Live Expired, Expiring Soon and On-hold Domain Names - Frequently Asked Questions

A domain name I want expired a while ago, why can't I register it?

Where can I buy an expired domain name now?

Where can I get software which finds expired domain names with web traffic and high link popularity?

What happens to a domain when it expires? How long until it becomes available to the public?

What's new on the expired domain name scene?

Which top level domains (TLDs) will be included in Waiting List Service (WLS)?

Why are .ORG domains not included in the WLS?

What about TLDs, other than .COM, .NET and .ORG?

What's wrong with the current situation for expiring, expired and on-hold domain names?

What's so great about the expired domain name waiting list service (WLS)?

How much will WLS cost?

How long will a subscription to WLS last?

If someone else already subscribed for the domain name I want, can I subscribe too and join the queue?

If the domain name I want does not become available, can I switch my subscription to another domain name?

When will the expired domain name waiting list service start?

Can I sign up to the expired domain name waiting list service at DomainsNow4U.com?

Where can I get more info about the planned waiting list service?

Who do I contact for additional assistance?

If your question is not answered here, please check out our Domain Name Renewal FAQs

A domain name I want expired a while ago, why can't I register it?

When a domain name expires it often takes weeks or months before it "drops"; i.e. before the domain again becomes available to the public.  The decision as to when to allow a domain name to drop is effectively up to the registrar concerned.

Although some registrars allow expired domain names to "drop" immediately, other registrars give the owner a "grace" period after the official expiry date, within which the domain name owner can renew the name. It is common for such "grace" periods to be 1 - 45 days. 

One of the best services for buying domain names which have expired but which have not yet "dropped" is SnapBack. SnapBack will monitor any domain name for you round the clock. Then, if the domain ever becomes available, they will automatically register the domain for you. 

You can sign up for the SnapBack service and get a lot of useful information about the domain name delete process at the SnapBack website.

Where can I buy an expired domain name?

We recommend the DomainsBot service. DomainsBot is currently the best place on the internet to search for expired and on-hold live updated domains. They provide customers with fresh expired and on hold domains hours before the competition.

Domain Cycle Lottery

Every day, thousands of previously register domains expire and become available for registration. These names are meaningful & high-traffic, because the old owner previously used and advertised them.

Why is it a Lottery?

Meaningful domains are worth thousands of dollars.  Every day, DomainsBot customers are the first to know what domains become available and are the first to register them.  A meaningful domain will bring your site hundreds of visitors without any advertising. You can also sell that domain or redirect it to websites that will pay you a commission per click. A high-traffic domain is a sure money-maker.

What can DomainsBot do for me?

DomainsBot is the most efficient service we've found to find and register valuable names. You can search their database of millions of available and soon available domains. You will then be able to register the available ones and back order the soon-to-expire ones, in order to be the first to get them when they expire.

Click here for more about DomainsBot expired and on-hold domains

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Where can I find software which finds expired domain names with web traffic and high link popularity?

As the WWW grows ever larger, so does the cost of promoting your web site to get the traffic you need. And it's not just more money, you also need to spend more time promoting your site in Google, Yahoo and the major search engines which is where 80% or more of all internet traffic comes from.

So wouldn't you prefer to buy domain names which already have site visitors and the business they bring?

Of course, but how?

Enter "Expired Traffic.com"...

Expired Traffic.com gives you software tools using link popularity to help find, capture, and profit from the residual daily search engine and link traffic which previously developed websites - currently expired - are still getting. 

Learn how to find it, use it, and profit from it with a FREE 7 day email course "Expired Traffic for Dummies".

Over 3 million hits of targeted traffic expire every day. Hundreds of developed and thriving websites expire. Yet these sites still receive endless traffic from the search engines and links to them. 

With Expired Traffic you can identify these hot sites, make use of their expired traffic, and make $$$ 

Take Expired Traffic for a FREE trial

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What happens to a domain when it expires? How long until it becomes available to the public?

There are 3 periods in the expiring domain name cycle. They are "On Hold", "Redemption" and lastly "Soon to Expire". Here's how these three periods in the domain expiry cycle work...

"On Hold" Status.
When a domain expires (i.e. when it reaches the expiry date mentioned in the public WHOIS database), the registrar will place it "On Hold". The "On Hold" period can be anything from 1 - 45 days. The actual period is decided by your registrar. 

