Domain Purchased but not appearing in the list of available domains

[SirSalt]

I recently purchased a domain (simplelifestore.net) and it's not showing up in my list of available domains to connect to my store. I don't know what to do. It's been over 48 hours and I have contacted support with no success. I can't talk to a real person for whatever reason and I don't want to spend another $18 or so on another domain when I already own one. Has anyone else had this issue? If so, what's the fix for it?

[Summer]

Hey, @SirSalt! Welcome to Shopify Community!

I'd love to assist you with your domain concern. I understand that not finding your recently-purchased domain can be concerning, but I'm here to assure that you do own the domain since the purchase was successful. This situation tends to happen when the custom domain is connected to a different Shopify store but the store has closed and the domain registration has lapsed. The domain doesn't automatically connect to your store so it needs to be manually connected. 

To manually connect your domain, you simply need to follow these steps:

1. In your Shopify admin, click Settings > Domains.
2. Click Connect existing domain.
3. Type in your recently-purchased custom domain.
4. Click Next.
5. Click Connect domain.

Now, if you run into an error message that says "A store with that domain name already exists," this means the domain needs to be disconnected from the store it's currently connected to before you can use it in your store. This is something our support team will be happy to assist you with so you can visit our Help Center if this happens. 

I understand you were previously having trouble reaching our support team, I'm here to help you with that too and ensure you get the assistance you need. When you get to our Help Center let the AI assistant know that you need help disconnecting a domain from a store you don't own. It should connect you to a support advisor then. Should you run into any other issues with contacting support, please let me know and I'll help you further.

I hope the store setup is going great aside from this domain issue. Don't forget to refer to our setup checklist to ensure you don't miss any important steps. We want your launch to go smoothly so you can make sales in no time!

[SirSalt]

Hey Summer, thanks for your help. I am still having issues finding where my domain went. The AI only helps so much, unfortunately. It says I need to contact the owner of the store who has the domain and have them disconnect it, but I don't know how to find said person. Any help greatly appreciated.

[Summer · Accepted solution]

My pleasure, @SirSalt! I apologize for the discrepancy in the solution that our AI assistant has shared. Since it's a new feature, it can sometimes have imperfections but we're working on perfecting it. To clarify, you do not need to contact the owner of the store where the domain is currently connected. Because you own the domain, we can take care of removing it for you. 

From here, I suggest going back to our Help Center and chatting with the AI assistant once again. You can specifically say you need to speak with a support advisor and it should prompt you to log in and select your store. After that, it will connect you to a support advisor.

Let me know if you still have problems reaching out to our support team and I'll help you further. I'll make sure you get the help you need!