No backorder at Spaceship, about 77 days to the drop
Spaceship domain backorder for expired Spaceship domains
Spaceship sells no backorder service. An expired Spaceship .com sits in 30 days of grace, about 42 days of redemption and 5 days of pending delete, then the registry releases it and the first registration wins. A Domaining backorder is that first registration, for every name on your list, from $49 a month with 25 backorders.
Drop list
Demo board, 40 names| Name | ScoreValue score | Price | vs rule | Expires | Status | Rule result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Sample list, not live drop data. No card required to create your account. Domaining is not affiliated with Spaceship or Namecheap.
What happens when a Spaceship domain expires?
Spaceship is the low-price registrar owned by Namecheap, and it has grown fast with investors and small businesses since its launch. Its own domain life cycle guide lays out what an expired generic name goes through: a 30 day grace period, a redemption period that typically lasts 42 days, and about 5 days of pending delete before the name returns to the public pool.
That is a long wait, roughly 77 days from expiry to release, and it is long for a reason. Every day of it is a chance for the holder to come back. The bar below is drawn to scale, so you can see where most of the time goes.
Days 0 to 7
The site still resolves. The holder can renew at the normal price in a couple of clicks.
Days 8 to 30
The site stops resolving normally and visitors see a parking page. Renewal is still the normal price.
Redemption
Only the holder can restore the name, for the renewal price plus a $41.40 redemption fee on .com.
Pending delete
About 5 days. Nobody can restore it, the release date is fixed, and your backorder fires at release.
Periods and fees come from Spaceship's life cycle guide and redemption price list. Some country code domains such as .uk follow their own rules, and Spaceship's registration agreement lets it sell or auction an expired name to a third party, so read the WHOIS status of each name instead of counting from the expiry date.
Why so many Spaceship names reach the drop
Spaceship built its base on cheap first-year .com registrations, and a lot of those names were bought for projects that never launched. When the renewal comes up a year later, plenty of holders let it go. By the time a name is in redemption, getting it back costs the renewal plus $41.40, and most people who skipped a normal renewal will not pay more than double to restore a name they stopped using.
That is good news for buyers. Unlike the Newfold registrars, where expired names are offered on NameJet and SnapNames first, we found no public round where Spaceship sells its expired inventory before the drop. Most Spaceship names you want simply wait out the 77 days and go to whoever has an order in place when the registry lets them go.
How much does it cost to backorder a Spaceship domain?
Nothing at Spaceship itself, since it sells no backorder. At a drop catcher you pay per caught name, about $59 for a .com at DropCatch. On Domaining a plan from $49 a month includes 25 backorders, and a name you win costs only the registration fee on top. Prices below are published fees we checked and can change.
| Option | What it costs | When it works | Where it falls short |
|---|---|---|---|
| Buy it on SellerHub | The holder's asking price; Spaceship takes 10% | Any time the holder has it listed | You pay a resale price for a name that may drop anyway |
| DropCatch | About $59 per caught .com, auction if contested | At the registry drop | A fee on every catch adds up across a monthly list |
| NameJet or SnapNames | $79 minimum per win | Names from their partner registrars | We found no sign Spaceship sends expired names there |
| Offer to the holder | Whatever you agree, plus escrow | Before or during grace | Asking can remind the holder to renew; a domain broker keeps you anonymous |
| Domaining | From $49 a month with 25 backorders, registration fee on a win | At the registry drop, by hand or by rule, with value scores | Cannot reach a name the holder restores or sells first |
A fee by fee ranking of drop catchers is in the best domain backorder service comparison, and the DropCatch math for a monthly list is in the DropCatch alternatives article.
Should you buy on SellerHub or wait for the drop?
Buy now only when you cannot afford to lose the name. Everything else on a Spaceship expiry list is cheaper to cover at the drop, where you pay nothing until you win.
Pay the asking price when
- It is the exact brand .com for a company you are launching this quarter
- The name is still active and not expired, so there is no drop to wait for
- Your ceiling from the domain value estimator is well above the asking price
Backorder it with Domaining when
- The name is past expiry and the holder has not listed or renewed it
- You want dozens of names a month and cannot pay a per-catch fee on each
- You would rather let backorder rules order every match by score, length and price cap
How to catch an expired Spaceship domain
From the WHOIS lookup to the name sitting in your account, in four steps.
