Now we have covered some of the basics we can start to get into the detail on what actually happens when a domain expires..I have researched the process pretty extensively but have to admit there are still gaps and funky grey loopholes that I haven’t yet managed to close.

When a domain name is not renewed by its owner it goes into what is termed as the Renewal Period typically this lasts for 3 months and during this time the owner can renew his ownership for a small handling fee. During this time the website the domain name is attached to carries on operating as normal and the owner has full access to all the analytics and statistics provided by the web hosting company.

After the Renewal Period is over and the domain has not been renewed the domain will fall into what is called theRedemption Period this can last for anywhere from 1 week to 6 months depending on which registry the domain name is registered with. The owner during this period can still renew the domain name but there will be additional costs involved.

Once the Redemption Period is finished the domain name should become publicly available and the owner should have lost their ability to renew at this point. This being one of the first “grey” areas I encountered as several expiring domains in the past that I have tracked were renewed by their existing owners after the Redemption Period had elapsed. This though in general is the exception to the rule and not the norm but just something to keep an eye out for.

Ok so now typically the domain becomes publicly available, at this point several things can happen. Firstly bots are used by Registrars to crawl the database of expiring domains in this cycle and any that meet their criteria they then try to buy directly from the Registry and sell on for a higher price.

The majority of domains though will then move into the Pre Release Auction cycle facilitated by NameJet. Customers interested in purchasing one of these expired domains will have the opportunity to bid for the domains in the actual auction by first entering a Pre Auction bid which will be a minimum of $69. Bids can be tracked at http://www.expired-domains.co Once the pre auction process has closed you will have entered the actual auction phase – which typically lasts 5 days.

For those expired domains that have no bids and do not sell during the auction process or for those that simply skip that step altogether because it is deemed they are not desirable enough to gather enough attention for a competitive auction – they will go into what it called the 5 day pending delete cycle these can also be found on a daily basis at http://www.expired-domains.co. After this period has finished the domain will then drop and become publicly available for a small fee.

While it seems this is the standard process for the lifecycle of an expired domain as I mentioned at the top there are a few loopholes along the way that can be a bit confusing at times.. I do hope this helps though!

Clare Coggins 

clare@expired-domains.co