jtara - 7:11 pm on Oct 17, 2007 (gmt 0)

When a person initially registers a domain, one does not need to pay for it immediately, but the expiration date actually shows as a year later..... In our country anyway.... So I do not know whether this is applicable to foreign domains....

In the U.S. you pay the registration fee when you register the domain. Some may have special arrangements for bulk domains, but that's more likely to go the OTHER way - e.g. you make a deposit in advance and in exchange get some discount.

And, of course, there is "tasting". But you still typically pay at the time of registration, and are refunded if you decide not to keep the domain.

But it should be irrelevant whether whoever registered the dropped domain paid for it in full or not.

Of course, you should check the specific law in your country - there could be some bizarre law saying that a lease is not valid unless paid, and the previous leasee then has an option to renew, etc...

It seems pretty simple, though - your client paid for a fixed registration period - that period expired - and the domain dropped. Somebody else registered it, and it now belongs to them. They have the right to charge whatever the traffic will bear, if they choose to sell the domain.

You might point-out to them that that's a lot of money in your country, and perhaps the traffic will not bear that price. ;)