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strategy Strategy for Expiring/Deleting Domains

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Here is a comprehensive strategy for buying domains at Expiring/Deleting Domain Auctions, as of Sept 2015. This process describes how the process of capturing .COM/.NET domains work.

gtld-lifecycle.jpg

Graphic Courtesy of ICANN​

PRE-RELEASE DOMAIN AUCTIONS

A Pre-Release Domain Auction is an Auction for a domain which has Expired but which can still be renewed or transferred out (restrictions apply.. see below) by the current Registrant.

This is the first stage of the domain dropping process. From 0-45 days after expiry. (The Auto-Renew Grace Period, in ICANN speak). All Pre-Release Auctions end whilst the Registrar still has control of the domain before Day 45 after expiry. On day 46 the domain is given back by the Registrar to the Registry and it will definitely be deleted. There are only very rare exceptions. Renewal (the renewal price plus the Registrar's penalty) by the original Registrant is the most common.

Usually these Auctions begin at most Registrars or Drop Catchers at around 35 days after expiry (varies with Auctioneer) and the domain has still not been renewed by the current Registrant.

The main venues for these auctions are either at a Registrar which has an Auction System, like GoDaddy, or at Snapnames/NameJet which have entered into agreements with some Registrars to be the sole Auctioneer for their Expiring Domain Names.

Usually the current Owner of these domains still has the right to renew the domain. But sometimes Registrars who have agreements with Snapnames/Namejet restrict these rights. GoDaddy is the most generous. Allowing transfer out (or renewal at Godaddy with a penalty) up to 42 days after expiry. You need to read each individual Registrars ToS to know the time they give you to renew the domain or then lose your ownership rights. ICANN says it should be at 45 days. But no significant Registrar follows ICANN rules, here.

GoDaddy is the biggest Pre-Release Auction Market on the planet by way of the fact they are by far the biggest Registrar. SnapNames/Namejet are 2nd and 3rd to GoDaddy, respectively. Everyone else are bit players in this Market. They have a small Market Share. How much? difficult to say, but probably less than 10% for all of them combined. No facts to substantiate this.

It is highly recommended that if you see a domain in a Pre-Release Auction Market you want, you should bid on it at that Auction and not anywhere else. ie: If it is at SnapNames then only bid on it at SnapNames because they control the domain. It is your first and best chance of obtaining the domain.

The biggest downsides are, 1) The existing registrant can still renew the domain, and will be motivated to do so if they see it has value. 2) It is a Public Auction, so you can be outbid by anyone joining the Auction.

The biggest upsides are, 1) You sidestep the Pending Delete Auction which is open to everyone (including Dropcatch/HugeDomains. More on them later) 2) You retain the original registration date (which I like personally. YMMV)


PENDING DELETE DOMAIN AUCTIONS

A Pending Delete Auction is an Auction for a domain which has entered the Pending Delete stage of it's current registration. Almost dead and dropped.

Domains enter Pending Delete stage 75 days after expiry (46-75 days is the Redemption Grace Period, in ICANN speak). There is no coming back from Pending Delete. The domain will delete 5 days after it enters Pending Delete and will be available for re-registration the next day (day 6 after entering Pending Delete or 81 days after expiry).

These Auctions begin when the Domain hits Pending Delete status. It is a free-for-all when a domain drops. The company with the best drop catching system usually wins most drop-caches. This is DropCatch with over 500 registrars knocking on the Registry's door.

The main venues for these Auctions are DropCatch, SnapNames, NameJet. There are a miriad of other competitors, but they are only bit-players. Bit players ocassionally get lucky and capture Pending Delete domains. Usually (not always) the domains nobody else wants.

There are no official statistics, but DropCatch probably captures at least 50% of all drop-caught domains. It could be a lot more. they are the Goliath of Pending Delete Auctions. The reason for this is mainly because their sister company, HugeDomains, wants to snap up all dropping domains which have any value, and to place them on their own Domain Marketplace for sale. Partnering with Dropcatch has, to date, been a very successful strategy for them. But we cannot see if this is profitable or not for them.

The previous Goliaths were SnapNames/NameJet, who held the position now held by DropCatch.

It goes without saying. If you are serious at wanting a domain, you should be backordering it at all 3 of these companies. backorders are free. You only pay if you win the domain. If you are the only backorderer at the capturing company, you win the domain outright.

