network solutions steals domains

So, check this out. Batistablr and I were searching for some domain names that he was considering for purchase. I often go to network solutions (netsol) to do my searching because it’s really simple and you don’t have to login or enter a captcha.

Here it is, a day later and Batistablr has decided to purchase one of those domain names that I looked up on netsol, but to his surprise, it was no longer available. Someone had purchased this domain in the one day since I found it available on their site.

Batistablr looked up who thought to purchase the domain name in such a short time. It turns out that netsol purchased the domain name. But, how can they afford to purchase all these domain names that people search for?

Here’s the trick. Netsol knows that they can purchase a domain name. If they cancel the purchase within about 4 days after purchase, they don’t have to pay for it.

The Lesson: Don’t search for your domain names on netsol unless you plan on purchasing them from netsol. If you do, you will end up SOL yourself.