{"id":7773,"date":"2023-12-12T12:54:15","date_gmt":"2023-12-12T18:54:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.atom.com\/blog\/?p=7773"},"modified":"2026-05-28T10:40:58","modified_gmt":"2026-05-28T15:40:58","slug":"dropped-expired-domains","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.atom.com\/blog\/dropped-expired-domains\/","title":{"rendered":"What are Dropped or Expired Domains? Should I Buy One?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Photo by Sarah Kilian<\/a> on Unsplash<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

We\u2019ve all got a lot on our plate these days. We have to water the plants, feed the dogs, pay the bills, juggle work and side hustles… Oh, and renew our domain registrations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wait, what was that last one? If you\u2019re new to the world of domains, then domain renewals might not be on your to-do list yet. But anyone running a website (so, almost every business owner) has to renew the registration for that website\u2019s domain<\/a> either annually or every few years to keep it up and running.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If they don\u2019t renew, their domain expires, meaning it no longer belongs to them. And that means anyone could buy it. Over the years, people have gotten their hands on some pretty famous websites after domain expiration. Dropped or expired domains including hotmail.co.uk<\/a>, Google\u2019s Argentinian domain<\/a>, and the Dallas Cowboys<\/a> home page have made headlines in the past. Yeehaw!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This sounds like quite the oversight by Microsoft and whoever owns the Dallas Cowboys, so you probably have some questions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We\u2019ll start with the obvious: what exactly is a dropped domain or an expired domain<\/a>? Let\u2019s take a look, find out the difference between an expired and dropped domain, and see if you should buy one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is a Domain?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

A domain is an easily memorable address of a website.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Take our domain for example: www.Atom.com<\/a>. This is used by people to access our website, and it tells a computer our IP address, something like 92.167.2.39.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s like how a street address \u2014 2400 Urquhart Street \u2014 is much easier to remember than GPS coordinates like 29.9709, -90.0515.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In today\u2019s digitally driven world, domains are the virtual real estate of the internet. Every business needs a domain as much as they may need a physical store, and like property, domains can be a great investment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is an Expired Domain?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Expired domains are domains that have had their registration expire.

This can happen because owning a domain is more like leasing a property or a car, giving you temporary use of the domain for a set period. You register a domain, usually for one to five years, and after that you have to renew the domain to continue using it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While the domain is in your registration, you have the exclusive right to renew it. But if you forget to, or stop using the domain, and don\u2019t renew then that registration will expire.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All domain registrars offer a grace period, up to around 40 days in which you can still reclaim your domain and renew, sometimes for an additional fee. But once the grace period is over, the domain is considered expired.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Expired domains are usually auctioned by the domain registrar with which they\u2019re registered. Anyone can buy them, for a price.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is a Dropped Domain?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

If nobody buys an expired domain at auction, it will move to the domain drop list. Dropped domains are returned to the registry and, are in theory, available to the general public for nothing more than the registration fee. However, in practice, any valuable domain won\u2019t make it to the drop stage as most registrars maintain ownership of these domains to sell at auction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Commonly, people use the terms \u2018expired domains\u2019 and \u2018dropped domains\u2019 interchangeably. While technically a dropped domain may be available for a low registration fee, you\u2019ll often find domains at an auction called \u2018dropped domains\u2019 even though they\u2019ve simply expired.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Man Who Bought Google for $3<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Okay, the deal wasn\u2019t quite as good as it sounds, because he didn\u2019t get his hands on this whole multi-billion company. But one man who was in the right place at the right time was able to register Google\u2019s Argentinian domain<\/a>, Google.com.ar, for $3, thereby becoming the owner of that domain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Whether due to a registrar\u2019s glitch or some negligence at Google, Nicolas Kurona was able to buy the domain and, for a short time, own Google\u2019s Argentinian address. Of course, this was quickly rectified by Google themselves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But it goes to show that every domain, even Google\u2019s, will expire at some point. That means some pretty valuable domains<\/a> could be up for grabs. Which leads us to our next question: expired domains \u2014 should you buy them?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Should I Buy An Expired Domain?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

So why do people buy expired domains? Expired domains can be a great investment for domainers or offer an SEO boost for some new businesses. But not all expired domains are worthwhile. Before you buy an expired domain, you should know what you\u2019re looking for as well as the potential value of that domain to your enterprise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So there are a few benefits of expired domains, but some drawbacks too. Here\u2019s what to consider.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pros and Cons of Expired Domains<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s take a look at what expired domains can offer, as well as when they might make a bad investment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pros:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n