Now this is where it become interesting because of the different policies of DropCatch to SnapNames/NameJet relating to more than one backorderer.

For SnapNames/Namejet, if there is more than backorder placed at their venue and they capture the domain, then the domain goes into a three day Private Auction. Highest bid wins the domain.

For DropCatch, if there is more than one backorder placed on a domain at their venue, and they capture the domain, then the domain goes into a 3 day Public Auction. Where anybody can bid on the domain.

Because everyone is used to the old system at SnapNames/NameJet where a domain goes to a Private Auction, they reel at the though that anybody can bid on a drop-catch with multiple bidders, if it is caught by Dropcatch. they feel cheated. But it is only the marketplace at work. Of course a Private Auction is preferred because the domain has fewer bidders, not everyone. But with DropCatch capturing the lions share of all drop-caught domains, they have chosen to hold Public Auctions, where prices are naturally bid higher than at Private Auctions. Some say too high. But in general, it is only being bid up to a price where another Domainer can still sell the domain and make a profit, in their opinion. Of course opinions between domainers vary about the price.

There is a twist to this DropCatch dropcatching. As as sop to other domainers, they have stated that HugeDomains would not be permitted to participate in any Dropcatch Auction. This of course is fine, until they are being bid up by other domainers :( What is not so good, is they recently introduced a Discount Club, where HugeDomains have priority over any backorder. this is not good at all, as users of this service see most of their backorders being captured by HugeDomains. IMHO, you should never use their Discount Club and only participate in their full price backordering, which cuts out HugeDomains access to the domain. You still need to participate in the Public Auction if there was more than one backorder at DropCatch, if you want to capture the domain. The exception only would be if you are placed at the highest bidder and nobody else bid on the domain, which is quite rare.

Personally, I see DropCatch's method of doing business as a paradigm shift. It's not going away. Either embrace it or hate it. It will make flips harder because of the higher pricing, and will usher in longer hold times for domains. I actually like the fact I can poke my finger in the eye of HugeDomains (our biggest single competitor) by placing a full price backorder on DropCatch. Even if I don't bid on any auction, and I just take the captures where I was the only backorderer. It's peanuts in the big scale of things, but it gives me satisfaction :)

For domains which are not worth the $59 dropcatch fee. I usually backorder at Pheenix. They capture some but not all. With their recently added 100 drop-catch Registrars, they should become more competitive. But they have announced the same policy of as DropCatch of Public Auctions on domains with more than 1 backorder placed on their system, from Sept 19th 2015. This won't suit everybody. But I believe it is the wave of the future. Some day, all dropcatchers will operate like this. IMHO.

CONCLUSION

For Pre-Release domains I only bid at the Auction House which has the domain up for Auction. Nowhere else works. GoDaddy, or SnapNames, or NameJet, or if the domain is registered at a Registrar which runs it's own Auction House, eg Dynadot.

For Pending Delete domains which have value and desirability, I backorder at all three major players DropCatch, SnapNames, NameJet. For domains which I think won't get picked up by any of these three, I use the cheaper drop-catcher, Pheenix. The hundred registrars they just added will make them very competitive in this section. I might even add them to my top three and see how many they catch :)

See more about DropCatch and Domainers/HugeDomains backorders below.
 
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The views expressed on this page by users and staff are their own, not those of NamePros.
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The name should drop between Xmas and new year. Keep an eye on the whois, when the status changes to pending delete you will have a drop date.
 
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I am following up one GTLD which got dropped recently..

Creation Date: 2014-10-29
Registry Expiry Date: 2015-10-29
Domain Status: redemptionPeriod https://www.icann.org/epp#redemptionPeriod
Admin Name: Pending Renewal or Deletion

I saw this name dropped yesterday. I see these drops at domainpunch.com (https://domainpunch.com/tlds/deleted.php)

How long until it becomes available?

I don't understand your question. If it's dropped. It would be available for registration. Unless it was caught by a drop-catcher. What does the current whois say?

Did you read my original post? The answer is in there.
 
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The weird thing is that when I search to backorder it on DropCatch its not there... any ideas
You can't order at Dropcatch until the domain status reaches pending delete.
 
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I don't understand your question. If it's dropped. It would be available for registration. Unless it was caught by a drop-catcher. What does the current whois say?

