Catching a pending delete domain

[stormshield]

:hi:

Today I tried to catch a pending delete domain. It definitely wasn't worth $59 I could pay Snapnames so I opted out for a hand-registration. I checked whois data every several minutes and -- you guessed it -- suddenly it got registered by someone else.

My first question: Is checking whois data a reliable way of checking domain availability?

The registrar was Godaddy. Do you think the guy used the Godaddy backordering service? (I heard it sucks so I'm surprised it was faster than me )

What is, in your opinion, the best way of catching a pending delete domain (cost < $59)

 

[RazorNF]

I doubt anyone would be able to handreg a domain name that has actually been backordered at a dropcatcher. They reg them split seconds after they are deleted, and probably have grabbed hundreds in the time it takes for you to go through the checkout process.

While Godaddy is the worst dropcatcher, it is entirely possible somebody got it through their backorder service if it was not backordered anywhere else. Or likely that nobody backordered it, and someone hand-regged it before you were able to.

 

[Erdy]

Most dropping domains don't enter pending delete stage because they go to auction during redemption period if the registrar has an agreement with one of the dropcatchers.

The fact that your domain was in pending delete status shows that it was indeed going to drop. In that case the best dropcatcher is snapnames, then namejet, pool and godaddy, in that order. After that there are domainers who use desktop programs that work with registrar api's. And after that there are people who try to hand register. So now you should have a good picture of expiring domains.

 

[chandan]

The registrar was Godaddy. Do you think the guy used the Godaddy backordering service? (I heard it sucks so I'm surprised it was faster than me )

check the whois if it have domain alert in whois then its a backorder.

godaddy regs fast with bacorder. dont compare with the godaddy manual checkout

 

[Erdy]

All expiring godaddy domains go to auction at godaddy no matter what. There is no backordering required. Godaddy auctions start a certain day after the expiry date even if there is no bidder. The auction lasts a few days and anybody can join the auction while it runs.

After the auction is completed and there was no bidder, the domain still doesn't drop. It goes to a lower price buy now stage which is called Godaddy closeouts (formerly known as fire sale). At this stage you can buy the domain for 14 USD including one year renewal fee. If the domain passes that stage without anybody buying it, then it drops.

After a godaddy domain has reached the first auction stage you can actually see a link when you open the domain that redirects you to the auction page.

Be careful with godaddy auctions. They charge you a yearly fee even if you don't buy any domain at all during that year. They also make this a recurring yearly payment on your paypal account without telling you it clearly. You can remove this recurring fee but you need to search around a little inside your paypal account.

Godaddy is the most annoying company out there. They charge newbies for domain parking. Any other company pays you money, they don't charge you. Basically everything at Godaddy is designed to trick newbies, which I can not stand.

 

[stormshield]

The fact that your domain was in pending delete status shows that it was indeed going to drop. In that case the best dropcatcher is snapnames, then namejet, pool and godaddy, in that order. After that there are domainers who use desktop programs that work with registrar api's. And after that there are people who try to hand register. So now you should have a good picture of expiring domains.

Are you sure that Godaddy backorder is faster than desktop programs with registrar api's? I remember reading someone's post on how bad Godaddy backorder is and that you're better off hand-registering.

 

[Erdy]

I never used Godaddy backorder. Don't use them for non godaddy domains because they will put the domain into open auction even if you are the only one who backorders. Besides they don't stand a chance against other dropcatchers. Everything about godaddy is crap. You might be right.

 

[Kate]

Are you sure that Godaddy backorder is faster than desktop programs with registrar api's? I remember reading someone's post on how bad Godaddy backorder is and that you're better off hand-registering.

Godaddy should definitely perform better because as a registrar they have a direct connection to the registry, while an API goes through the registrar.
I believe Godaddy have about 8 shell registrars available for the drops (gochina gofrance etc). They will seldom beat another dropcatcher but they will beat the handreggers.
An API helps beat the handreggers too but that's pretty much the limit.