How long is the redemption period for an expired domain name and what is the best strategy for getting it?

A great article that answers your questions with a real world example. The particulars may have changed a bit in terms of pricing for the individual firms that grab domains, but the gist should still be true.

http://www.mikeindustries.com/blog/archive/2005/03/how-to-snatch-an-expiring-domain

Unfortunately in my experience the best strategy is to come up with a new name that isn’t taken. I’ve been trying to grab a domain name for the better part of 6 months and even though it has expired there’s some stupid hoops I’m having to jump through in order to get the price we want. In the meantime we’ve made a new name, updated the brand and are running with that until we get what we want.

@funkdaddy Awesome article. Depressing but very educational.

@bluemukaki Yeah- that is what I am thinking now. So many are taken by domain squatters. Ugh.

The redemption period is 30 days. During this period the original owner is able to renew their domain without consequence.

After the redemption period, it enters a To Be Released (TBR) period. This period can vary depending on when it entered TBR. The reason for this is because registrars typically release all TBR domains in batches once or twice a month.

Between 2PM and 4PM EST is your best time to try to grab a TBR domain on the day it’s set to be released, as most registrars release their domains in this window.

I’ve spent years following a select few domains that I’ve caught this way – the odds of you getting it the first time around are slim at best. I’ve found that usually a buy-domains type of company or a backorder will pick it up the first year and if they have no inquiries on it, they will let it expire the following year.

Best of luck!