FAQ
What are dropping domains?
30 days after a .ca domain expires, it is cancelled. The Canadian Internet Registration Authority (CIRA) allows these expired domains to be registered again by dropping them every Wednesday at 2:00 p.m. EST.
What does Dropping.ca do?
Dropping.ca attempts to acquire these dropping .ca domains on behalf of its clients.
What domains are dropping?
CIRA publishes a list in advance of .ca domains that will drop – known as the TBR list (To Be Released).
How do I obtain dropping domains?
Register with Dropping.ca and backorder the domains that you are interested in.
How do I register with Dropping.ca?
You can sign up here. Please note that a CAD $1 (refundable) identity confirmation payment is required.
Why do I have to pay CAD $1 to register?
All new clients must pay $1 via PayPal in order to sign-up.
The purpose of this payment is to confirm user identity and help prevent fraudulent activity.
The $1 will automatically be refunded to your PayPal account within 48 hours.
How much does it cost to backorder a dropping domain?
The minimum cost is CAD $60 (plus HST at 13%). The more that you are willing to pay for a dropping domain, the higher the priority that we will give your domain, and the higher the chances we will be able to acquire it.
If two or more people backorder the same domain that we catch, the domain will go to a brief auction.
How do I backorder a dropping domain?
For your convenience, we provide you with a copy of the TBR list to browse. You can view this by selecting ‘Backorder .CA Domains’=> ‘TBR List’ from the menu or by clicking here. To backorder a domain from the TBR list you can either click the ‘backorder’ button to the right of the domain, or alternatively, if you’d like to backorder multiple domains from the current page, just tick the checkbox next to each and then click the ‘backorder now’ button at the bottom of the page. You can increase the default pre-bid value of $60 to increase your chances of getting the domain.
How do I review my backorders?
Simply select ‘Backorder .CA Domains’=>‘My Backorders’ from the menu or click here (login required).
What if I want to change a backorder or make a mistake?
No problem! You can remove or edit a backorder up until 30 minutes prior to the TBR session starting. Simply select ‘Backorder .CA Domains’=>‘My Backorders’ from the menu or click here (login required). Click remove to delete a backorder or enter your new pre-bid value in the ‘Pre-Bid ($)’ textbox next to the domain and then click ‘Update Pre-Bid’.
What happens after the TBR session?
If we caught a domain you backordered, and you were the only one who backordered it, we will email you to let you know that the domain is yours. If we caught a domain that you and others backordered, then that domain will go to auction.
How do the auctions work?
If your backorder goes to auction we will alert you via email on Wednesday evening after the TBR.
Your pre-bid becomes your initial bid in the auction. The auction lasts until Monday morning (Tuesday morning if Monday is a statutory holiday).
The auctions are closed – only people who placed backorders for the auctioned domains with us prior to TBR are eligible to participate.
You can review your live auctions in the ‘My Auctions’ area of your account, which you can access either via the menu ‘Backorder .CA Domains’=>’My Auctions’ or by clicking here (login required).
To place a bid enter your bid value in the ‘Enter Bid’ text box next to the domain. Your bid must be equal or higher to value show in ‘Min. Inc. ($)’ as this reflects the minimum incremental bid that will be accepted; this value is in line with the bid increments table, details of which can viewed here.
If you are the highest bidder then the ‘Current Bid’ text box will be green.
If another bidder is the highest bidder the ‘Current Bid’ text box will be red.
There is no proxy bidding – what you bid is your actual bid.
There are antisniping provisions in place – if you bid in the last 5 minutes of the auction, the auction gets extended for 5 additional minutes.
How do I settle by account?
Invoices are automatically raised when we successfully catch you a backorder and also when an auction finishes that you are the winner bidding for.
We require payment within 7 days of each invoice being raised.
To pay one or more invoices click ‘Backorder .CA Domains’=> ‘Billing’ from the menu in your account or click here.
Select the invoice(s) that you wish to pay and then click the ‘Pay Selected’ button.
You will then be taken to ‘Payment Summary’ page, which summarizes the payment that you are about to make.
Clicking the ‘Pay Now’ button will take you to PayPal where you will be able to complete your payment using either PayPal funds or funds from a credit/debit card.
Once you’ve made payment, we will contact you to arrange the transfer of your domain(s) to your name.
What is the ‘Keywords’ page?
The keywords page can be accessed via the menu by clicking ‘Backorder .CA Domains’=>’Keywords’ or by clicking here. (login required).
It allows you to add keywords that you frequently scan for on the TBR lists.
Once you’ve added a keyword simply click ‘Search’ next to it and you will see all matching domains from the current TBR list.
How does the 'Bulk Upload Facility' work?
The bulk upload facility enables you upload a file with your backorders instead of manually selecting from the TBR list screen.
The bulk upload file must be in CSV (Comma Seperated Values) format.
Backorders must be spaced one per line in the following format: domain,offer price/prebid
Contents of example upload file named "upload.csv" :
domain1.ca,60
domain2.ca,80
domain3.ca,60
domain4.ca,1000
I’m having difficulties accessing the site or require assistance… what should I do?
Please contact us and we will normally reply within 24 hours.
