question Domain Backordering, What Happens Exactly? How Does It Work?

[DomainAuction]

Hi Name Pros,

Ive had bad experiences in the past with placing domain backorders many years ago so I was turned off by it but I am not sure if it was new and unstable back then or if I simply did not understand the flow of such services.

Anyway, 10 years later (few days ago) I placed a backorder on a domain that is extremely unlikely to be registered let alone backordered because it's not only a domain that I had owned prior its expiration but its also my full name in the .COM extension *plus nobody on earth has the same name. I did this to monitor how the process / flow of back ordering domains work.

My question is this:

If a domain has expired and it is past the redemption phase I have been told that the domain goes into a recycling stage and then eventually becomes available for public registration. However, if only ONE backorder has been placed by anyone via any registrar or service would that domain ever become available for registration to the public or would it automatically become mine?

I am aware that several backorders would result in an auction but my concern is whether or not a domain with only ONE backorder on it would become publicly available even for a split second.

I ask because 10 years ago I literally monitored the domain of interest but noticed that it had become available for hand registeration prior the backorder service I had used to do that for me. If I was 5 or less minutes late (and did not stay up until 5 AM refreshing the domain results page) a very valuable domain for me at that time could have been registered by anyone; meaning the backorder was useless.

Your thoughts? What did I do wrong then, do I have a misunderstanding or did I use a crappy service back then?

Let me know, thank you!

 

[anantj]

Anyway, 10 years later (few days ago) I placed a backorder on a domain that is extremely unlikely to be registered let alone backordered because it's not only a domain that I had owned prior its expiration but its also my full name in the .COM extension *plus nobody on earth has the same name. I did this to monitor how the process / flow of back ordering domains work.

Trust me, on the Internet, what feels very unlikely, typically isn't. You wont believe some of the weird names that are registered.

If a domain has expired and it is past the redemption phase I have been told that the domain goes into a recycling stage and then eventually becomes available for public registration. However, if only ONE backorder has been placed by anyone via any registrar or service would that domain ever become available for registration to the public or would it automatically become mine?

When a domain is deleted from the registry, it becomes available for anyone to register. Backordering a domain just automates the registration flow and is faster when compared to hand registration. So the answer to the last part of your question - the domain IS available for any registrar to register but it is a race against other registrars (and dropcatchers) to register that domain.

I am aware that several backorders would result in an auction but my concern is whether or not a domain with only ONE backorder on it would become publicly available even for a split second.

Technically, yes. Also, depending on the dropcatching service and the "type" of backorder, the domain might be available for more than a split second.

I ask because 10 years ago I literally monitored the domain of interest but noticed that it had become available for hand registeration prior the backorder service I had used to do that for me. If I was 5 or less minutes late (and did not stay up until 5 AM refreshing the domain results page) a very valuable domain for me at that time could have been registered by anyone; meaning the backorder was useless.

Yes. A lot of "backordering/dropcatching" services are very slow as they have fewer connection to the registry (explaining this is a very long answer that I'm not going to get into). So, it does depend on the dropcatching service.

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If you're really keen on acquiring a domain, I'd recommend that you backorder it at the following venues:
1. Dropcatch
2. Snapnames
3. Namejet
4. Pheenix
5. Dynadot

GoDaddy also has a dropcatching service but they charge you upfront (refunded as credit on dropcatch failure) so I generally don't recommend them. Plus they are one of the slowest backordering services.

 

[DomainAuction]

Trust me, on the Internet, what feels very unlikely, typically isn't. You wont believe some of the weird names that are registered.

Incredible reply and much appreciated; I literally witnessed the domain become available earlier today for a split second but was unavailable to register it because I was on the road. By the time I was home I saw that it was registered and the backorder company then sent me an email saying they were unable to capture it for me --- which means they shouldn't offer such services because I say with my own eyes it was available for 30mins. That's NOT good service! Anyway, thank you much appreciated.