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This is How I lost my Domain Name at Epik.com

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Fadi H

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Hello everyone,

I've been closing my eyes on many things that I didn't like on Epik.com Registrar. But today is the final day and I'm transferring all my domains from there for a Never comeback.

So what happened is that I had a .CO domain hosted at Epik, Which Expired on December 11th 2021. I did not renew it or transfer it as I've been busy and thought I still have time as I know that .CO domains have a 40 day grace period and that's by the registry. And during that grace period domains are transferable and renewable.

Yesterday I logged in to my account and didn't find the domain, So I clicked the blue button and the support agent said that they will look into the matter and reach back to me later.

Today I received the following response :

"Hello Fadi,

The domain expired on December 11, 2021 and the grace renewal period is 15 days which means that the last day that you have to renew your domain was on December 26, 2021. Since renewal did not take place, and someone had a backorder on your domain, the backorder was fulfilled.

We may be able to get in contact with the new owner to help you get your domain back but you might need to provide your best offer so we can send it to our sales team.

Looking forward hearing from you. "

So I clicked back the blue button questioning about that backorder story and I got the following response :

"Thank you for patiently waiting. I have confirmed with our tech team that domain renewals of 40 day grace period is only applicable for domains without back order. You will only get 15 day grace period if there is a backorder for your domain."

But in fact if you visit Epik.com You will not find this backorder story anywhere on the site.

They referred to this link which doesn't help :

https://www.epik.com/support/faq/expired-registration-recovery-policy/

1640816140482.png


I'm not satisfied with their answers at all and this is the first time I hear of this 15 day back-order story and it's not even mentioned anywhere on the site.

You can see it clearly "After the discretionary grace period the customer's domain is deleted from their account. And deleted domains may be recoverable for up to a total of 69 days after the expiration date.

Where is the 15 day backorder story?

Your opinions matter, Do you think what they did is right?
 
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The views expressed on this page by users and staff are their own, not those of NamePros.
The good news is someone will be supporting orphans in Pakistan.
 
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lol its funny how all em registrar stole.my name threads literally always end up making poster seem like.some clueless newbie amateur

or those dumbazz threads about registrars stealing people searched domains and registering them

I always pee my pants reading em
 
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How is it fair on the person who backordered the domain now that @Rob Monster has cancelled it and put it out to public auction?

As mentioned in second post of this thread, it seems to be pick and choose as you like
 
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or those dumbazz threads about registrars stealing people searched domains and registering them
Are you saying it's never been done?
 
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Are you saying it's never been done?

that is exactly what I'm saying

if u think billion dollr company have nothing better to.do than sit around watch what u type into searchbar for a stupid 10$ handreg idea then well... i think u are overestimating yerself or underestimating registars hehe
 
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that is exactly what I'm saying

if u think billion dollr company have nothing better to.do than sit around watch what u type into searchbar for a stupid 10$ handreg idea then well... i think u are overestimating yerself or underestimating registars hehe
I have no data so it would be pure conjecture without specific examples. This thread was very interesting. I think we learnt three valuable lessons
  1. Always read and understand the terms of service.
  2. Re-new your domain name in advance of its expiry date.
  3. Being kind to others is the way forward for all of us.
On that note I'm going to love you and leave you.
 
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How is it fair on the person who backordered the domain now that @Rob Monster has cancelled it and put it out to public auction?

As mentioned in second post of this thread, it seems to be pick and choose as you like
I agree with this. You can't really stand by the terms of service when it comes to (15) days, then when there is a backorder just take the domain back after it was fulfilled. How is that fair to the party that played by the rules and backordered the domain?

Brad
 
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I've expirienced the same thing. I didn't know the grace period only 15 days. But fortunately no one backorder my domain.
Then the CS help me renew my domain, they even let me renew it for just 1 year from the default is minimum 2 years
 
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I agree with this. You can't really stand by the terms of service when it comes to (15) days, then when there is a backorder just take the domain back after it was fulfilled. How is that fair to the party that played by the rules and backordered the domain?

Brad
hehe. in saying that all my domains are at EPIK as I like their simplicity and Rob has always stepped in and sorted things when aren't being sorted.
 
