# expiring domain names



## JustinB (Jul 28, 2007)

there is an expired domain name that i would like to purchase that expired on aug 7th. does anybody know how long they are usually expired before someone else is allowed to buy them??

thanks


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## element88 (Aug 28, 2007)

hey Justin...if the domain expired on Aug. 7th, you should be able to buy it now. What kind of message are you getting when you try to buy it?


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## JustinB (Jul 28, 2007)

well the domain was previously registered at godaddy.com, and when i go there and try to type it in to purchase it, it says it is taken and it asks me if i want to use a domain buy agent to buy it...


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## Chani (Jun 18, 2007)

It can take anywhere from 45 days to three months for the domain to actually become available, but you can almost be SURE some domain snatcher already has their eye on it and it will go to them. Good luck even backordering it.


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## TripleT (Apr 29, 2007)

JustinB said:


> well the domain was previously registered at godaddy.com, and when i go there and try to type it in to purchase it, it says it is taken and it asks me if i want to use a domain buy agent to buy it...


 
Call their customer service department and ask them what's going on.


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## mothertongues (Aug 8, 2005)

I've backordered a domain name on GoDaddy that is becoming available next year (whoever has it, isn't using it, and bought it 10 years ago - I'm pretty sure if they didn't use it for 10 years, they are not going to use it now). So you're saying it isn't available right after expiring?


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## AustinJeff (May 12, 2007)

mothertongues said:


> So you're saying it isn't available right after expiring?


That's right. But it gets much worse. Even if you were the first person to backorder it -- perhaps years ago -- that gives you no special privileges. There may be dozens (or hundreds or thousands) of other people who have the name backordered. Most of them won't place the order until the name has actually expired, but hasn't yet been dropped. Your chance of getting it will depend mostly on the abilities of the drop service(s) you are using. That and random chance.

It's an extremely complicated system, and if you really want the name, I would suggest thoroughly researching how the system actually works to determine your best course of action.

Oh, I forgot to add that if it is a really good name, and the contact info is public, when it expires people will begin contacting the owner and offering them a hundred bucks or so to re-register the name and sell it to them. So the best names that expire are rarely actually dropped.


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## jpop (Aug 17, 2007)

remember to check for it's value such as PR Rank, Alexa rank and if it has been blacklisted before b4 buying them


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## JustinB (Jul 28, 2007)

how do you check all of that stuff?


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## paulo (Dec 13, 2006)

JustinB said:


> there is an expired domain name that i would like to purchase that expired on aug 7th. does anybody know how long they are usually expired before someone else is allowed to buy them??
> 
> thanks


Even when a domain is expired, usually the registrar of the domain, godaddy, network solutions, or another company, may hold that domain name to give the original registrar the ability to re-register it. This usually is about 30-35 days from the day the registration expires. But even then the registrar site may hold it longer.


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## Rodney (Nov 3, 2004)

jpop said:


> remember to check for it's value such as PR Rank, Alexa rank and if it has been blacklisted before b4 buying them


You don't really need to check all of that stuff if you are just trying to get a specific name that you want that's about to expire.


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## Rodney (Nov 3, 2004)

mothertongues said:


> I've backordered a domain name on GoDaddy that is becoming available next year (whoever has it, isn't using it, and bought it 10 years ago - I'm pretty sure if they didn't use it for 10 years, they are not going to use it now). So you're saying it isn't available right after expiring?


Read this page from icann (the governing body for domain names) about what the normal timeline is for a domain name that expires: ICANN | Life Cycle of a Typical gTLD Domain Name


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## paulo (Dec 13, 2006)

Rodney said:


> Read this page from icann (the governing body for domain names) about what the normal timeline is for a domain name that expires: ICANN | Life Cycle of a Typical gTLD Domain Name


 So a expired domain means....it expires in about 3 months.

I wonder if I can use the same logic for my property taxes...


