Web domains are something that many people fight over as specific names can hold a significant strategic or marketing value. This drives many web entrepreneurs to participate in a race to find and grab the best domain for their specific business, and sometimes even grab some for later, just in case. Others that haven’t gotten a chance the first time around are looking to find expired domains for their projects and business opportunities. But how do expired domains work exactly? Let’s find out as we explore the meaning and functions behind expired domains.
The way things are handled today differs from the way they used to go down in the past, when web domains were still a fresh concept. Back then, when a domain would expire, it would basically drop. Either that, or those interested in it could find it available for hand registration. Anyone was able to participate in hand registration and this helps web domain entrepreneurs build up large portfolios. To be more specific, once a domain name dropped, it would be made available for anyone interested. The first to act on it and claim it could become the new registrant of that particular domain. However, times have changed and as a result we now see different methods being applied.
How things worked then
The important difference between how things worked back then and how they work now is the fact that there is an extra step between a domain expiring and it dropping, thus becoming available for everyone. Now, domain registrars organize an auction for these domains and most times find someone interested in bidding in the auction. This is a profitable way of handling expired domains as a lot more revenue is generated. In the rare cases that no one is interested in the auction, they do things the classic way and drop it.
How things work now
Nowadays, domain registrars have other things to worry about so they let auctioneer partners handle the auctioning of expired domains. Once a domain expires, an auction date for that domain will be created by the third party and listed on its website. If you are interested in bidding for a domain name that will expire soon or that has expired, all you need to do is use online tools to look up the domain registrar for that particular domain. Once you have that information, you can find out what auction partner that registrar is using. From there on out it’s pretty straightforward.
Now that you have all the information that you need, you can bid on the domain you are interested in by visiting the appropriate auction partner’s platform, where the schedule will let you know when that domain will be put up for grabs.
