Anyone know a free one?
Many (all?) of the expire->auction houses provide free lists of domains that are entering their system.
Pool.com still appears to "be in the game", catching the occasional domain that drops outside the large net of the expire->auction houses. Pool's search utilities worked well enough last time I used them.
Keep in mind that the same players who used to gather dropped domains "on their own" are still out there competing for the domains that are dropping. Drop lists are only the start. Multiple threaded registry connections, fast servers on auto-pilot, etc. still rule and roam the planet from what I can see.
FWIW, I found that the most successful approach to drop-list watching was to focus on a handful of sectors by choosing my keywords and sticking with them. There's too much temptation otherwise. ;)
Lastly, there's some really interesting action at the silent auctions. The benefit of the silent auctions is there is an element of pre-selection, both by the original registrant and the auction house. There have been more folks willing to list domains at "no reserve", which is often a smart move for B/B-/C grade domains.
