I have found a domain name ( .com ) which will expire in just a few days. It's a pretty large company owning it, but it ( the name that is ) has no relation to their company name ( or registered trademarks ) whatsoever. I am not totally sure it but I think this is what happened:

1. A company started a dot-com
2. The large company invested a lot of money and seems like they registered the domain name ( this part is what I am guessing )
3. The dot-com company crashed

So, my question is: is it ok for me to register it when(if) it expires?

Originally posted by ASPCode.net
[clip]So, my question is: is it ok for me to register it when(if) it expires?
Sure.

You will want to familiarize yourself with the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy though, and make sure you use the domain - and you don't just hold it hostage in case the company comes back.

http://www.icann.org/udrp/udrp.htm

-t

I'd say grab it if you want to use it.

Thanks and I will really use it, this is not some kind of domain name speculation.

On the exact date that a domain is due to expire, does it in fact become immediately available to register? I had assumed so, but I've seen some threads recently that suggest otherwise...

Depending on the registrar, the domain will take between 30 days and forever to become available.

Where is it registered?

-t

It's registered at Register.com. How are they for releasing on time?

I used Snapnames to get a name previously registered with Register.com. It expired Dec 8. and I got it January 10th. That is, the grace period was approx. one month. I don't know if the same registrar always use the same grace period, though. Good luck!

Thanks, Helena. I read here that SnapNames is good sometimes. If only it wasn't so pricey. Have you any experience with other "back ordering", name watch systems? Mind you, if a domain's worth it, then $60US plus reg fees isn't sooooo bad, I guess. If only I knew if anyone else has their eyes on it;)

Hi rhizome,

No, this was the first time I have back ordered. (It was the .com version of the same name I had been using since 1998, so I wanted it badly. Someone had booked it for 2 years, trying to make money on it, but fortunately, he let it expire this time.)

I was fortunate and back-ordered just before Snapnames raised the price. :-) I payed $50, but if you really want the domain, $69 isn't so bad either, because the fee includes the first year of registration.

~ Helena

I wonder how they compare with ExpireFish in terms of likelihood of getting a name?

Does the register.com 'anonymous offer' work well?

How does expirefish compare to SnapnameS?
There's a domain name I'm interested in expiring in 5 days... please everyone give me more info on the two of them soon... which one is better and which one would you suggest for me to use? (don't really mind the price difference... as long as the domain is mine soon enough it's alright :) )

I have another question... for a couple of the domain names after I typed in the web address something similar to the attachment came up... anyone familiar with it? how come so many domains are redirected to that similar site? Is it from an auction site? 'marketplace' site?

Thanks in advance everyone, really appreciate your help.

All of these services work the same way, and they all stand about the same chance of grabbing your domain.

Remember though that none of them can snatch your domain until it drops, and depending on the registrar, this can be weeks, months, or even years after the domain expires.

There is no ICANN requirement for dropping domain names so each registrar has it's own rules.

OpenSRS drops after 45 days or so. NetSol can drop any time - and many of their domains never seem to drop.

-t

Originally posted by thewitt
Remember though that none of them can snatch your domain until it drops, and depending on the registrar, this can be weeks, months, or even years after the domain expires.

There is no ICANN requirement for dropping domain names so each registrar has it's own rules.

OpenSRS drops after 45 days or so. NetSol can drop any time - and many of their domains never seem to drop.

-t

Thanks, good to know, however the name I'm after is registered by Netsol, so I guess I'll have to check it each day from now ( it expired yesterday )

Originally posted by ASPCode.net
Thanks, good to know, however the name I'm after is registered by Netsol, so I guess I'll have to check it each day from now ( it expired yesterday )

Uh oh. Netsol has major problems with just dropping deleted domain names. They'll probably auction it off before just releasing it.

Good luck, though.

NSI takes for ever to drop a domain...I have domain thats been expired for a few months, still NSI hasn't dropped it, there was a post where a domain had expired or over a year. So good luck on getting it...After you do get it please tell us the name...

All of these services work the same way, and they all stand about the same chance of grabbing your domain.

In my opinion, that is so far from the truth and a rather misleading statement.

Originally posted by hostjet
In my opinion, that is so far from the truth and a rather misleading statement.
You are welcome to your opinion of course.

-t

I think that you have a much better chance using the domain snatching service provided by the registrar that has the domain name registered.

Because they don't even need to drop the domain name to give all the other people an opportunity to snatch it before they can. They can just keep it for themselves and offer it to you.

Anyway, blowdry.com was finally dropped from the root servers last month, but it's still not been dropped by NSI.

"Record expires on 08-May-2001."

Almost been a year now.

Originally posted by bitserve
[clip]Anyway, blowdry.com was finally dropped from the root servers last month, but it's still not been dropped by NSI.

"Record expires on 08-May-2001."

Almost been a year now.
This stuff just makes my blood boil. :angry:

-t

Because they don't even need to drop the domain name to give all the other people an opportunity to snatch it before they can. They can just keep it for themselves and offer it to you.

I am fairly sure that they have to drop the name first, theoretically giving every potential registrant a chance of obtaining the name. A registrar cannot offer an expired name for sale, they have to let it drop. They can let the original registrant reregister it long after the expiry date, but they cant just sell it to a third party.

Originally posted by hostjet
A registrar cannot offer an expired name for sale, they have to let it drop. They can let the original registrant reregister it long after the expiry date, but they cant just sell it to a third party.

Please send me the URL to the authoritative document that says that. And then send it to Netsol who auctions off expired domain names every day.

Thank you.

Mark,
I said they are not allowed to do it, I never said that it wasnt actually done. If I stumble across the exact statement which says they are not allowed to do this, I shall make sure to post it.

One statement by network solutions that I did manage to stumble upon is this

Expired Domain Names: The NSI Registrar is not offering "expired" domain names for "resale" through GreatDomains at a premium. No "expired" domain names have been listed on the NSI Registrar's listing website, GreatDomains.com. The NSI Registrar has never auctioned any domain name registration whose contractual period has ended.

You can find the statement here (http://www.icann.org/melbourne/verisign-submission-29mar01.htm)

Personally I have found no actual proof where Network Solutions is doing this. Therefore I refuse to fuel these rumours. I have however encountered some rather questionable behaviour by register.com selling expired domain names via afternic.

Originally posted by hostjet
Mark,
I said they are not allowed to do it, I never said that it wasnt actually done. If I stumble across the exact statement which says they are not allowed to do this, I shall make sure to post it...

Thank you.