If you let a Namecheap domain name expire.

[Head Boy]

In the interests of evaluating registrar services, I let a name expire that was reg'd through Namecheap, and this is what I found.

The name was remove from my list of active names, so there was no immediate listing of the name in the active or expiring categories. However, you will see a message from an earlier renewal request. The name will be redirected to a parking page.

So how can you recover the name? Click on the renew/reactivate tab at the top of your domain listing. You should see your name listed as deactivated. If you don't, then you are too late. At this point you can click on the payment button to reactivate and renew your name for no extra penalty, but I couldn't get any of the promo codes to work, so it looks as if you have to renew early to use them. On payment, the dns will revert back to your settings, and you should be able to see your site as normal.

Always remember that your best and cheapest option is to renew early, and it saves you a lot of worry. This is especially true at the moment as prices will increase nest month for all registrars.

[PornFactory]

I'm using Namecheap for some of my domains and this is good and useful advice for me... thanks!

[DirtyJumbo]

Thanks for the tip

[fresh]

Originally Posted by Head Boy

So how can you recover the name? Click on the renew/reactivate tab at the top of your domain listing. You should see your name listed as deactivated. If you don't, then you are too late. .

Hmm so the most interesting thing for me is how late is too late?

[kaktusan]

good tip HB!

I always try to keep my domains expiring mostly within an year or more, that saves me lots of worries!

[Head Boy]

Originally Posted by fresh

Hmm so the most interesting thing for me is how late is too late?

Well the registrar doesn't have to pay for it until about 35 days after expiry. So if he deletes it before then, he's in the clear. The old method was for the registrar to hang on as long as possible in case you renewed and he kept your business. These days many registrars are more interested in grabbing the names rather than having them renewed, so some will claim your name within a day or two. I think Godaddy is fairly fast at this. The Namecheap option of moving your name into a deactivated account is a bit more subtle. I guess they hope you will forget about it.

There are SEO disadvantages in letting your name expire, and many think that you are disadvantaged if you go on a pending expiry list (30 days before expiry). You don't lose anything by renewing early, and you gain quite a bit, so if you can afford it, then do it.

[fresh]

Fast as 1 or 2 days ? But its against the terms... ? They can not do it legally?

[Head Boy]

As far as I know, there are no terms for the registrar's grace period. There is a 30 days "redemption grace" period imosed by the registry, and a "pending delete" period following that. The crack is to see what the traffic is like with a parking page, and then run the name quickly into a pseudo-redemption period if it's any good. If the owner reclaims the name, then he has to pay a fee of around $125, which is straight profit for the registrar. If the owner doesn't pay this, then the name is auctioned. It never gets dropped, so don't live in the hope that that hot name will appear on the drop lists.

[glowlite]

GD, BlueRazor and the WildWest resellers ( like LCC ) go a full 42 day period.
BUT, the redemption fee is added after day 12.
The current fee for renewing a domain during the redemption period is $80
Redemption immediately nulls any auction activity and/or backorders

"If you have not renewed the registration after 12 days, the domain enters a 30-day redemption period. During the redemption period, you may renew your domain registration for an additional fee by contacting customer support.

One week into the redemption period, the expired domain—provided that its registration has not been renewed—is placed into a 10-day domain auction, allowing prospective registrants to bid on the domain. The winner of the auction obtains the domain registration ownership two weeks after the auction end date if the original owner fails to renew the domain by the end of the redemption period."

Direct Ref link

[glowlite]

You're always a good source of info for folks HB. Not everybody deals with domains on a daily basis so it can be confusing at times.

Lapsing a domain at Namecheap was a cool thing to do "just for the experience" so you could share the step-by-step outcome and procedure.

[gamemint]

lesson to be learned