I'm sorry for the OP, and at the same time a bit relieved that I'm not paranoid. I've always feared that registrars would do that, so I've never really trusted

I'm sorry for the OP, and at the same time a bit relieved that I'm not paranoid. I've always feared that registrars would do that, so I've never really trusted them. The way I do it is to check only once I'm ready to buy. Of course the first thing I look for is always taken on .com, but nowadays with so many top level domains is feasible to find something good.