Your online store’s domain name is your brand’s address on the Internet—it’s how people find you. Imagine your customers showing up to buy something, but instead of your store, they walk into someone else’s! That’s what can happen if you let your domain name expire or leave it unprotected.
If someone else buys your domain because you forgot to renew it, they can put up whatever they want there. Your customers might land on a totally unrelated site, or worse, a competitor’s store. You’d lose traffic, sales, and maybe even your loyal customers who get confused and frustrated.
And who knows this better than anyone else? Google, of course. After all, it’s the largest and most visited website on the Internet, with around 131.2 billion monthly visits.
But guess who left their domain name up for grabs almost a decade ago? That’s right—Google! In fact, their domain was so neglected that someone was able to purchase it, and the transaction was processed successfully.
If you don’t know the story yet, here’s what happened:
In 2015, Sanmay Ved, a former Google employee, noticed the Google.com domain was listed as available for purchase. Thinking, "This has to be a glitch," he decided to see what would happen if he tried to buy it.
And guess what? The transaction went through! For the whopping price of $12, Ved owned the world’s most famous website—at least for a minute.
As soon as he got the confirmation, things got real. He started receiving internal Google emails, showing that he actually had control over the domain.
But before Ved could even take a victory lap, Google swooped in, realized the mistake, and quickly took back their prized possession, reversing the transaction and refunding his $12.
But here's the fun part: instead of just thanking him and moving on, Google decided to reward Ved. They offered him $6,006.13 (which, if you squint, looks a bit like “Google”).
But in a classy move, Ved asked them to donate the money to The Art of Living India Foundation, a charity focused on education. Google loved the gesture so much, they doubled the donation!
It’s not every day someone buys Google.com—even if just for a minute—but this wild story shows that even the biggest companies can have their slip-ups. And really, who wouldn’t want to say they owned Google, even if only for 60 seconds?
When the news broke, it sent a wave of panic across the Web. Suddenly, everyone was checking if their website’s domain was still secure and how long they had before it expired. Online store owners, in particular, became hyper-aware of the need to protect their domains.
You’d think after this incident, no one would ever let something like this happen again, right? Well, think again. Similar slip-ups followed, and they didn’t just involve small businesses—they hit some major brands, too.
Take Volvo Cars, for instance. In 2017, they forgot to renew Volvocars.com, causing their website to go offline. This was a nightmare for their customer service, especially for people trying to find information or book test drives.
Then there’s Sotheby’s International Realty, who in 2016 let their sothebysrealty.ca domain expire. The result? The site went down for Canadian users, disrupting potential home buyers and costing them valuable traffic.
Even Marketo, a marketing automation giant (now part of Adobe), wasn’t immune. In 2017, they let Marketo.com expire, resulting in a service blackout that affected customers who relied on their email marketing and customer management platforms. You can imagine the frustration that caused.
Then there’s Wikileaks. In 2018, their Wikileaks.org domain briefly went offline due to an expired registration—proving that even platforms handling sensitive, high-traffic content can drop the ball.
And while France.com wasn’t a case of expiration, the sudden seizure of the domain by the French government in 2015 after years of private ownership is a reminder of how complicated domain management can become, especially with legal issues involved.
Fast forward to 2020, and we see AppSumo, a go-to platform for software deals, making the same mistake. Their appsumo.com domain expired, leading to downtime that directly impacted their business. For a company whose lifeblood is offering digital products, even a short disruption is costly.
And let’s not forget Vodafone Portugal in 2015—they allowed vodafone.pt to expire, a particularly embarrassing incident for a telecommunications giant whose business relies on staying connected.
Even Google, the company that should have learned its lesson, found itself in a similar situation again. In 2021, Google’s Blogspot domain in Argentina, blogspot.com.ar, was allowed to expire, and a web designer, Nicolás Kuroña, purchased it.
For a brief moment, he owned it before Google quickly stepped in and took it back, showing once again that even tech giants aren’t immune to domain management blunders.
So, what can an online seller like you learn from these insane stories?
First off, it’s a wake-up call to never take your domain for granted. It’s more than just an address—it’s the foundation of your online presence.
Whether you're selling handmade crafts, trendy apparel, or digital services, your domain is the one constant customers rely on to find you. Lose control of it, even for a few minutes, and the consequences can be dire.
So, lesson #1: never forget to renew your domain. Then, make sure to be proactive and vigilant. Domain management can get complicated, especially if you’re juggling multiple domains or expanding into new markets.
That’s why auto-renewal is your best friend. It’s a simple step, but it can save you from the embarrassment and chaos that comes with a domain mishap.
These big brands had the resources to recover quickly from their domain disasters, but for an independent online seller, the damage could be much harder to reverse.
The good news? You have the power to avoid these slip-ups entirely. With the right precautions, you can keep your domain safe, secure, and always pointing your customers in the right direction—straight to your store.
Remember, your domain isn’t just another asset—it’s your digital storefront, the face of your business online. Treat it like the treasure it is, because once it’s gone, getting it back could be much costlier than you think. Just ask Google.