How long does it take for an expired domain to be purchasable?

[Rudy]

So there was a domain that expired today at 7:00 pm. However, when I go to try and register it, my registrar is still saying that it's registered and unavailable. Should I expect to have to wait till tomorrow, or even longer before I can purchase it?

 

[rxmr]

If, by "Expired", you mean "Not Dropped", as in "Redemption Period, etc.", then its roughly about 75 days from the expiration date.

If, by "Expired", you mean "Dropped", then it should either be available for registration or may have been picked up by a drop-catching service like eNom, who, ironically, today snatched "identifying.net" before I could get it.

I found this out by running a WHOIS search on the domain after it showed as "Already Taken".

There are some more experienced people in this forum who might could better answer this question.

Hope this helps.

rxmr

 

[Rudy]

Thanks for the response.

When I say "Expired", I mean the expiration date on a Whois search. So, I guess it still has the redemption period. Why the redemption period, and what's it for?

 

[Mark]

Try these links - might explain it better

http://www.namepros.com/showthread.php?t=40342&highlight=deletion+process

Sticky: NameFAQs - Answers to common domain name questions

http://www.namepros.com/showthread.php?t=3282&highlight=namefaqs

or http://www.namefaqs.com/question/qstId/26.html