.DE names: Why can't I find out registrar name or exp date in any WHOIS ?

[angel69]

I bought a couple of .DE domains recently and to my amazement you cannot tell what registrar they're at or even the exp date from any of the major WHOIS services I checked, just go to Nic.DE (DENIC.de will take you to the same page) or WHOIS.de (which was developed partially by sedo), I understand those are the 2 main sources, NIC.de should be the most authoritative, but no info on either issue, I went to several other WHOIS

The auction site did give me the registrar's name both times, I don't know how they knew that other than asking the seller, I asked them twice, no one has told me yet. However they're as lost as I am as to the exp date

Interestingly, the registrar I transferred the names to (there was bad press all over for the current German registrar/reseller) did not extend the reg for an extra yr, ie the exp date as I see it now is exactly 1 yr from the date the transfer became effective, I asked the gaining registrar, I was given a scripted answer on an issue that didn't have to do w/my simple question. Any of you familiar w/this...? thanks

Lots of mystery in all those coveted .DE names !

[katherine]

The whois does not provide all the details, but it's not just .de.
Other ccTLD are similar, for example .ch. Also, a change of owner is not the same as a transfer.

[angel69]

thanks, SDSINC, so it's not only good old .DE, that's even more disappointing...having to ask the seller what exp date he's looking at on this C P, both registrar's name and exp date are crucial to any buyer, so i'm at a loss understanding them + i have yet to find out why moniker took the reg period left from the seller (there's no way both names were to expire on the very day the transfer was finalized, too much of a fluke) and simply ignored it, ie it could've been the seller had a multi-yr reg w/strato.de lol...i was shortchanged i guess but it's a .DE thing apparently

sure, i know change of owner (push) is diff from a transfer of registrar, in .DE or any ext, in my case i've never been pushed a .DE name w/in the same registrar so i went directly for a transfer to moniker since i didn't know many that even supported .DE transfers

i did save the WHOIS after I won the name, then i saved it after sedo pushed the name from the seller to their own acct, i assume they just moved it within strato.de and i saved the WHOIS once i owned it, so i'm not sure how a simple push w/in the same registrar would've looked like lol...thx again for the info, good to know

[katherine]

For most ccTLDs, you can't do a push. Instead you initiate transfer of ownership through the registry. For that reason, the registrar or expiry date don't matter.

BTW there are a few registrars that allow you to push ccTLDs like .de .co.uk etc (eurodns for example) but you are just transferring control of the domain. The legal owner will remain the same (as confirmed by whois)...

[koba]

As sdsinc told, unfortunately there´s no way to get the exp date or registrars name via denic. But most of the time the admin-c or tech-c contact details will give you a clue who the registrar is.

From my experience the reg period of de names will always be "exactly 1yr from the date the transfer became effective". I´ll guess there´s no way extending the reg for an extra yr if the names have been transferred.

I hope you haven´t regged them with strato - probably the most bureaucratic registrar in the world...

[kostaki]

if you are looking for the holder/owner of the domain, you can get it from the denic.de web whois. they changed it recently, so you cant get it from the whois server anymore.

[Developper]

Hello,

it's not that bad as you think it is:

First, ".de" registrations simply do not have expiry dates, because they do not expire. gTLD's are registered for a year up to 10 years and hence have an expiration date. The registrar pays for one up to ten years to verisign, and this "registration period" is shown at Verisigns Whois. When a Denic eG member registers a ".de" domain, he pays a one time fee to Denic eG and then a monthly fee. As long as he continues to pay the monthly fee, the domain remains active. Most registrars do ask a minimum of 12 month registration from there customer, hence there is a "virtual expiration date" one year after the registration. But that's entirely up to the registrar, has nothing to do with Denic eG.

As for the registrar visibility in the public Whois: The official Whois at http://www.denic.de/denic.html does not reveal the registrar. But every Denic Member can see this information. If you are working with a professional registrar, he usually allows his customers to do a WHOIS lookup that provides infos such as who the registrar is.

Hope I helped you with these infos,

Alexander