Was My Expired Domain (hosted by eNom) Already Bought?

March 15, 2004 7:43 PM

I have inadvertantly let a domain name expire...

Someone please tell me I'm not SOL. I've had a terrible day and this was the icing on the cake. Am I going to get screwed? If the domain already has a generic search page on it, am I already out of the running for it?

The registrar is enom, and I've tried logging in with every username and password combo I use. Not even the 'forgot password' form helps.

I fully expect I'll need to deal with them via phone in the morning, but can someone give me some hope? Tell me I'm being paranoid and someone hasn't already bought it out from under me.

posted by o2b to computers & internet (5 comments total)

Depending on how long ago it actually expired you may have a chance. My guess is that once a name expires with eNom they put their generic search page on it. If it's not an eNom page I would be a little concerned.

If it just expired in the last couple of weeks you should be okay. Contact eNom and see what their procedure for renewal is. If it's been a little longer it may be in Redemption and you'll need to pay a pretty penny, but you should still be able to retrieve it.

If it's been about two months (give or take) - you may be out of luck.

Do a whois search on it at eNom. If you are still listed as the registrant AND the status line reads anything other than 'Pending Delete' or 'Deleted'. Once the name goes into Pending Delete there is not a way to retrieve it and you'll need to play the ponies to re-register the name.

For more information on the general timeline for expiring domains go here and click on the 'Understanding the life of a domain name' section on the right.

Feel free to contact me (address is in my profile) for more information or you want an informed opinion on your situation in a more confidential manner.

On preview: If it's the domain I think it is, it expired on March 12 and you should be able to contact eNom directly to renew the domain. If they give you any grief contact ICANN.
posted by answergrape at 8:02 PM on March 15, 2004

Thanks for the info; I'm grateful I'm reading the signs correctly.

The domain is the one in my profile... I didn't link to it cause A) I avoid self-posting, when possible, and B) I don't want that dreadful search page getting more traffic than it already is. We hates it forever.
posted by o2b at 8:07 PM on March 15, 2004

You should be OK. At this point it should be in Redemption Grace. I say "should" because each registrar does things a little differently.
posted by anathema at 8:20 PM on March 15, 2004

It looks like you are down as the administrative contact still, so you should be OK. enom are probably holding onto it for you. Give them a ring.
posted by seanyboy at 1:19 AM on March 16, 2004

Update:

The DNS was hosted by eNom, but I actually registered through NameBoy. After a looooong time on hold with eNom, they gave me a phone number for NameBoy, which turned out to be disconnected.

I called eNom back and (again after a long wait on hold) asked them to renew it themselves, not through the reseller. They were (of course) happy to, and, actually, once I got them on the phone, they were *very* helpful all the way through.

The bonus is since the DNS records were with them in the first place, there was no waiting before it re-activated.

Thanks all.
posted by o2b at 2:50 PM on March 16, 2004