ULTRA-BACKORDER

JP Domains

Every month, between 6,000 and 8,000 .jp domains become available for registration on the 1st of the month.

When a previous owner does not use a domain and lets it lapse without renewing, the domain name is deleted and becomes available for a new registrant to acquire.

Domains that were not renewed are released by the registry during a "drop zone" window of about four and a half minutes, starting at 0:00 on the 1st of each month, when the registry database is updated. The exact timing of the drop zone shifts slightly each month depending on the number of domains being released and system conditions. The order in which domains are released also involves an element of randomness, making it extremely difficult for anyone but specialists to predict. Because pinpointing this is so difficult, drop-catch operators attempt registration using multiple algorithms based on educated predictions.

Competition in the drop-catch industry is fierce, and some registrars bundle multiple registrar accounts to submit requests mechanically. It is not unusual to see more than 100 registration attempts per second, and backorder operators leverage these privileges to offer backorder and drop-catch services. It is extremely difficult for an individual using an ordinary domain registrar or acquisition service to outcompete a backorder operator. In particular, if there is a domain you truly want, it is usually a better strategy to rely on a specialized backorder operator — leave it to the professionals.

ULTRA-BACKORDER is the only Japanese operator established specifically to perform drop-catching. We acquire and protect unique, valuable domains on our customers' behalf, delivering them through a fair auction process. ULTRA-BACKORDER's drop-catch success rate is among the highest in the industry.

Auctions

When multiple customers submit a backorder for the same domain name, it goes to auction. The highest bidder in the auction wins and acquires the domain.

Backorder

The fee for a backorder is ¥12,000 (excluding tax). You are only charged if the backorder succeeds — there is no charge if the drop-catch attempt fails. When you place a backorder, we place a credit card authorization hold, which is released if the attempt fails. There is no subscription of any kind; you can use the service on a one-off basis whenever there is a domain you want.

About Payment

In principle, payment is automatically charged to the credit card used when placing the backorder or bidding in the auction, at the time of the transaction. Bank transfer is also supported for some users who use JP backorder monthly. If the auction amount exceeds ¥1,000,000, we place an authorization hold up to the available limit, but require payment by bank transfer. Once the auction ends and we confirm receipt of payment, the authorization hold is released. This is because credit cards generally have a usage limit. Even if you bid across multiple auctions and the total far exceeds your card's usage limit, you can still bid without issue.

Where does the term "drop catch" come from?

As the name suggests, "drop catch" comes from the idea of catching a domain by hand as it expires and "drops." Domains that reach their expiration date fall (drop) one after another. Operators repeatedly submit registration requests to capture (catch) these domains, and over time the term "drop catch" became widely used. There is no equivalent Japanese term — even in Japan's domain industry, the English term "drop catch" is used as-is, written in katakana.

Where does the term "backorder" come from?

The term "back order" originally comes from the logistics industry, referring to a situation where an order was placed but stock could not be allocated, leaving the customer waiting for the item to arrive. Applied to domains, it similarly describes waiting to acquire a domain (the "item") by targeting its upcoming expiration (the "stock allocation"). Today, the term is used to describe the act of requesting that acquisition.