You don't know if it was Namecheap that sniped it, or if an actual person just registered it. It also doesn't make sense to do front running for them. And if they did snipe it, why wouldn't they list it for sale? What good does registering tons of domains that people search for and then just... not selling them to the people who wanted them? It's a baseless accusation.
maybe i wasnt clear - its listed for sale by name cheap. i am open to other explanations, but im just sharing my experience of what happened. the whois record shows name cheap as the owner. thats the "basis" for my point here. why would they do it? well read about what happened with icann, lots has been written about the incentives and state of affairs today. if you could link to some policy that states this practise…
You yourself said it wasn't.
> it's now "make an offer"
"make an offer" shows up for all registered domains, clicking it will show you:
"Powered By DomainAgents"
"This domain is not listed for sale, but you can still make an offer. DomainAgents will track down the domain owner, present your offer, and bring them into the negotiation."
> the whois record shows name cheap as the owner
You mean it shows up as the registrar?
Like this:
> Registrar: NAMECHEAP INC
And possibly:
> Registrant Name: Redacted for Privacy
> Registrant Organization: Privacy service provided by Withheld for Privacy ehf
(that meaning you don't know who actually registered it.)
Do you want to disclose the domain?