What Happens When Domain Names Expire?
Ever wonder what happens when a domain name expires? If the domain name registration, reservation, renewal and expiration process seems a little murky to you, you are not alone. The "expiration" process is particularly misunderstood (and complicated), and it is very helpful to know how it works, particularly when watching a parked domain, or one that is pending deletion, and determining whether to try and buy it from the domain owner, or put it on "back-order" with one of the registrars, or take some other action. There is an entire industry that does nothing but try to exploit expiring domain names, and the process and nomenclature is explained in excellent detail at this site. Here is a quick summary from the reference site (at least for .com/.net/.org/.info/.biz/.us. domains): Generally speaking, once a domain expires, the owner has 1-75 days to renew it, and the costs associated with a renewal usually increase as the domain moves from Hold (Registrar-H...