It's ages since I did this but at one time some domain name registrars allowed one to register interest with themselves prior to being handed-back and if there were two or more interested then they held an in-house bidding auction.

I used to check them manually. I would calculate roughly when they were about to be released and then the week beforehand start checking. I was usually correct within a day or two and I don't recall losing any specific name(s).

Good luck !

I've lost several of them :-( One still haunts me, I had it in the cart and was checking out when someone else got it! It's been for sale for $9,999 USD ever since.

I'm half convinced that a lot of registrars are ALSO domain squatters, and when they see an interest they know to grab it the second it's available :-O Or at the very least, an employee at the registrar is domain squatting on the side.

Well... sadly, the beauty of domain squatters is that until it is sold, it is not in USE (against you).

All too often squatters have an inflated sense of value and spend YEARS squatting!

Once the domain expires, per ICANN with most registrars you've got auto-renew/grace period (35 or 45 days), redemption period (30 days) and finally pending delete (5 days).

Best to check the current domain's registrar faqs re:expiration lifecycle and wouldn't hurt to check the current ICANN policy.

With most of the bigger registrars there are 80 days.

If the domain of interest is still in redemption—and expired on oct 21st 2023—then you currently sit at day 68. Most likely there are 12 more days.

The final day (release day) is tricky, as you don't actually know the number of domains to be released by this particular registrar, in what order, and whether there are any drop-catch games.

I would normally check via terminal on some *nix box, say every 15 or 30 minutes. There is a query limit you don't wanna hit...
Write a short shell and run it with cron, sending you an email if the domain is available.

Good luck!

I'm half convinced that a lot of registrars are ALSO domain squatters,

Without a doubt and in my experience GD used to be the biggest offender. I have also experienced a certain UK registrar who registered previously unregistered names when someone has checked for its availability and then, obviously, offered it for sale when searchd for again with a ridiculous mark-up.

The first question is :Does the domain registrar move the domains to private auctions?"

The next question is is the domain listed as being subject to backorder(s) at the various dropcatchers.

Then there's the matter of HugeDomains lurking about.

If there's any value or perception of value . . good luck. If you have an idea of the time when the domain is likely to drop you can pound away at multiple open windows connected to a registrar. I got lucky a few times. Very lucky twice.

The odds are against you.

Also, when asking domain savvy folks for winning tips, it's a bit iffy to employ the term "squatters". Squatters have no rightful claim, ergo "they squat". Domain investors pay the initial fee and the renewal fees. I prefer to be called a struggler - struggling to get around to developing . . struggling to decide what to do . . struggling . . struggling . . struggling.

It's not easy being a domain struggler. The struggle is real. :-/

Lastly, and this is a freebie based on years of playing in this game, IF there's a domain you want, especially one that is't currently active in any way, then call, write, send a courier, contact ex-company associates, es-lawyers, whatever. You would be surprised how well that can work.