How to backorder a .co.za domain for fun and profit
Well, you cannot 'backorder' a .co.za domain but you can try to snap it up as soon as it becomes available. Here is how.
Domains expire
If one does not renew a domain it will eventually become available for registration again. Uniforum is generous with the time it grants a domain registrant to renew a domain. If Uniforum does not receive payment, they will suspend a domain after four month and delete it after six. Only then the domain name becomes available for re-registration. Take a look at Uniforum's account schedule http://whois.co.za/schedule.shtml for details and cut-off dates.
How to find domains that are about to expire
Only with luck and a bit of manual work, as far as I know (not anymore, see www.domainaddict.co.za). Whenever I want to register a .co.za domain and find it not to be available, I go to the webpage to see what it offers. Very often the domain is not actively used however, so I head over to Uniforum to check the WHOIS record http://whois.co.za/whois.shtml. If there's a big NOT PAID sign and the invoice counter is less than six, I add a reminder to my calendar to check it again towards the end of this and every following month. Once the counter reaches six, which it rarely does, I prepare for battle.
The early bird ...
Not too long ago (in 2006), I'd have just checked the whois record again, I would have found the domain to be available and would have registered it. This too was my plan of action for the domain root.co.za in 2009, which I though would be a great name for a XEN virtual root server offering I had in mind. However, the next morning it had already been registered by someone from the United States - .co.za domains were at last en vogue. I knew I had to automate the task.
Automation
I think Uniforum does a good job. I've never had a domain outage due to them, as far as I know, and I don't want to burden their systems with aggressive scripting. I ask you to please do the same.
- only run the script when the domain is about to be deleted (see account schedule above) and not days in advance
- don't hammer their system with whois queries
The Script
Launch the Python script the night before the domain is about to be deleted. I suggest you perform a testrun with a domain you know to be available for registration. If you have an account with www.domain-name-registration.co.za, you can tell the script to use this sites API (Application Programming Interface) to automatically setup the required DNS records.
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