-
01
Confirm the registrar
Look up the name. If the registrar is Spaceship and the status shows autoRenewPeriod, the holder is in grace. redemptionPeriod puts the drop several weeks away, pendingDelete about 5 days.
-
02
Score it
Run it through the estimator, read the reasons behind the score and set the most you would pay if two members want it.
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03
Order or automate
Add it to a watchlist with expiry alerts, then place a single backorder before pendingDelete, or let a rule pick it from the daily drop list.
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04
Win at release
Your order fires at the drop. Two members on one name settle it in a private auction; the winner pays only the registration fee on top.
Want a name before it even expires? Put it on a watchlist with domain expiry alerts. The full mechanics of orders, wins and member auctions are on the backorder domain names page.
Who backorders Spaceship domains
People who buy expired names as a business and want one plan across every registrar instead of a fee per catch.
Investors
Who buy aged domain names by score and resell them on the domain marketplace with no commission.
Agencies
Picking up brandable and local names that a client or a stalled startup let lapse after a cheap first year.
Founders
Whose exact brand .com sits on an unused Spaceship registration that is now past expiry.
Multi-registrar buyers
Covering Spaceship next to the Namecheap backorder and Porkbun backorder routes from one list.
Questions about Spaceship backorders
Does Spaceship offer domain backorders?
We could not find a backorder product on Spaceship. Its domain tools cover registration, transfers, renewals, redemption and selling through SellerHub, but there is no way to queue an order on a name someone else holds. To catch an expired Spaceship name you watch it and place a backorder with a service that registers names at the registry drop.
How do I backorder a domain on Spaceship?
You cannot place the order inside Spaceship. Look up the name, confirm Spaceship is the registrar and read the status. Put it on a watchlist while it is in grace, then place a Domaining backorder before pendingDelete, or let a rule pick it from the drop list. If the holder never restores it, the order fires when the registry releases the name.
What happens when a Spaceship domain expires?
Spaceship gives a 30 day grace period in which the holder renews at the normal price. The site keeps resolving for the first 7 days, then stops working normally. After grace the name enters redemption, which Spaceship says typically lasts 42 days, then about 5 days of pending delete, then it is released to the public.
How long is the Spaceship grace period?
Thirty days for most generic domains such as .com, according to Spaceship's domain life cycle guide. During that time the holder renews by paying only the renewal price. Some country code domains differ, so .uk names, for example, have their own reactivation and redemption periods. Read the WHOIS status rather than counting days from the expiry date.
How much does Spaceship charge for domain redemption?
Spaceship lists a redemption fee of $41.40 for .com, .net and .org, added to the normal renewal price, and higher fees for some extensions such as .ai. Many holders skip a fee that size on a name they no longer use, which is why so many expired Spaceship names reach the drop.
When does an expired Spaceship domain become available?
By Spaceship's own numbers, about 77 days after expiry: 30 days of grace, roughly 42 days of redemption and 5 days of pending delete. That count only holds if the holder never renews or restores the name and Spaceship does not sell it to a third party first, which its registration agreement allows.
Can I buy a domain listed on Spaceship SellerHub instead?
Yes, if the holder has listed it. SellerHub takes a 10% commission since February 2026, and checkout links run at 5%. A SellerHub price is usually far above the registration fee you pay on a caught name, so it suits names you need now. For names you can wait for, the drop is cheaper.
Is a Spaceship backorder guaranteed?
No. The holder can renew in grace or restore in redemption, Spaceship can sell or auction an expired name under its agreement, and at the drop a faster catcher can register it first. Any service that promises a specific expiring name is overstating what anyone controls. You pay Domaining nothing extra for a name you do not win.
Is Domaining affiliated with Spaceship?
No. Domaining is an independent platform with no tie to Spaceship or Namecheap. The periods and fees on this page come from Spaceship's public help pages, redemption price list and registration agreement, which can change, so read the WHOIS status of each name before you rely on a date.
Be the first registration when a Spaceship name drops
Score every name on the drop list, set a ceiling and let the order fire at release. Plans start at $49 a month with 25 backorders. Compare limits on pricing.
Backorders at other registrars
Namecheap backorder
Spaceship's sister registrar, also without a backorder.
GoDaddy backorder domain
GoDaddy ended backorders in 2025. What replaces them.
Cloudflare domain backorder
At-cost renewals, no backorder, a short path to the drop.
Spaceship SellerHub alternative
Selling the names you catch without the 10% cut.