The very first time I bought a domain name (in 1995) I knew this would happen eventually. Domain name registrar, Network Solutions LLC, is now locking domain names after people type them in their webform to see if they are available.

Here’s how their scam works:

  • someone visits a site in their network of affiliates or their main site looking for a domain name.
  • You type the domain name in their form to see if it’s available for purchase.
  • If it’s available they show you the price and you realize (after you fill in all kinds of info on several pages), it costs more than a domain name should so you leave their site and go to or somewhere else.
  • Network Solutions LLC “locks” that domain name making it unavailable for purchase through anyone else but them and also triples the price for the domain name.

Network solutions LLC is trying to say this is a public service. That’s like Dick Cheney trying to say we went to Iraq to fight terrorism (hint - their was no terrorism in Iraq before we came). This servers the public in no way and in fact just lines Network Solutions pockets by guaranteeing you buy from them and at 3 times the already overpriced price.