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Gross to admit you pee your pants in public forum. Hate to do your laundry
lol its funny how all em registrar stole.my name threads literally always end up making poster seem like.some clueless newbie amateur

or those dumbazz threads about registrars stealing people searched domains and registering them

I always pee my pants reading em
Yes registrars track your searches. Twice i searched a name at net sol searching for discount codes and phone rings, hi its net soil, we saw you had a name in the cart. hehe
that is exactly what I'm saying

if u think billion dollr company have nothing better to.do than sit around watch what u type into searchbar for a stupid 10$ handreg idea then well... i think u are overestimating yerself or underestimating registars hehe
Were a little off topic here, but the topic is off topic, as epik never stole his name.

Change title to
I didn’t renew my name in time, now i am feeding hungry orphans because i couldnt wait for Rob to reply.
Fadi, pay up, re buy, its a penalty, feed hungry kids and you get your name back.
 
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How is it fair on the person who backordered the domain now that @Rob Monster has cancelled it and put it out to public auction?

As mentioned in second post of this thread, it seems to be pick and choose as you like

I didn't want to go over this yesterday as it's a matter with another user.

But what made me angry to go for a title like that is because when I've been communicating with the support they were pushing me to make an offer on the domain as the only solution available. And not explaining that backorder story or giving me good answers. I've already requested moderation to make some edits and change the title if possible, To keep this clean.

When Rob replied via email he said that the matter can be customized a bit, But what exactly can be customized if the domain is already sold to someone else? It can be customized if the domain is under Epik control. But if it's already sold to another user then it's totally up to them as the rightful owners of the domain.

The domain was not pending deletion, It just got expired less than 20 days ago and it's not easy for someone to spot it and place a backorder. But as of Epik, A backorder was placed and fulfilled on December 26.

Now If I'm mistaken and just didn't understand their policy, Things should stop here as the process was normal. My mistake and I just was late to renew, Right?

Rob chose to step in and take the domain from its new owner a few days after it was purchased as they claimed. Making a what's so called a "remedy" involving a donation and half of the proceeds to me so people like Daniel Owens can be impressed by the act of class and kindness. I'm not going to comment about the other user who backordered and won then lost the domain as it's not my business. But Rob doesn't own the domain, The normal process as of what the support said is that if a backorder is placed I only have 15 days to renew, And if no backorder is placed it could go up to 40 days. So now the domain should be either with its new owner as a backorder was placed and fulfilled, And if the backorder gets canceled the domain should be in the grace period.

Rob renews the domain, get it auctioned and decides what to do with the proceeds if a sale takes place. For what right?

Rob, I'm like bro...!!??

Last but not least, For me the domain is gone and Epik is gone. That's how the wind blew. And I'm not involved with that sale and not taking a penny, If I do it means that I'm satisfied, But to be honest my body can't handle the remedy.

Peace.
 
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I didn't want to go over this yesterday as it's a matter with another user.

But what made me angry to go for a title like that is because when I've been communicating with the support they were pushing me to make an offer on the domain as the only solution available. And not explaining that backorder story or giving me good answers. I've already requested moderation to make some edits and change the title if possible, To keep this clean.

When Rob replied via email he said that the matter can be customized a bit, But what exactly can be customized if the domain is already sold to someone else? It can be customized if the domain is under Epik control. But if it's already sold to another user then it's totally up to them as the rightful owners of the domain.

The domain was not pending deletion, It just got expired less than 20 days ago and it's not easy for someone to spot it and place a backorder. But as of Epik, A backorder was placed and fulfilled on December 26.

Now If I'm mistaken and just didn't understand their policy, Things should stop here as the process was normal. My mistake and I just was late to renew, Right?

Rob chose to step in and take the domain from its new owner a few days after it was purchased as they claimed. Making a what's so called a "remedy" involving a donation and half of the proceeds to me so people like Daniel Owens can be impressed by the act of class and kindness. I'm not going to comment about the other user who backordered and won then lost the domain as it's not my business. But Rob doesn't own the domain, The normal process as of what the support said is that if a backorder is placed I only have 15 days to renew, And if no backorder is placed it could go up to 40 days. So now the domain should be either with its new owner as a backorder was placed and fulfilled, And if the backorder gets canceled the domain should be in the grace period.

Rob renews the domain, get it auctioned and decides what to do with the proceeds if a sale takes place. For what right?

Rob, I'm like bro...!!??

Last but not least, For me the domain is gone and Epik is gone. That's how the wind blew. And I'm not involved with that sale and not taking a penny, If I do it means that I'm satisfied, But to be honest my body can't handle the remedy.

Peace.
To me this creates a bigger issue than the original issue.