Did you read my original post? The answer is in there.
Hello Stub, Yes I did of-course about 3-4 times, the thing that I couldn’t understand was : if it is still possible to get the domain with the current registrar which is in the redemptionPeriod. It was confusing me because the in the whois data it was still shown the registrar : Registrar: GODADDY.COM, LLC. But have cleared this up. Thanks for the thread btw.
 
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@DNMRKT.COM - Only the original owner can renew the domain at the existing Registrar after expiry +45 days, when they pay the Registrars Redemption Fee (varies from Registrar to Registrar. GoDaddy for example is $80 which is a bargain compared to other Registrars). Anyone can bid on any Registrars Deleting Domains Auctions (of which starting and ending dates varies from Registrar to Registrar). So if it is before the start of the Deleting Domain Auction or After 45 days, you have to negotiate with the original owner (which includes them renewing the domain). Otherwise bid in the Deleting Domain Auction for the domain.
 
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On what basis Verisign drop .COM domain name from their database.
Like some .COM released at 11 AM and some are release at 11.30 AM.

I checked whether it based on domain creation date and no it's not.
Also i am not sure whether its based on last update date or some random deletion. But i am sure it won't be random.

Can anyone shed light on this
 
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Sorry I cannot answer that one @premkumar. Maybe somebody else can.
 
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Sorry I cannot answer that one @premkumar. Maybe somebody else can.

Out of topic, @stub Does non .com domains sell much?
dndots.com/portfolio/portfolio.php

Could you tell me how well it goes compare to .com, how many u sell in a month. I too invest told in non .com but not sold one yet.
 
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one more thing @stub your offer page not working, it show
Bandwidth Limit Exceeded
The server is temporarily unable to service your request due to the site owner reaching his/her bandwidth limit. Please try again later. "

nomsales.com/contact.php?domain=ajks.com

you may loose offers becoz of this
 
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@stub, thanks for the insight. Can you kindly share best way to filter out premium pending delete domains? I know of tools like domcop.com but don't know if there are better ideas.

Cheers.
 
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I use DomCop quite a lot. But like everything, you need to take it with a pinch of salt, at face value. You need to dig into those stats.
 
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I use DomCop quite a lot. But like everything, you need to take it with a pinch of salt, at face value. You need to dig into those stats.

Thanks for the reply. Do you know of any service where I give them a bunch of keywords(hundreds) and they crawl the web daily to find both expiring and expired domains that have those keywords and deliver straight to my email instead of me visiting domcop daily.

Thanks
 
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I don't but I'm sure there is something out there. Like those domain auction/dropping domains consolidators.
 
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This is put together very nicely. The visual and text layout makes it both interesting and informative. Nice job, and thanks for this!
 
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This is very usefull. Thanksss
 
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Thanks for the reply. Do you know of any service where I give them a bunch of keywords(hundreds) and they crawl the web daily to find both expiring and expired domains that have those keywords and deliver straight to my email instead of me visiting domcop daily.

Thanks

BackorderZone
 
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curious how do you guys go through lists? like the daily list on drop catch, tens of thousands of domains.. do you just search for keywords?
 
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curious how do you guys go through lists? like the daily list on drop catch, tens of thousands of domains.. do you just search for keywords?

Waiting for someone to answer
 
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Can someone point me to the pre-release listings for Snapnames? Something like the csv that Namejet has where you can download their pre-releases expiring within the next 30 days. I see a page for downloads here: https://www.snapnames.com/download.jsp but what's the difference between "Available Soon" / "In Auction" / "Expiring"?

And thanks stub for this thread and the domcop recommendation.
 
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Waiting for someone to answer
i didnt realize it but the "pending delete" tab on expiredomains is basically the names from the namejet drop list
 
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Question regarding Pheenix. As you know they have two levels of service; Gold and SuperSaver. They clearly state that Gold has priority over SuperSaver. If they catch a domain and one person has it on gold and others have it on SS, does the Gold win it outright, or is it to auction?
 
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curious how do you guys go through lists? like the daily list on drop catch, tens of thousands of domains.. do you just search for keywords?

Waiting for someone to answer

Filter the list by the first appearance in archive.org. The best domains were registered in 1996-1999. This way you get down from 90k to a few hundreds domains daily. Well some domains will not be there if there never were sites on them so archive.org doesn't know about them. But there is no 100% perfect method.
 
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