Available or Not? Different whois outputs ...

[Crazy_Fool]

on some whois searches, a certain domain name appears to be available. it was previously registered until a couple of days ago. when searching with most registrars, the domain name shows as available and shows Enom as the whois database checked together with a message saying "The domain xxxxx.com was not found in the database" and a "Code: dfo730__" type number

but a search on register.com and a couple of other places shows the domain name as being taken, although no details are given.

so, is the domain available?
and can anyone explain what the dfo code on Enom is about?

[Lisa]

The domain WAS available, however some registrars use regular whois queries to figure out if they are still available. The problem occurs this way because the registry's whois server is always 12-24 hours old. But registrars also have the ability to directly query the central database and know for sure. Querying the central database can be slower, so lots of registrars perfer to query just the whois.

The result of all this is some registrars will show it as available some and some will not. The truth is it is not avaiable at all. But most likely it was a few hours ago. When you get to the last stage in the order process or the order fullfillment part after you have placed the order then they will check. When they finally figure it out they will email you and let you know they goofed up.

[Crazy_Fool]

ah ha, thanks lisa. tried registering it with enom but its not available. it lapsed on 27th september so might not be released yet. client has signed up to snapnames because he really really wants this name ....