domain gurus: can a domain be back-ordered if it's..
 

on Registrar-Lock ?

when it expires, does the registrar release it ?

if its owned ? sure why not

i want to snap a domain (it expires soon)
whois shows its on registrar-lock

will they release it after expiration so i can snap it ?

No.
They'll keep it for 2 months for the previous owner to renew it.

and then ?

i have a feeling the owner has died or something.

then they will release it.

they'll release it eventually if they don't hear back from him

aight thanks

Have fun at the auction.

With .coms and .nets, a status of registrar-lock has no bearing on how a domain is handled after it expires. Status "active" vs. "registrar-lock" just determines whether a domain can be transferred between registrars prior to expiration.

After the expiration date, a domain typically goes into different status classifications until it's finally "released" more than a month later (with most registrars). However, grabbing a desirable domain upon release name is virtually for a beginner working on his or her own. That's where the drop catching services come in handy. Even for a marginal name, if you want it, someone else probably does too.

i've wondered how that really works. it does takes a couple months after it expires before it is released, but you know how you can back order it? what if 100 people back order if from different sites. who gets it? the first person (which would make sense)? so they just keep collecting money from people wanting to back order knowing that they will never get the domain?

i know, this new shit fucking sucks.

Sinsational, different registrars and drop catching services have different policies and systems, but I don't think any of them charge multiple people for the same domain. Most typical is that you get on a list of people who want the domain, and the domain is auctioned either before or after the domain is released, with payment only for successful acquisition.