back ordering a domain
I am interested in a domain name. It is currently a place holder page that states that the domain may be for sale and gives a link to "backorder" the domain. It is listed with namejet. com.
I am totally ignorant as to how this works. How can I find out when the domain will become available? I don't see anything on the bidding page. It only gives me a choice to bid... minimum of 69.00.
Can anyone help me out on how this works.
Thanks
Sharon
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Todd Hash on -
Sharon,
My advice and I'm sure it's not what you would hope to hear is that it may be better to move on with a different domain name. I'm sure there are examples of people who have succeeded with backorders, but I suspect the brokering company benefits more than anyone.
In any case, the first thing I would do (you may have already) is a Whois lookup for the domain to see when it is set to expire. If the site isn't being used, then perhaps you can cut out the middle man and purchase it directly from the current owner. You can do a whois at: http://www.register.com/whois.rcmx. If the isn't set to expire anytime soon (within 3-4 months) then I would just wait before signing up for any type of backorder or bidding service.
Second I went to namejet.com and noticed this disclaimer of sorts: "For names for which there were more than one Backorder, those users are invited to bid in a 3-day Private Auction. Have the highest bid when it closes and the name is yours." So even if you backorder you could find yourself in a bidding war.
How soon do you need the domain? In the next few weeks, a couple months from now? That is another factor to consider.
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Permalink Reply by Sharon on -
Thanks for that link Todd. I checked the who is registrar, the domain has no name listed but does have an address in WA. It shows an expiration in july of 2011. So it seems it is expired? When I check the availability through my bluehost account it says it is not available for registration.
I figured that namejet would get something out of the deal. And knowing just how much I Don't know... figured I'd get some advice before plunging in. It might not be worth it.
Not sure where to go from here. Not in a huge hurry to get this. But thought I'd like to get it if available.
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Permalink Reply by Todd Hash on
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The timing is definitely in your favor.
I don't recall the details, but I believe that even after the expiration date the domain owner has a grace period of a month or so to renew. Once I was this close <--> to getting my dream domain, it has expired and I had it on backorder when the original owner renewed it after expiration.
Hopefully someone else with a bit more knowledge of domains may know some tricks to help snag it. :-)
Happy Hunting!
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Permalink Reply by Cayce Phalen on -
Todd is correct, there is a grace period after the expiration and it somewhat varies from registrar to registrar. It is required buy ICANN (who oversees registrations) that it is deleted within 45 days but a registrar can choose to delete it sooner if they want. Most probably would not because this is 45 days they can market to you and attempt to get you to renew.
As far as a backorder, this still does not guarantee that you will get the name even if you pay the fee. If someone has purchased a backorder through GoDaddy and someone through NameJet it would depend on which registrar got it first assuming that it ever becomes available. Bidding on it through NameJet to put you at the top of THEIR list is how they make money.
GoDaddy has a service called Domain Buy where they will try and negotiate a purchase of a registered domain but there gain you are paying a fee for something that is not guaranteed.
If there is another name you can use I would go with it and just keep a look out for this one yourself and see if it comes open. You said you were in no hurry so it sounds like it cannot hurt to sit and wait.
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Permalink Reply by Sharon on
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Thanks Todd and Cayce, I guess I'll just keep checking to see if it becomes available.
Sharon
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Permalink Reply by Andrew Bodley on -
Hi Sharon,
You can check the whois in formation to see when the domain becomes available. There are many places you can check whois, just google. One place to check is
http://www.networksolutions.com/whois/index.jsp
scroll down to the bottom and it will show "Expiration date"
There should also be three different contact's listed. Sometimes you can send an email to the domain owner and ask them if they will sell the domain name. I have had this work about 1 in 5 times.
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Permalink Reply by Caleb Simpson on -
This is common when I URL expires. It's how I acquired www.beardedbros.com for my organic energy bar business. If the domain name has a lot of potential for use and has other people bidding on it you could potentially lose it. In my case, I was the only one trying to get the domain, and it never even went to auction. I would suggest calling the name of the company that has it registered, because what happens is when somebody does not renew the company takes possession of it and the previous owner has X number of days to renew, after that they will sell it to you or put it up for auction. If you call them and let them know you want it, there is a chance it may never go to auction.
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Permalink Reply by Sharon on
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so I guess I'm confused as to who to call.
When I check the link that Todd provided I don't really see anyone to contact. There is a WA address listed.
When I check the link that Caleb provided I see - Current Registrar: ENOM, INC. it states to visit aboutus.org for more information. Plus there is a button to "make an offer" When I scroll over the button, the link afternic.com shows as the destination.
Both sites say the domain is in its redemption period.
Sorry if this is obvious to you.... but I'm lost. Who is afternic.com and who is namejet? And who has the domain that I'm looking at.
I need one of those shrugging in confusion smileys.
Thanks for your help.
Sharon
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Permalink Reply by Caleb Simpson on
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It seems afternic.com is a domain registering service, seems namejet is a domain auction site that probably buys expired domains and then sells them at a markup.
When you type in the domain name at: http://www.register.com/whois.rcmx
it should tell you the individual that owns the domain and the web site the domain name is registered through as well as the server hosting the site. The line you want to look for, looks like this...
Registered through: Mad Dog Domains Mad Dog is the name of the company my personal domain is registered with, just used it as an example.
Whoever the domain is registered through is who you should contact about purchasing the domain, unless a company like NameJet already bought it. Enom is a domain registering website, so if that is what it showed, I would start with them. They can at least look it up and see if they still have possession of it or not.
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Permalink Reply by Andrew Bodley on
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HI Sharon,.
If the domain is in the redemption period, I would recommend waiting. Just check once a day for so to see if the domain is available to be registered. You can register domains pretty cheap through GoDaddy.com or the like. I use http://www.hostmonster.com/ or who ever hosts your other domains.
If you want to tell the domain name I would be glad to look it up and give my $0.02 worth on who owns it and if it will come out of redemption.
Good Luck,
Andrew
andrew @ bodley . org
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