Does anyone have any experience with expired domains?

scottishgirl87

I recently registered a new domain name, however, there is another variation of it that I'd also like to register. According to WHOIS the domain expired towards the end of last month and I can also see that it's currently up for auction but with no bids.

Can anyone recommend my best plan of attack here? I'm thinking if I wait another couple of weeks it will go back on general sale, however, if I bid on it now it will show that someone is interested and therefore I could end up paying over the odds for it.

I know if I hold off that there's also a chance that I lose it.

paddyrg

There are some companies that just hoover up everything for bulk rates just to stick ads on - on the offchance that there's some traffic leftover from when it was valid. There must be, as they keep doing it. Even 'petsh*t.com', the least saleable domain I could think of 20 years ago is still hosted by an ad company. I'd get your bagsies in early, roll the dice, but expect not to get it.

Aquamania

I don't have much experience of this - only based on the info we receive regarding our domains (and a bit of guesswork/intuition)

How long after expiry a domain becomes available for re-registration (i.e. by another party) may depend on the type of domain.
I think one of ours is held (pending our possible renewal) for about 6 weeks, whilst another can be 3 months.

That's to do with registering a domain without any additional surcharge.

If someone is auctioning a domain, do they still own it? If so, the clock hasn't even started running yet.

Some of the big companies (like godaddy, 123-reg, etc) might start trying to auction expired domain names off inside these periods in an attempt to earn a bit of extra money.
The danger here is indeed, if you show an interest, they may register the domain to stop you getting it unless you pay them a premium.

I guess it also depends on the desireability of the domain name. Anything that is desirable is probably not going to become available anyway (as people know it can be sold for more)

I would pick something that is easy to remember, but unique to you.
Also, if someone else has been using the domain name recently, you'll get a load of unwanted traffic, unless it so happens that the previous owner was in the same business as you. Even then, you will still get some unwanted traiffc from those seeking the old business.