Whois says the domain I'm interested in has expired but I can't register it...what does this Whois note mean?

[rnmcd]

I tried to register a domain name but found it was unavailable even though the expiration is 01-mar-03.

So I did a Whois search and it says the following:

NOTICE: The expiration date displayed in this record is the date the
registrar's sponsorship of the domain name registration in the registry is
currently set to expire. This date does not necessarily reflect the expiration
date of the domain name registrant's agreement with the sponsoring
registrar. Users may consult the sponsoring registrar's Whois database to
view the registrar's reported date of expiration for this registration.

What the heck does that mean? I checked the Networksolutions Whois and it said the domain I was searching had Networksolutions as the registrar.

Shouldn't the domain name be available?

 

[Legendary]

Maybe some companies renew a three year contract one year at a time?

 

[Lore]

Many registrars have domain name holds (grace periods) so that the original registrant has time to reclaim it.

Only once it's released from that grace period can someone else register it.

 

[Smolek]

Originally posted by: Lore
Many registrars have domain name holds (grace periods) so that the original registrant has time to reclaim it.

Only once it's released from that grace period can someone else register it.

any ideal on the typical grace period ?

 

[Lore]

I've read that they are anywhere from 15 days to a few months, depending on the registrar's policies.

 

[rnmcd]

^

 

[aphex]

It typically takes 30-120 days (sometimes even longer) AFTER the domain expired for it to become available. Be patient, its gonna be awhile.

 

[speg]

Yup, my domain expired on the 29th of January and Im hoping to buy it sometime this week. So that's over 2 months, you just gotta wait.

 

[rnmcd]

Is it the registrar that "holds" the expired domain name?

If so, do some registrars hold expired domain names longer than others? I thought I read somewhere that register.com holds them for many many months.

thanks!

 

[rnmcd]

^

 

[rnmcd]

Originally posted by: speg
Yup, my domain expired on the 29th of January and Im hoping to buy it sometime this week. So that's over 2 months, you just gotta wait.

Hey speg, were you able to register the domain this week like you had anticipated?

Btw, when you said "my domain expired" did you mean that the domain you were interested in had expired or a domain that you once had had expired and you just wanted to reregister it?

 

[eLiTeGoodGuy]

Yeah I'm waiting on a domain that expired Jan 15th... I have no clue when i can get it... it says it will be released within the next couple of days but it's said that since Jan 15th

 

[numark]

Network Solutions holds onto domain names forever. I remember once seeing a domain that had expired two years prior that they still had, and I wanted. It eventually got snapped up by some link farm. I really wanted it too

 

[speg]

Hey speg, were you able to register the domain this week like you had anticipated?

Yup, got it on monday. Being a pain to set up though, I reccommend using a good registar. Mine sucks. Oh well, I used Snapnames to backorder it so it wouldn't be snatched up by someone else. ( although unlikely, I couldn't risk it )


When I said my domain was expiring, I mean that "speg.com" expired from it's previous owners.

 

[deftron]

The person will wait till the last possible day of the "hold period" to reregister it..


Happened to me :|

 

[rnmcd]

Originally posted by: speg
Yup, my domain expired on the 29th of January and Im hoping to buy it sometime this week. So that's over 2 months, you just gotta wait.

Hi speg. Good to hear that you were able to get the domain you wanted!

How did you know that you would be able to register it this week? Who was the previous registrar?

Take it easy.

 

[iwearnosox]

deepbeaver.com just expired...

 

[rnmcd]

Originally posted by: rnmcd

Originally posted by: speg
Yup, my domain expired on the 29th of January and Im hoping to buy it sometime this week. So that's over 2 months, you just gotta wait.

Hi speg. Good to hear that you were able to get the domain you wanted!

How did you know that you would be able to register it this week? Who was the previous registrar?

Take it easy.

^