A domain name I was interested in expired in January this year. It was previously registered at Squarespace.com.
Why is it still unavailable to purchase despite being more than a month since its expiry?
Not sure if relevant but I checked the expiry date at: whatsmydns.net/domain-expiration
Usually the previous registrar will hold on to the domain for 6-18 months in case the customer wants the domain back. After that it’s automatically sold in bulk auctions. The companies, sometimes called domain squatters, buying those domains in bulk hold on to them often for years asking a premium price. The idea is once someone thought that domain name was valuable, it might be valuable again. They buy 1000 domains and maybe sell a dozen or so, but as operating costs are extremely low it’s still somehow worth it. It’s all highly automated at this point, so just a fact of life. I’ve seen domains being held for over 10 years.
See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cybersquatting
I know a guy who was holding onto basically every variation of [state][marijuana reference].[tld] back in like 2015. Guarantee he made bank on that investment.