What is a domain name?

When does a domain name become available?

What is the difference between an expired and a deleted domain?

What is the redemption grace period?

At what time deleting domain names are released by the registrar and become available for registration?

How much does a domain registration cost?

Why a deleted domain is better than an unregistered domain?

Why are valuable domains ever allowed to expire?

How will I be able to grab a domain that goes back into the available pool before my competitors?

What is a back-order?

How does a back-order work and how much does it cost?

Do you offer a back-ordering service so one can register a domain the second it becomes available?

How does ExpiredDomains work?

What are the benefit of being a member of ExpiredDomains and what differentiates ExpiredDomains from the other domain services on the web?

What methods of payment do you accept?

What happens if my credit card fails to authorize?

What if I'm not satisfied with your service?

I didn't receive my login information after signup

At what time do you update your databases

I forgot the username and / or password for my ExpiredDomains account. What can I do?

How do I manage my account preferences and change my account information?

I notice you now include domains for sale in your search results. How do I add my domain portfolio to those results ?

What is the difference between a Domain Speculator or a Domain Entrepreneur?

How can I make money with domain names?

What is the difference between a 'generic' domain versus a 'brandable' one, and what's most valuable?

Are top level domains always characterized by a single word or can two word combinations also qualify as long as they are meaningful?

How do you determine the price setting for a valuable domain? Why are professional appraisals always reccommended?

Is there a surefire way of beating the domain game?

What is a domain name?

A domain name (Web address) is your Internet identity and your unique online brand. Customers will remember and use this address to find your Web site, your products or your services

For example, the domain name (Web address) ExpiredDomains.com represents the ExpiredDomains Web site. When you type ExpiredDomains.com into a Web browser or send e-mail to someone at ExpiredDomains.com, the Domain Name System (DNS) translates ExpiredDomains.com into the Internet Protocol (IP) numbers used by the Internet to locate destinations and connects you to ExpiredDomains.



When does a domain name become available?

When a domain name expires, it enters a "grace" period, during which the current registrant can still renew. This grace period varies by registrar, but usually lasts from 30 to 45 days. It can be more or less depending on circumstances. The record usually reflects the status ON-HOLD during the grace period.

If the current registrant hasn’t renewed the name when that period is over, the domain enters another 30 day period called REDEMPTIONPERIOD. Again, if the current registrant does not have the domain name restored and renewed by the end of this period, the registry places the registration in DELETING status, and approximately five days later the domain name will become available.

Please note that the status labels are different for .org names. REDEMPTIONPERIOD and DELETING statuses are combined but total approximately 35 to 36 days.



What is the difference between an expired and a deleted domain?

An expired domain is a name that passed the expiration date and started the deletion process. The deletion process consists of the passage through the ON-HOLD, REDEMPTIONPERIOD and DELETING status. A deleted domain is a name that completed the deletion process, has been released by the registrar and is now available for registration.



What is the redemption grace period?

It is a REGISTRY level period of 30 days whereby the original registrant has the chance to get a domain name renewed. Please note this 30-day period happens after any registrar "on-hold" period. You can tell a name is in the grace period by the status field in the registry output e.g:

Domain Name: DOMAIN.COM
Status: REDEMPTIONPERIOD
Updated Date: 11-mar-2004
Creation Date: 13-feb-1999
Expiration Date: 13-feb-2004

Just add 30 days to the "Updated Date" to find out the last date the name can be renewed. If it isn't renewed by then, the name will be dropped after a further 5/6 days



At what time deleting domain names are released by the registrar and become available for registration?

Historically, domains used to become re-available at 6.30 AM New York time. But now names are becoming available again at all times of day and night, making it near impossible to try and grab such names without the use of automated scripts.



How much does a domain registration cost?

The price for registering a domain name depends by the registrar. We always suggest to use Hostway.com as preferred registrar. Their price for a domain registration is $6.95.



Why a deleted domain is better than an unregistered domain?

On average, 20,000 domain names deletes every day. Many of these are valuable and / or great names for web sites. In general terms, if you want a name for a new site, you will get a much better name by grabbing an expired or a deleted domain rather than looking for an unregistered name.



Why are valuable domains ever allowed to expire?

Many reasons, including but not limited to:

• Not enough funds to renew them
• Invalid contact e-mail address
• Loss of interest in online world
• Bankruptcy
• Lack of knowledge about value of domain names
• Being away at time of domain renewal



How will I be able to grab a domain that goes back into the available pool before my competitors?

Grabbing deleting domains isn't easy if done with home-made scripts. There are several back-ordering
services that use their powerful scripts and connection to the central registrar to register the domain on your behalf the second it becomes available again. While you can find expired and deleting domains thanks to the ExpiredDomains service, you can back-order these domains through the SnapNames or Pool services.



What is a back-order?

A back-order is a request to acquire a currently registered domain when that domain becomes available again. You can backorder a domain through SnapNames or Pool. These companies will try to register the name on your behalf the second it is released by the registrar.



How does a back-order work and how much does it cost?

