It amazes me the way domain names are handled at the time of expiry. There is a domain name I have been watching that actually expired on 21-feb-2008 and is still in "Status: redemptionPeriod". This particular registrar wants a minimum of $69 to backorder the domain. Give me a break! It always annoys me that you cant simply grab a domain as soon as it expires. It appears to me that this is simply a ploy from the registrars to squeeze a bit more money out of people who want the domain with such things as "backorders" and "auctions". If someone has a domain name and wants it, I highly doubt they will let it expire and if they do, tough is my stance. I say the day a domain expires, it should be available for anyone who wants to register it. I just think its all BS...
Don't go paying $69 for backordering a domain, use Godaddy backordering it's just $18.99 including reg fees. I've used it a couple of times and it works fine.