OK. When looking about for domain names as you do, when you come across one that you want but is already taken and there is an option to 'back order', what exactly does this mean?

If it is set to renew automatically then surely you can't 'back order' it.

Or does the 'back order' option only come in to play when the domain name isn't due to be automatically renewed?

Any help would be very much appreciated as always

I think it means you can sort of get your foot in the door if the domain isn't renewed by the current owner. The time between the old owner loosing the domain and it coming up for grabs is a good few months, though. I had to wait about 3—4 months for a domain I was waiting on to become "released"

So it's not a guaranteed thing then?

That's pretty much what I was thinking. *slopes off to reconsider domain names*

It's usually more hassle than it's worth to wait for a domain. I'd recommend coming up with something else if possible.

I agree but sometimes you come across names that make you think: I wonder if...

Oh yeah, definitely, I've fallen victim to that many a time. If you need the domain bad enough your best bet would be to buy it off the current owner, but that never tends to go to plan either

there are numerous domain services that are supposed to notify youif a domain becomes available. I've never used one but I reckon you'd need to be quick off the mark else someone else will snatch it first.

 

In all honesty you're better off buying somethings that isn't currently registered.

there are numerous domain services that are supposed to notify youif a domain becomes available. I've never used one but I reckon you'd need to be quick off the mark else someone else will snatch it first.

 

In all honesty you're better off buying somethings that isn't currently registered.

 

Agreed. I have given up my plans for world domination for the time being

I shall have to get out my thesaurus.

I think you are talking about GoDaddy? Which has the back order service?

It also has an inquiry/purchase service that will contact the domain owner on your behalf and see if they have any interest in selling the domain. If you really want a particular domain name, it might be worth it to find out if they want to sell it and put in a bid. But this is obviously going to be a lot more than the £20 or so a .com costs when it is unregistered.

 

I was once part of a company that sold a domain for £35k

Or pizza.com for many millions! I would only ever buy a domain that way if it was absolutely important to the success of my company.

It means if the domain ever expires and drops they will catch it for you and register it for you as soon as it drops and if you dont get the domain most companies let you use the same credit to make another backorder with the same price and this goes on until you get a domain with a backorder

Thanks for explaining that Ehsan

However it's important to note that any decent domain (worth more than $50, usually) won't make it as far as the backorder stages.

 

The reason for this is due to sites like SnapNames and Pool - these are professional companies that snap up domains the moment they drop, as long as their customers show interest in the domains. They then auction these names off to domainers.

 

Hence if the domain is valuable enough (a LLL.com recently dropped, and was auctioned off for $7k...), you'll probably be out of luck. Trying to buy it from the owner before it fully expires may be your best bet.