Do you ever, wonder and ask yourself, "What happens to expired domain names?"
This article is going to help you master the domain names expiring process and how you can benefit from the quantum list of expired domains that become available each and every single day. You'll be amazed at what a goldmine you may stumble upon!
To understand comprehensively what happens when domain names expire and all about registering and renewing domain names, it may help first of all to know the structure and composition of a domain name.
Expired Domain Names - Parts of A Domain Name
A domain name is made up of two parts.
- The last part is called the top level domain name.
This is the part that is .com or .org or .net. There are many more of those extensions now approved and new ones are yet to be to be approved. There are even top level domains that are country specific such as .ke for Kenya, .in for India. In fact, your country may have one too! Why not check around and find out for sure. When searching for expired domain names and if your objective is to use them for your business, then a .com extension should be your first choice.
- The second part of the domain name is the name you choose.
This is called the second level domain name. It is either the name that you make up or it can be the expired name that someone else made up. Shortly, we will see how you can get hold of such valuable expired domain names.
All the domain names are recorded in a database and no two can be the same. That is why once you choose a great domain name, it's your to use and none other!
Unless of course... keep reading! The Catch!
When registering a domain name, you're only entitled to use it for the period of time that you choose to pay for. That period of time can be one year, two years or 10 years. Whichever the period is, once it's over then we have expired domain names.
There are domain name resellers who buy expired domain names only to sell them at a slightly higher price than the initial cost price they had paid for them. This is how they make profits from expired domain names.
Expired Domain Names Cycle, How It Works
There are stages that a domain name goes through from the time a given name is registered to the moment it's deemed as having expired and officially start to get treated as expired domain names.
- The first stage in this process is the "expiry date."
As discussed above, a domain name is registered for a period you decide on but not exceeding ten years. When the domain name is due to be registered again (renewing expired domain names) and is not, that date is called the 'expiry date.'
The next stage is when the registration period is up and the owners have the choice of renewing their expired domain names or not to renew their expired domain names. An accredited registrar will typically send you a reminder well in advance of the upcoming expiration. During this time you only pay the standard fee charged for domain name renewal.
If you decide not to re-register your domain name, you'll typically have a few days in which you can change your mind. Normally you'll have a grace period that lasts about 40 days. Some registrars charge an extra fee if expired domain names are renewed during this period.
When the 40 days are over, the expired domain names enter the redemption period. Be sure to pay handsomely in the name of fees if you change your mind to renew the expiring domain name at this stage.
After about 75 days since the expiry date (expired domain names), if you still do not want the domain name; it now depends on the registrar what happens next. They may delete the domain name or they can hold it for awhile before deleting it as one of the expired domain names.
The domain name may show as being registered to the "unpaid names" department and stay in that status until it is finally deleted. Once the expired domain names gets to this point, they're almost ready to be re-registered.
That can cause a stir if the expired domain names are particularly valuable. Sometimes domain names are off the market for years and when they become available as expired domain names for sale, people can get very excited at the prospect of getting the rights to those names.
How To Snatch Expired Domain Names For Yourself
Now you ask, is there a way to snatch expired domain names? Good question… Is there a given domain name that you've set your eyes on and know that for sure it would be the perfect domain name for your business? If so, you may be in the company of many others who are keeping an eye on the same name and are monitoring expired domain names to see if it is among the listed expired domain names.
Once such a domain name is available in the list of expired domain names for re-registering and if you're not quick, someone else may just grab the domain name. Here is how not to let that happen to you:
The best way of ensuring a chance to snatch expired domain names is knowing when it is about to be put back into the list of available expired domain names pool before others know about it as well.
There are sources that will provide that useful information of expired domain names. There are some that will tell you which ones have expired in the past 24 hours. This expired domain names information is varied. Some require you to be a member of their site. Others provide the service free of cost.
If you're planning to look for expired domain names, then there are several sites that you can use for this as well. This does not mean the expired domain names will not be renewed.
There are sites that keep track of expired domain names and all the details, you can use them to find out what is available. As with the expired domain names registry, some are free and some are paid memberships.
It is rarely possible to be able to get to know a domain name that is about to expire without using some type of tools and software.
Although they're not 100% when it comes to getting the best expired domain names for you, they have a better chance than you having to do it manually trying to be the first one to discover when those domain names becomes available.
The expired domain name registries typically charge a fee. What this basically means is that you're paying for a chance to be among the first to get to know as soon as "expired domain names" become available for re-registration. If you do not get any of the names you wanted within a specific time, you're always able to bail out.
When It Comes To Expired Domain Names, Don't be a victim
Regardless of how you get hold of expired domain names, you'll have to keep in mind; you do not own the domain name. You're only allowed to use the domain name as long as you pay the renewal fees. It does not matter that you thought up the name. You still are subject to paying fees to use the name.
Where Money is involved:
Because of the fee and money aspect involved with expired domain names, it's always wise to know the previous owners of the expired domain names and what they used them for. That is especially true if you're planning to use the same names for brand new sites.
It is also handy to know if the expired domain names have been banned by search engines and other such valuable information.
In conclusion, keep in mind, your domain name usually says something specific about your site. If you want to keep the domain name you chose make sure you pay the renewal fees on time. This will keep your name from being found in the list of expired domain names and being picked up by someone else.