At DomainsNow4U.com our registrar partners, Innerwise Inc., officially don't have any "On Hold" period, but we understand it is actually about 5 days. 

During the "On Hold" period you can still renew your domain at the usual $12 price. 

When the "On Hold" period finishes, the domain is "released" to the registry, that is the organization which administers the master database for the TLD concerned. For example, the registry for all .COM and .NET domain names is a company called VeriSign, also known as Network Solutions.

"Redemption" Status.
When a .COM or .NET domain is "released" to the registry (VeriSign), it enters "Redemption" status, which lasts 30 days. The full name is actually "Redemption Grace Period", but we'll call it "Redemption" for short.

The "Redemption" program is intended to assist owners who have unintentionally allowed their domain names to be deleted.

During "Redemption" status you may still renew your domain for 1 year at $12.00 plus VeriSign's redemption registry fee of $100.00 per domain. In our opinion this fee is very high but we have little say in the matter. We make no profit on this.

If you want to renew your domain which is currently in "Redemption" status, login to your account with your UserName and Password. After login go to the "Services" section, click the "Renew Your Domains" link, and follow the online instructions.

"Soon to Expire" Status.
When the 30 day "Redemption" period ends, the VeriSign registry places the .COM or .NET domain into "Soon to Expire" status and 5 days later the domain "drops", i.e. it becomes available to register by anybody.

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What's new on the expired domain name scene?

A new expired domain name service is planned called the Waiting List Service.  The purpose of the expired domain name waiting list service (WLS) is to allow anyone to subscribe to be first to register a "deleting" domain name. A deleting domain name is a domain name whose registration expires and which again becomes available for registration. 

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Which top level domains (TLDs) will be included in WLS?

To start, only .COM and .NET domain names will be included in the expired domain name waiting list service.

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Why are .ORG domains not included in the WLS?

.ORG domain names are not included in WLS because Verisign Inc., the company organizing the WLS no longer administers the .ORG registry.

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What about TLDs, other than .COM, .NET and .ORG?

TLDs other than .COM and .NET may be offered later.

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What's wrong with the current situation for expiring, expired and on-hold domain names?

You currently stand at best an uneven chance of getting the expired domain name you want. Waiting until the domain name is deleted from the registry's database and then trying to register it, is fraught with problems because deletions can happen in several ways, and at almost any time; the expiry date giving only a rough guide as to when the domain may actually become available. 

And given the robotic attacks by armies of speculators who routinely register names within moments of their deletion, the chances of you being "first come, first served" are currently not good. 

Also, while there are some good services around that will register available expired domain names for you, such as DomainsBot and SnapBack, they are not able to guarantee more than about 70% success rate.

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What's so great about the expired domain name waiting list service?

The unique benefit is that WLS provides 100% certainty of getting the domain name you want if it becomes available. No other expired domain name service delivers a 100% guarantee. 

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How much will WLS cost?

The cost of a subscription is not yet known, but may be between about $45-$95 per year. 

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How long will a subscription to WLS last?

A subscription will last 1 year and is renewable.

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If someone else already subscribed for the domain name I want, can I subscribe too and join the queue?

No, there is no queue. Only one subscription is allowed per domain name. 

One year after WLS starts, the rules will be reviewed in the light of experience and may be revised to allow for a subscription queue.

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If the domain name I want does not become available, can I switch my subscription to another domain name?

Yes, you can switch your subscription to another domain name. You may switch up to five times during a one year period.

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When will the expired domain name waiting list service start?

No definite date has yet been fixed. It was originally hoped that WLS would be launched soon after March 20th 2002. But objections were raised by the Internet community and consequently, although the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), the group that manages the Internet's domain name system, has meantime given the green light, the new waiting list service (WLS) has not yet been implemented. 

One of the conditions set by ICANN for the approval of the WLS scheme was that: 

"Subscriptions under the WLS ... shall not be taken by VeriSign Global Registry Services until at least six months ... after implementation of the Redemption Grace Period..."

so we estimate that the waiting list service (WLS) may start about July 2003. But there have already been many delays in this process so please don't blame us if our guess turns out to be wrong!

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Can I sign up to the expired domain name waiting list service at DomainsNow4U.com?

Yes. DomainsNow4U.com expects to offer the WLS as soon as the service is properly up and running. 

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Where can I get more info about the planned waiting list service?

More information about the proposed new expired domain name waiting list service is available at this link:

http://www.dnso.org/clubpublic/ga/Arc09/msg00773.html

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