Getting a domain back

[jeffcam]

I had a domain that was for my photography and it was my name.  My web developer suddenly died and I had to wait for it to expire to get it back.  I worked with GoDaddy and they had me in the cue to get it and some guy in Korea grabbed it.   He has been asking $5500 for now three years.  How can I get this domain back.  He's obviously squatting on the domain that was mine.  Any thoughts how to petition to get it back?

[Zulfiqar]

Hell jeffcam,

So sad, I hope you are well. After a domain expires due to either non renewal or non payment of registration fee, then it won't be kept for you. If you want your domain back then there is a chance you can buy it again if someone else has not already bought it.

In the event that a domain expires from the account, it may fall into a Redemption period where the domain may still be recovered. https://www.godaddy.com/help/recovering-expired-domain-names-5018 is our Help article for recovering expired domains in these statuses.

Depending on the TLD, certain domains follow different expiration processes (ccTLDs like .UK, .SG, etc., among others), so you would want to reference the GoDaddy Help article for the specific TLD you are looking to recover from expiration.

If the domain does not show available to be recovered or the Help articles do not clarify enough, you can always reach out to our Support department and we would be happy to see if the domain can still be recovered!

[jeffcam]

When it happened I had to wait several months.  I contacted GoDaddy and was put on a "waiting list" for the domain and was told by the GoDaddy folks that it would be mine.  When it dropped off of her account I reached out to GoDaddy and they stated that someone else grabbed the domain.  Then it was put up for sale for $5000,  the domain is jefflanders.com.  I looked it up today and it is now for sale for $5500.  It was clearly mine and I don't understand that this person can just hold it forever demanding a very large price.  If it was $500 I may pay for it but $5000?  It's not like JoeBiden.com or something like that.

[JesseW · Accepted solution]

Hi @jeffcam. Thanks for posting. I'm sorry to hear things went this way for you. There isn't a way to guarantee you'll get a domain after it is made public. We do have a backorder service we provide, but this is never guaranteed because more than one backorder can be purchased for a domain. If it was explained to you any differently, I apologize. 

Unfortunately, just because a domain reflects your name, it doesn't mean that it would go to you by default. There is a fine line between someone squatting on a domain and someone registering it because they think it was a good investment. There's a good article here on the distinction and steps you can take if you believe a domain is being squatted on. 

I hope this helps.