The Art of "dropcatching"

[thevirtual]

The Art of "dropcatching"

First, a definition of dropcatching: the process of auto registering or "catching" domains at the moment they are deleted. This service is provided by several companies, listed below, known as "dropcatchers".

"Dropcatching" is different from registering new or expired domains or buying active domains. The point of dropcatching is to use the best resources available to secure a domain name which has expired, literally as soon as it is deleted or "dropped" from the domain registry.

Mainly, dropcatching is used by domain owners desperately trying to get their prized domain back or "domainers" who want to swipe up the best domains for the purpose of reselling. Instead of waiting for the domain to become available for registering they can place a backorder for the domain at a "dropcatcher" which will secure the domain for a fee.

Not all backorders are successful as there are competing dropcatching services and there may be multiple people placing backorders. The domain may end up being caught by any of these dropcatching companies. If there are multiple bidders for one domain the domain will go to a private auction. The prices for a backorder is around $60 if it does not go to auction. Domains entering auction have gone up to 6 figures. Once the domain is successfully caught the winner receives ownership of the domain.

The major dropcatching companies at the moment are www.Snapnames.com, www.Pool.com and www.Namejet.com. These companies offer the best chance to secure a domain. There are also smaller backorder services, including www.Godaddy.com.

There are many sites which provide lists of deleting domains for dropcatching, including www.Freshdrop.net, www.Justdropped.net.

This article is only meant as an introduction to dropcatching, however there is more to dropcatching, which will be discussed in other articles.