How to Snatch an Expiring Domain

[daplounge]

I recently found myself in the position of wanting to register a domain which was owned by someone else. The domain was set to expire in a week, and I figured there was a decent chance that the person who owned it wouldn’t be renewing it. Upon consulting the WhoIs registry on the current owner, I discovered the guy was a bit of a domain shark and didn’t seem to be around anymore.

So I placed a backorder through GoDaddy for $18.95 thinking that was all I needed to do. During the week that followed, I learned a lot about the domain expiration process. Two and a half months and $369 later, I am the proud owner of a shiny new domain. A really really good one.

This article will explain the domain expiration process and what you need to do in order to use it to your advantage.

Full Story: Mike Davidson - How to Snatch an Expiring Domain

[multippt]

Well, most domains will be deleted after 45 days after "expiring".
During the first 5-7 days, it would be in "registrar-hold" status. The domain owner still can renew the domain during this time.
During the next 30 days, it would be in "redemption period". The domain will not resolve to any DNS, but still can be renewed.
During the last 5 days, the domain would be in "pending delete" status. The previous owner cannot renew the domain, and the domain would be available after this period.

[keemuph]

Thanks for you information guys, It will be helpful

[daplounge]

No problem... Thanks multippt... I wasnt aware of that. I thought that after the domain expired... It EXPIRED...

[hydroburn]

LOL ... $369? how come its so expensive?

[multippt]

Originally Posted by hydroburn

LOL ... $369? how come its so expensive?

The buyer of the domain bid for the domain at $369...

Originally Posted by source

True to form, Pool.com’s auction system squeezes even more money out of you by making sure the auction doesn’t end if there’s a bid in the last five minutes. In that case, the auction time keeps extending by five minutes until there are no more bids.
I could try one of two things: Bid high and bid early in an attempt to scare off the other guy, or lull the other guy to sleep by doing nothing until the last 6 minutes. I chose the second method since the ending time was 8am on a Saturday… a time when many people are not in front of computers. I set four alarms for 7:45am Saturday morning, woke up on time, and placed my bid for $500 when the countdown clock hit 6 minutes.
The system immediately auto-upped the current bid to $369 and I was the leader. Six nervous minutes, fifty browser refreshes, and a thousand heartbeats later, my opponent was nowhere to be found and the domain was mine… ready for immediate transfer to Dreamhost, my hosting company of choice.

Trivia:
*The story is more than 2 years old.
*The site that the person bid for indeed is valuable, and saw potential in it. Have you heard of... newsvine?