About time this surfaced if it’s true, I’ve been waiting kinda, sorta….. All I can say is two things:
1) I use GD as my primary registrar thanks to price, I hold roughly 70% of my names there. Support is decent. Auctions are ok, but still a mess with owners renewing after I paid and won the name and then I wait for a refund. That needs to stop immediately, no matter what any GD auction rep has to say in nicely worded posts or responses. Overall though, GD is better than most registrars.
2) I have had TWO experiences where I searched a name, saw it available, waited until the next day and it was regged w/ privacy @ GD….hmmm…. Both GOOD names too, I was pisssssssed (one of the two names was absolute KILLER and I just didn’t have the $8 at the time, should have charged it damnit). Pretty rare that the next day, BOTH were grabbed. I knew at that moment that they are looking at peoples searches, the odds of what happened to me (two names, one extremely uncommon) are like 1 in 10M at least, probably more. Someone is looking at registration check lists over there I’m pretty sure. I smell foul play and it is not a “good look” for the industry as a whole, let alonge GD and registrars.
Fact of the matter is, greed doesn’t stop with multi-million/billion dollar corporations okay guys and gals? Millionaires still steal and do shady things to make more money, what makes GD any different? Look at Wall St, a financial disaster zone of million/billion dollar companies still getting caught red handed. Makes you really think….. when is enough enough for some people/corps? Especially when you’re basically stealing or being deceitful to your own clients. SHADY stuff going on people, open your eyes. Search the availability of your name elsewhere (hopefully that registrar is honorable) and reg it at GD for cheaper. Best advice….
Article source: http://www.thedomains.com/2012/08/09/bill-hartzer-com-reports-front-running-by-godaddy-com/comment-page-1/. Creative Commons (CC)