The (15) day grace period might be short, but at least Epik can point to their TOS.

According to Epik support, the domain was backordered and fulfilled -

Hello Fadi,

The domain expired on December 11, 2021 and the grace renewal period is 15 days which means that the last day that you have to renew your domain was on December 26, 2021. Since renewal did not take place, and someone had a backorder on your domain, the backorder was fulfilled...

So then what business does Rob have clawing back this domain from a party that followed the rules?

None in my view. I would be far more concerned with that than the original issue as it is seems arbitrary and unfair. It creates a whole host of potential ownership issues if this is possible.

Brad
 
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I love these thread title
Epik, Godaddy, etc... stole my name
In fact 99.9 % of the time they messes themself up and blame on other people.

These type of titles should not be allowed here because no one stole your name.
 
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I love these thread title
Epik, Godaddy, etc... stole my name
In fact 99.9 % of the time they messes themself up and blame on other people.

These type of titles should not be allowed here because no one stole your name.
Wonder if epik can sue for slander jk lol.
 
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I love these thread title
Epik, Godaddy, etc... stole my name
In fact 99.9 % of the time they messes themself up and blame on other people.

These type of titles should not be allowed here because no one stole your name.

For you and everyone else commenting about the title, I've already clarified my position and admitted the mistake and requested to change the title. Thanks for your comment.
 
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what was the problem to put autorenewal to all valuable domains?
 
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I didn't want to go over this yesterday as it's a matter with another user.

But what made me angry to go for a title like that is because when I've been communicating with the support they were pushing me to make an offer on the domain as the only solution available. And not explaining that backorder story or giving me good answers. I've already requested moderation to make some edits and change the title if possible, To keep this clean.

When Rob replied via email he said that the matter can be customized a bit, But what exactly can be customized if the domain is already sold to someone else? It can be customized if the domain is under Epik control. But if it's already sold to another user then it's totally up to them as the rightful owners of the domain.

The domain was not pending deletion, It just got expired less than 20 days ago and it's not easy for someone to spot it and place a backorder. But as of Epik, A backorder was placed and fulfilled on December 26.

Now If I'm mistaken and just didn't understand their policy, Things should stop here as the process was normal. My mistake and I just was late to renew, Right?

Rob chose to step in and take the domain from its new owner a few days after it was purchased as they claimed. Making a what's so called a "remedy" involving a donation and half of the proceeds to me so people like Daniel Owens can be impressed by the act of class and kindness. I'm not going to comment about the other user who backordered and won then lost the domain as it's not my business. But Rob doesn't own the domain, The normal process as of what the support said is that if a backorder is placed I only have 15 days to renew, And if no backorder is placed it could go up to 40 days. So now the domain should be either with its new owner as a backorder was placed and fulfilled, And if the backorder gets canceled the domain should be in the grace period.

Rob renews the domain, get it auctioned and decides what to do with the proceeds if a sale takes place. For what right?

Rob, I'm like bro...!!??

Last but not least, For me the domain is gone and Epik is gone. That's how the wind blew. And I'm not involved with that sale and not taking a penny, If I do it means that I'm satisfied, But to be honest my body can't handle the remedy.

Peace.
You brought up a interesting point about the backorder status. Since the backorder was canceled then all other actions relating to the domain name should be canceled which should in return render the domain name back to the original owner in a grace period mode. However I think this option may not occur in your favor because of your ranting and the accusation of theft. But since you acknowledged your error and apologized openly in the forum then I would still reach out to Rob and see what he can do for you. If my memory serves me correct, the person that places the domain name in the liquidate auction can set a minimum price which could allow you recovery of your domain name at a very low price. In this case it would be Epik that set the minimum price that the both of you agree on to make it workout for you to regain ownership of your domain name. imo.
 
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Ironically this domain was an internal backorder - a domain that was marked to not drop.

If Fadi had been patient and replied in a civil way, he would have gotten the domain back for the cost of the renewal. However, in light of Fadi's approach that was not an option as it rewards thuggery. As I saw it, the charity auction was the next best alternative.

For those unaware, with the expiry stream on Epik, there are 3 paths:

1. The registrant can set the domain to go to NameLiquidate. The owner gets to keep 91% of the auction proceeds. It can be set to go there automatically as a portfolio setting here:

https://registrar.epik.com/account/portfolio-settings/

1640900433120.png

That is possible up to do day 7 of expiry and then the auction runs 7 days.

