Getting a domain's expiry date

[juanc]

Hi

I was hoping someone could advise me. I’ve got a background in PHP and so was thinking of developing a website that lists domains that are either within days of their expiry or just expired.

However the more I research it the more it seems to be not quite as simple as I first thought. To come to the point it seems that getting the expiry date with PHP would mean interfacing with an API of say Namejet, Snapnames or constantly reading from a .csv file these companies provide. You can’t just get it from querying a whois server?

Could someone confirm this and if possible provide any other info from the technical side of things regarding what actually happens when a domain doesn’t get renewed.

Many thanks

[TimIgoe]

You can get the domain expiry from a whois, however to do a whois you need a domain name - you can't ask a whois server for domains about to expire.

When a domain doesn't get renewed, it is put into a "holding" state to allow the original owner to renew it, before it eitehr goes up for auction or is put straight back onto the open market.

[grannygotgoat05]

Your best bet is to perform a WHOIS search and ask the owner once you get his/her details. Who knows, they might be eager to sell it to you.