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## FSP (Aug 9, 2007)

I have been trying to buy a domain name that expired almost 1 year ago and it is still not available. It has not been re-registered. I called the phone #'s on the registration and can't get in touch with the owner. I've also called register.com and they said I can't do anything about it. I check the domain name about once a month and it never changes. Good luck getting yours!


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## AustinJeff (May 12, 2007)

Rodney said:


> You don't really need to check all of that stuff if you are just trying to get a specific name that you want that's about to expire.


It would be a good idea to know if the domain has been blacklisted since that could potentially keep you from sending email. Obviously not good if you are planning to use the name to run a business.

I've seen a few sites for checking this, but none that are comprehensive. Does anyone know of a good way to see if a domain has been blacklisted?


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## Rodney (Nov 3, 2004)

AustinJeff said:


> It would be a good idea to know if the domain has been blacklisted since that could potentially keep you from sending email. Obviously not good if you are planning to use the name to run a business.
> 
> I've seen a few sites for checking this, but none that are comprehensive. Does anyone know of a good way to see if a domain has been blacklisted?


That's the thing...blacklisted by whom? Google? spamcop? spamhaus? rbl? aol? a local ISP?

I don't think there's a way to tell that, but if you really *want* the domain (like it's your company name and you didn't register it before you decided on your company name), then I think blacklisting would be the least of your worries.

My thinking is, once you get the name, you can work on getting it off any blacklists, if in fact it is listed. I think it's a small chance that it would be, and for the most part, I don't think it would effect your usage of the domain enough to not want to buy it.


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## AustinJeff (May 12, 2007)

Rodney said:


> That's the thing...blacklisted by whom? Google? spamcop? spamhaus? rbl? aol? a local ISP?


Fortunately, I haven't had to deal with this in 7 or 8 years, and I know it used to be handled individually. I'm wondering if there might now be some kind of centralized database for email spam. Maybe not, I really have no idea.



Rodney said:


> I don't think there's a way to tell that, but if you really *want* the domain (like it's your company name and you didn't register it before you decided on your company name), then I think blacklisting would be the least of your worries.
> 
> My thinking is, once you get the name, you can work on getting it off any blacklists, if in fact it is listed. I think it's a small chance that it would be, and for the most part, I don't think it would effect your usage of the domain enough to not want to buy it.


Sure, if it's your company name, none of this matters. But if it's just a name that you like, I think it could be relevant, because at the very least it will take a lot of time to get "unblacklisted."

And in my experience, and again, this was several years ago, it was virtually impossible with many ISP's. Someone spoofed email from my domain, so it was a pretty simple matter of checking the IP numbers on the spam. But many ISP's simply wouldn't take the time to do it. It takes up their time, there's no reward for them, and they risk opening the system wide open for a spammer. I eventually switched domains and let that one expire. Of course, it's possible things have changed since then.

Also, I think the chances of a dropped domain being blacklisted are higher than it might seem. It's true that a very small percentage of domains are ever blacklisted. However, I would bet that 90%+ of blacklisted domains are allowed to expire. So the percentage of dropped names that are blacklisted might be fairly high. (though I have no idea what these means in actual percentages.) I also think it's even more likely to be the case if the name is particularly good. Quite often, it's being dropped for a reason.


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## FSP (Aug 9, 2007)

Anyone doing a half wit job of managing the blacklist is also going to tie the domain name to the MX record that specifies the ip address of the mail server - they would then block all mail from that ip address. This forces (or encourages) the company that manages the mail server to do a better job of preventing outgoing spam due to the fact that all of their customers will be blacklisted, not just the domain that sent the spam.

Additionally, most of the blacklists are updated on a daily basis. If somehow your domain was actually in a blacklist it would be difficult to get removed, but if your mail is coming from a different mail server it would most likely be taken of the blacklist (assuming the mail server you are on is not blacklisted due to someone elses actions).


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## Solmu (Aug 15, 2005)

mothertongues said:


> I've backordered a domain name on GoDaddy that is becoming available next year


What makes you say it's becoming available next year?


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