how they do that

how can any one find that what domains are going to drop ,
i know there are many websites that tell you this , but i am talking about
how do these web masters know tht what domain names are going to drop ?

My question is, if the owner lets it expire, and wants to keep it, do they have first dibs?

No they become like a Normal Domain and for details of previous site you can check out Webarchieve.org

Originally Posted by amitpatel_3001

No they become like a Normal Domain and for details of previous site you can check out Webarchieve.org

I thought there is a redemption period after the registration expires in which the previous owner has the right to claim back the domain. I believe at GoDaddy it is 14 days.

Is this common across the industry? What if a dropped domain gets bought up and then the previous owner wants it back within the redemption period? Or do dropped domains become available only after the redemption period?

i think that it goes on the list in its redemption period. but your not allowed to register it until the redemption period has expired.
if they want the domain back once someone else has regged it, its their fault, they were given 14 days. the previous owner is then forced to pay alot of money to the new owner, or find a new domain name.
they are given plenty of warnings.

yes, there is a period where the owner of the domain
can re-reg it
once that is over
then it is dropped
and available to reg!