Buy Expired Domains at Afternic — How to

Afternic’s fresh expired domain service provides opportunity to get expired domains without much competition.

Expired domain catchers that are tired of bidding wars at SnapNames and NameJet may want to check out Afternic’s expired domain auctions. I first wrote regarding the fresh service in December, but domains finally started going to auction in late January.

Much like other services, Afternic expired auctions require you to preorder domain names. I preordered a few domains to test the system, counting TexasNotaryAgent.com and IThome.com. Domains that gets a preorder is then sent to an auction in which anyone can participate. When the auction begins, domains are added to the “Closing Soon” section on Afternic’s home page and are denoted with a special symbol to show they are expired domains.

No one else bid on TexasNotaryAgent.com, so I won the domain. Afternic uses the same general process for closing expired domain transactions that it uses for regular purchases at the site. This includes the standard escrow process, which can be somewhat cumbersome compared to how you complete a transaction for expired domains at other services (it happens automatically and your credit card is on file). Still, I’m sure Afternic will address this as volume increases.

Inventory for Afternic’s expired domains are fed from Melbourne IT, and auction winners must open an account at that registrar to obtain the domain.

Although the inventory isn’t as strong, domainers tired of being outbid at other domain auction services ought to give Afternic a try. You can review dropping domains here.