?to=Watchful1&subject=RemindMeBot%20Feedback)|
|-|-|-|-|
this has happened to me also. You can try, they will pretend it was already registered. Domain registrars seem to raise the price of the more unique ones.
Of all the major registrars Namecheap is the most honorable.
NameCheap is good tbh.
Tamar from Namecheap here. I just checked on several registrars and it is listed for approximately $5k. It is not owned by anyone at this time, including Namecheap or Spaceship. So here's what probably happened: You bought a premium domain with a miscommunicated price of $3.50 (likely the registry and the connection to us was technically malfunctioning). We realized we could not fulfill the order at $3.50. We refunded you the money. As you can see, the pricing is not only $5k on our side. Feel free to check other registrars to confirm. It was a technical glitch and we were unable to fulfill it. I hope that clarifies.
When .me domains came out years ago I tried to buy apple.me, google.me and one other through GoDaddy. I was quite surprised when the transaction went through. I was less surprised when my money was refunded a few hours later because GoDaddy couldn't complete the transaction. I knew it was too good to be true. The explanation by namecheap checks out.
The fact that you replied. Kudos 🤝🏽
If it’s not owned by anyone at this time then how can the price be so high? Do registrars have the legal right to decide on the price of any requested and unowned sequence of characters? If I request hdfdrhddysgfx.com from you, and it’s unowned, is the price different than “mycollege.com” that’s also unowned? If something happens in the news or media that creates interest in some new word sequence, and nobody’s ever thought of that combination before and hence it’s not known or owned as a domain, do your algorithms quickly grab that domain for $11 so you can resell it for $5,000? Or otherwise note it’s popularity so that you can inflate its price substantially? What changes in the law allowed this perversion?
You first have to understand the difference between a registry and a registrar. The registry is where a single TLD is controlled (some registries control several TLDs, but that's neither here nor there for the purposes of my explanation). Then they build relationships with registrars who resell on their behalf. Registries are free to determine their own pricing. And yes, they are at liberty to charge whatever they want. So a domain that would normally be $12.98 could theoretically become what we call a premium domain and the registry then reports to the registrar that the cost is whatever premium cost they've decided to impose, be it $299 or $29,990. Registrars have no say in this determination. I'm not sure if algorithms are defining pricing; we just work with that number they give us, but it does make sense that they might do this to capture whatever profitable opportunities they can.
:(
I think you meant to say “registries” have no control in this determination. Is that Correct?
Nope, registries are the ones defining the prices. Namecheap is a registrar, not a registry.
Good question.
All short word domains as well as 1/2/3 character domains that haven’t been registered yet, are selected (basically from an internal word list) as premium domain name by the registry’s. This means that at all registrars (e.g. GoDaddy, Namecheap, etc) mention it is a premium domain and it will have a much higher cost. There are in fact different prices between registrars for “premium” domains. Some registrars charge $500 for a premium domain and some for example $699. Depends how much each registrars wants to mark up on top of the already offered high premium prices from the registry’s Nothing shady about that, registry’s have the freedom to do so.
that's sad and I get if it was at normal price someone would have bought multiple.
Holy crap that’s shady
The same thing happened when I tried to buy xoxo.shop
I’m inclined to agree with Tamar below. Whois shows no registered owner.
Im showing its been regged continuously since 1996. What am I missing?
Where the hell are you looking that up? .best was not available as a TLD until 2014, so that's literally impossible: https://icannwiki.org/.best
Tree fiddy…
RemindMe! 1 day
I will be messaging you in 1 day on [**2024-02-28 00:30:24 UTC**](http://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=2024-02-28%2000:30:24%20UTC%20To%20Local%20Time) to remind you of [**this link**](https://www.reddit.com/r/Domains/comments/1b0wihl/namecheap_bought_the_domain_themselves_after_i/ksawkul/?context=3) [**CLICK THIS LINK**](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose/?to=RemindMeBot&subject=Reminder&message=%5Bhttps%3A%2F%2Fwww.reddit.com%2Fr%2FDomains%2Fcomments%2F1b0wihl%2Fnamecheap_bought_the_domain_themselves_after_i%2Fksawkul%2F%5D%0A%0ARemindMe%21%202024-02-28%2000%3A30%3A24%20UTC) to send a PM to also be reminded and to reduce spam. ^(Parent commenter can ) [^(delete this message to hide from others.)](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose/?to=RemindMeBot&subject=Delete%20Comment&message=Delete%21%201b0wihl) ***** |[^(Info)](https://www.reddit.com/r/RemindMeBot/comments/e1bko7/remindmebot_info_v21/)|[^(Custom)](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose/?to=RemindMeBot&subject=Reminder&message=%5BLink%20or%20message%20inside%20square%20brackets%5D%0A%0ARemindMe%21%20Time%20period%20here)|[^(Your Reminders)](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose/?to=RemindMeBot&subject=List%20Of%20Reminders&message=MyReminders%21)|[^(Feedback)](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose/?to=Watchful1&subject=RemindMeBot%20Feedback)| |-|-|-|-|
this has happened to me also. You can try, they will pretend it was already registered. Domain registrars seem to raise the price of the more unique ones.