All names are now being grabbed upon release by drop registrars.
Many are grabbing the names and testing for traffic. Registrars may cancel the newly-registered names within 5 days and recover the Verisign fee (the original intent was in case the name is a typo, was registered by mistake etc). Some even extend the possibility to their clients.
For these reasons registrars are not swallowing all that they can and then sorting the names, only keeping the best performing ones.
So keep an eye on the domains, some might be cancelled within 5 days.
If the name was caught by pool or snapnames most likely someone paid for it and it will not be cancelled.
If the name was caught by domaincar, domibot et al using some sham registrar, then you have a good chance of getting the name anyway.
Catching names manually: I'm afraid you will have no luck. I was still able to do so not so long ago but the rules of the game have changed in the meantime. As explained above, registrars are now fully taking advantage of the 5-day refund period. Verisign and ICANN do no longer care about this because this ultimately increases the number of firm registrations... it means more $$$$$$$$ in the end.
To sum up after the drop you often get a 'second chance' to get the domains you like. I still recover decent names that way, that were cancelled just because they do not get a lot of traffic. Don't forget you have competition. When a name is cancelled another drop registrar may take their turn and 'test' the name again and so on... the domain could drop 3 times in 2 weeks (!).
We are like small fish fighting with 'sharks' in a 'Pool'
On a final note my current strategy for acquiring good names is twofold:
- Tip #1 is obvious but here it goes: some decent names are still available. If you are willing do spend time doing tedious research you can get good domains for reg fee.
- Tip #2 is to contact current domain owners and try to acquire the name at a fair price. If the domain is not being used actively the owner is often willing to consider selling the name.
If the name is in redemption you can contact the owner anyway and they can still recover the name (for a fee). If they let the name expire it's usually they no longer want it and will welcome your offer even if it's not big $$$.
If you wait for the name to drop then you are not certain you will get it. Even if you end up in the auctions some people are willing to spend huge amounts of money and they will outbid you.
There are still bargains in the drop auctions but a lot of competition too. With my tips above you don't have too many problems with competition, what you need is: time and money.
Good luck