2. The registrant can do nothing, and then after the grace period, Epik can elect to warehouse the expired domain. If the domain is not sold, often the former registrant can recover the domain for a $199 fee for up to 1 year. This is entirely at Epik's discretion but has saved many registrants over the years.

3. The registrant can do nothing and the domain will go to Daily Diamonds on the day last day of the expiry delete cycle. There is often good inventory there and the auction runs 24 hours but the registrant does not participate in the auction proceeds as Epik funds the renewal fee during this phase of grace period.

https://www.epik.com/buy/daily-diamonds

Hope that clarifies why the charity auction path was viable, and also why Fadi could have prevailed with just a bit of patience. The object lesson for everyone is to always try the nice guy approach. More generally, smile at the world, and the world smiles back.
 
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So I skimmed through this thread but for me the big takeaway is that a backorder placed will award you the domain at Epik once it's 15 days after expiration?

Seems kinda odd as usually they claw back your domain after 15 days and try to sell it themselves (through a make offer lander) then send it to snap (? Not sure if they still do), then DD, then fulfilling backorders.

This would make most sense from a business POV, as selling a domain at backorder cost and skipping all steps in between would heavily decrease the opportunity for addional revenue by exploiting the domain expiration process.

What about domains listed on NL? You can list them there up to 15 days after expiration. What happens when you list it and there's a backorder? Will it delist your domain at NL?

@Fadi H

You're sure they sold it to a client who placed a backorder and they not just warehoused it and listed it for sale on their own Landers?
 
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You're sure they sold it to a client who placed a backorder and they not just warehoused it and listed it for sale on their own Landers?

No I can't be sure of anything, But what they said is the following :


"Hello Fadi,


The domain expired on December 11, 2021 and the grace renewal period is 15 days which means that the last day that you have to renew your domain was on December 26, 2021. Since renewal did not take place, and someone had a backorder on your domain, the backorder was fulfilled.


We may be able to get in contact with the new owner to help you get your domain back but you might need to provide your best offer so we can send it to our sales team.

Looking forward hearing from you. "

And now we have this :
Ironically this domain was an internal backorder

I think this explains a bit why everyone was suggesting me to make my best offer on the domain as the only way to possibly get or better say buy the domain back.
 
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Ironically this domain was an internal backorder - a domain that was marked to not drop.

If Fadi had been patient and replied in a civil way, he would have gotten the domain back for the cost of the renewal. However, in light of Fadi's approach that was not an option as it rewards thuggery. As I saw it, the charity auction was the next best alternative.

For those unaware, with the expiry stream on Epik, there are 3 paths:

1. The registrant can set the domain to go to NameLiquidate. The owner gets to keep 91% of the auction proceeds. It can be set to go there automatically as a portfolio setting here:

https://registrar.epik.com/account/portfolio-settings/

Show attachment 207094
That is possible up to do day 7 of expiry and then the auction runs 7 days.

2. The registrant can do nothing, and then after the grace period, Epik can elect to warehouse the expired domain. If the domain is not sold, often the former registrant can recover the domain for a $199 fee for up to 1 year. This is entirely at Epik's discretion but has saved many registrants over the years.

3. The registrant can do nothing and the domain will go to Daily Diamonds on the day last day of the expiry delete cycle. There is often good inventory there and the auction runs 24 hours but the registrant does not participate in the auction proceeds as Epik funds the renewal fee during this phase of grace period.

https://www.epik.com/buy/daily-diamonds

Hope that clarifies why the charity auction path was viable, and also why Fadi could have prevailed with just a bit of patience. The object lesson for everyone is to always try the nice guy approach. More generally, smile at the world, and the world smiles back.
Maybe we could all return kindness regardless if others mistreat us. This world would have be better.
 
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No I can't be sure of anything, But what they said is the following :


"Hello Fadi,


The domain expired on December 11, 2021 and the grace renewal period is 15 days which means that the last day that you have to renew your domain was on December 26, 2021. Since renewal did not take place, and someone had a backorder on your domain, the backorder was fulfilled.


We may be able to get in contact with the new owner to help you get your domain back but you might need to provide your best offer so we can send it to our sales team.

Looking forward hearing from you. "

And now we have this :


I think this explains a bit why everyone was suggesting me to make my best offer on the domain as the only way to possibly get or better say buy the domain back.

Thanks. That sounds a lot to me like they're blatantly lying. They warehoused the domain and are trying to sell it back to you. No third party involved.
 
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