Domain Backorder Failed

[kriskd]

I had a flat fee backorder for a domain placed with my registrar. The backorder failed and someone got it using another service that is flat fee, but becomes a bidding war if two people want the same domain.

Obviously I had no chance to participate in a potential bidding situation since my backorder was not with company B. But, why did that backorder get precedence over mine?

And can this even be answered without mentioning the registrars...?

[edited by: tedster at 9:31 pm (utc) on Aug. 8, 2004]
[edit reason] removed off-topic [/edit]

[robho]

Obviously I had no chance to participate in a potential bidding situation since my backorder was not with company B. But, why did that backorder get precedence over mine?

A backorder with any registrar isn't a guarantee that you'll get the name. If the name is interesting many, many, different registrars and drop services will compete at the same time to get the name, but only one will win.

The drop services that charge more (or hold auctions) might have a slight edge, as they can pay more to the many registrars they subcontract to try to get the name. But in the end it's down to a combination of luck and technology, and whichever service you pick they could lose out to another company.

[Dan_Norder]

No backorder gets "precedence" -- the place you order it through either gets it first or they don't. It's luck, technology and connections, not any sort of official system.

[chicagohh]

If you really want a name you have to use as many services as possible and if the name is a good one - be prepared to pay ($$$) for it.

[john_k]

The various backorder services generally have a good idea of the approximate time that a domain will be deleted (dropped) from the registry. However, domains aren't dropped at any specific instant in time. And there is no notification to registrars when a domain is dropped. So they simply check periodically to see if the name has been dropped yet. The registrar that happens to be the first to check after the domain actually drops is usually the winner.

Think of a face-off in hockey. The puck is dropped. But instead of two players, there are 30 players swiping at the puck. And they are all blind-folded.

[chicagohh]

Domains begin dropping between 2:00pm and 3:00 pm ET. They start dropping at 2:00pm and continue until finished. ORGs used to drop at 9:30am, but I don't know if it is still that way any longer.