It costs nothing to place a back-order. In many cases, you will pay only the minimum bid price (currently $60.00) if the domain name is successfully acquired. If the domain name has also been back-ordered by others, it will go to auction and be awarded to the high bidder.



Do you offer a back-ordering service so one can register a domain when it becomes available?

No, we don't offer a back-ordering service. We are the leading company in providing information on
expired domains. We show you what domain names are expiring so you can easily back-order them through the SnapNames or Pool services.

How does ExpiredDomains work?

ExpiredDomains offers 5 different tools engineered to help domain entrepreneurs find and register the very best expired, deleting and available domain names. These tools can be accessed only by ExpiredDomains Members. When you purchase a ExpiredDomains membership (you can choose between our 30 or 365 day plan), you get a password that grants you access to our five tools online, anywhere, at any time.

Click here to sign-up now for a ExpiredDomains Membership



What are the benefit of being a member of ExpiredDomains and what differentiates ExpiredDomains from the other domain services on the web?

In this business knowledge of which domains are expiring and when is very important, but finding those names between millions makes the difference. There are different services that provide information about expired domains, but the chances to find the good ones are definitely low. Here at ExpiredDomains we know this, and we engineered our services and tools around this philosophy. ExpiredDomains is the company that brought expired domains to the public back in 1999, and we kept working and changing upon market changes to offer our customers cutting edge tools to localize top expired and available domains. For this reason, we are proud to state that ExpiredDomains is the inimitable #1 company in this field. Domain entrepreneurs know that - if they want to find good domains before than competition - they need to use our service.



What methods of payment do you accept?

ExpiredDomains accepts the major Credit Cards and PayPal payments.



What happens if my credit card fails to authorize?

In that case, we suggest to contact our support staff to receive more information about different payment methods.



What if I'm not satisfied with your service?

In this case, we will 100% refund your money. Simply open a support ticket and your payment will be refunded within 48 hours.



I didn't receive my login information after signup

When you signup with ExpiredDomains, you can choose a username and a password to access our website. In case the system or your computer crashes during the signup process (after the payment), we suggest to contact our customer support team asking for the immediate activation of your account.



At what time do you update your databases?

We update our domain listings every 6 hours, at 3:20, 9:20, 3:20PM, 9:20PM CDT.



I forgot the username and / or password for my ExpiredDomains account. What can I do?

To retrieve your ExpiredDomains username and password, go to the ExpiredDomains home page, click the login button, and then click the "forgot password" link. Enter your e-mail address (the primary address you gave us when you set up your account) and your username and password will be e-mailed to you within a few minutes.



How do I manage my account preferences and change my account information?

On the ExpiredDomains web site, go to the “Edit Your Profile” section in the Members Area. Here you can edit your personal information, including your email address and password.



I notice you now include domains for sale in your search results. How do I add my domain portfolio to those results?

We include in our seaerch results domain names that are being sold on the major domain marketplaces, including Afternic and SEDO. Click here to add your domain names to our listings.

What is the difference between a Domain Speculator or a Domain Entrepreneur?

A domain speculator registers domain names gambling on the value of the names to increase in the short and long terms. He buys the names and holds on to them, usually idly, until he is able to resell them at a greater value to a buyer (may include other speculators) or businesses who may wish to acquire them for some commercial usage.

A domain entrepreneur, on the other hand, registers a domain name that HE can USE himself, for a business, even though he knows that he would eventually sell those names. If the right offer comes along, he is open to the possibility of selling the domain name at any time.



How can I make money with domain names?

We warmly suggest to download our FREE Welcome Package, written by ExpiredDomains Co-Founder Max Ralli, that will explain in details those tricks and tips to profit from domain names.



What is the difference between a 'generic' domain versus a 'brandable' one, and what's most valuable?

You can't say when a generic domain is more valuable than a brandable domain. Generic domains can be sold easier because more people would be willing to buy one for their businesses. Anyway, a brandable domain, when meets the brand of a new forming company, is usually sold for a higher amount.



Are top level domains always characterized by a single word or can two word combinations also qualify as long as they are meaningful?

Usually, domain names composed of two meaningful words can be even more valuable than single word domains, since they can better reflect the business area of the possible buyer.



How do you determine the price setting for a valuable domain? Why are professional appraisals always reccommended?

An appraisal is an in-depth analysis of your domain name, taking into account comparables, current listings, searches and more. This service is usually provided by human appraisers that evaluate the domain basing on Commercial Development Potential, Recognition, Length, Extension Value and more.

Click here to purchase a professional appraisal service for your domain



Is there a surefire way of beating the domain game?

There are different ways to register good domain names. We always suggest our customers to browse our lists of expired domains (including ON-HOLD and REDEMPTION PERIOD domains) to find good names that will be deleted soon. Then, we recommend to back-order these names through SnapNames or Pool, that will try to register them on your behalf the second they become available again. Although this is the standard way of registering good names, we believe that a smart use of the ExpiredDomains services can definitely make the difference!