When people no longer renewed their domain name, it used to be kept by the Registry for a period of time before being released back or ‘dropped’ into the public pool. There it could be bought again. However the competition to register domain names when they have been released has become increasingly fierce. Specialist companies dominate this area and if the domain has value, the task has become almost impossible, or very expensive.

This was one of the reasons the major domain resellers, such as Tucows, decided to set up their own auction systems. In the period before the domain is released into the public pool they have the power to resell it direct. Using their systems you can bid and win domain names directly at reasonable prices.