Domain name expires, but still registered

[Gucci]

Hello, naive newbie here. I wonder if you could solve a mystery for me. I have my eye on a domain name...I won't divulge the name if you don't mind, it's commercially sensitive for one of my clients.

Currently, the domain is registered to someone for a year - records show it was registered from 22nd July 2013 and due for renewal on 22nd July 2014.

However, I noticed the domain wasn't working 'page couldn't be found'. Another record said the domain name expired on 22nd January 2014. How can this be when its year is only halfway in from initial registration?

Thanks

[crabfoot]

Hello, naive newbie here. I wonder if you could solve a mystery for me. I have my eye on a domain name...I won't divulge the name if you don't mind, it's commercially sensitive for one of my clients.

Currently, the domain is registered to someone for a year - records show it was registered from 22nd July 2013 and due for renewal on 22nd July 2014.

However, I noticed the domain wasn't working 'page couldn't be found'.

Nobody answered? Maybe it was a silly question ...

But for the record -
a "page not found" message can be for a variety of reasons. The problem can be as simple as entering the domain in the browser bar with/without the www prefix, depending on what is the default setting for the domain.

For most reputable registrars either will do, but for some companies you have to explicitly set that dual purpose. I've seen free hosting that gives you the site with the www prefix, and an advert for the hosting without the www prefix.

Then again, it often means the domain has been pointed at a cheap host, but no site has been built. And there are other reasons why you might get a "page not found". It doesn't mean the domain is dead..

Another record said the domain name expired on 22nd January 2014. How can this be when its year is only halfway in from initial registration?

Thanks

Some registrars allow people with multiple domains to adjust their payments so that all their domains renew on the same day - so it is possible to have a registration that is for less than a year, but only for the purpose of unifying the payment dates of several domains.

That is the official rule for Joe Public. Then again, if YOU are the registrar, you might bend the rules a bit for your own reasons.

And there is also the possibility that the domain holder surrendered the domain early. If that happened, I would suspect that he was using it for some activity that caused him to get a lot of "cease and desist" emails from someone who owned a trade mark, or similar.

[DomainHG]

I know this thread is old now but the information is pretty solid from crabfoot.

Another reason for a domain being expired but not available yet is due to the drop period not being finished. If the whois record states it has been deleted or expired and it is not yet available it likely means it is in its drop period that can last about a month and then it will be available.