I had my eyes on a certain com domain for quiet some time now, marked it in my calendar and kept waiting till it expires since there's nothing on there. The domain did expire on 14 Aug 2006 18:15:24. Till today, over a month now, it is still registered. What is going on?
This should give a good explanation of how the process works. I would say you have about a 1 and a million chance of getting the domain after it is in redemption, then up for auction. 9 times out of 10 the domain is grabbed up by someone else first, usually the original owner.
I don't know about that... Owners let domains fall out all the time imo... Here's a good explanation of what you're waiting for http://whois.domaintools.com/domain-help/status-codes.html Read what status your domain your looking at is in then check here to see the timefram it'll stay in that status for.
Some points to help: 1. When a .com domain name expires, it's autorenewed by the Registry for 1 year. The sponsoring registrar is billed for it. 2. The registrar can opt to retain the name to try to secure renewal payment for it, anywhere from 1-45 days. 3. Many registrars nowadays have adopted a practice of trying to auction the name to an interested buyer before reaching the 45-day mark. If successful, the name is transferred to the new owner and all parties concerned get cuts from the proceeds of the auction. 4. If the name isn't auctioned after some time, the registrar lets the name go. 5. When the expired domain name has been deleted, it follows the redemption period-pending delete-available phases. I wrote more about it in my blog. (just trying to figure out how to input that "recent blog" thing under my username...)