Snapnames pre-release changed to backorder?

[Humanoid]

I want a domain that was originally registered at dotser.com. It had expired, and was supposed to be a snapnames pre-release. The snapnames site listed its status as "available soon", with an "order by" date. So I put the minimum bid of $79, and I was the only bidder. It was my understanding that after the "order by" date was reached, it would go into a 3 day auction.

Once the "order by" date was actually reached, the status in my account said "acquiring name", but then the next day the status was changed to "backorder".

Is this normal? Did snapnames fail to acquire the domain even though it was supposed to be a snapnames pre-release? The domain is still expired, and nothing in the whois has changed in the past month. Did snapnames choose not to pre-release the domain because I was the only bidder? Did they want more money than the $79 minimum bid they asked for?

 

[Kate]

Sometimes prerelease domains that have at least one backorder are allowed to go into redemption, must be a synch problem with the registrars. It is also possible that the domain was renewed.

 

[main]

This happens to me a lot. Usually the name just gets renewed. It'll probably have a sales page up in a few days.

 

[Humanoid]

Well the domain has just changed status to "redemptionPeriod", so it doesn't look like it was renewed. I had no idea snapnames could fail to get a pre-release name. I guess now that means that I will have to backorder it using snapnames, namejet, pool and other backorder services to increase my chances of getting it.

 

[phowell23]

Snapnames is pretty good in getting domains but not perfect. Nor are NameJet, Pool, or any other backorder system. If you really want a domain name badly, backordering at all 3 top services is best like you mentioned above. However, if you choose one service I normally go with Namejet as I've seen them have a slight edge in obtaining domains I'm interested in over Snapnames.

 

[turhost]

It looks like SnapNames might not have successfully acquired the domain from Dotser, even though it was listed as a pre-release. Normally, if you're the only bidder, you should win after the "order by" date, but if the status changed to "backorder," SnapNames likely failed to secure it. The domain could still be in an extended expiration phase, or Dotser may have decided not to release it. You should contact SnapNames support for clarification and monitor the domain in case it enters the pending delete phase.