Who is behind Backorder.com?

My name is Guy Keates. I'm the founder of Backorder.com, a domain backorder service built for ccTLDs, based in the UK.

I've been interested in all things internet for as long as I can remember - and I registered my very first domain in July 2001 - which I still own today.

I've been in the domain industry since 2007, when I set up a web hosting company and started registering domains on behalf of clients. But my obsession with expired domains started a few years later, for the most relatable of reasons: I wanted a domain name for a side project, and someone else had it, except they weren't using it, and it was expired.

So I did what any good developer would do; I researched the expiry lifecycle, figured out how to integrate with a registry API, and wrote custom software to catch the domain the moment it dropped. I was initially too slow relying on a third party, so in 2012 I applied directly to Nominet (the UK's domain registry) and became an accredited registrar. That let me plug straight into the registry and build my own catching software from the ground up.

I will never forget the rush of catching my first domain!

That obsession became a viable business in 2016, with the launch of dropped.uk, a public drop-catching service focused exclusively on .UK domains.

Launching Backorder.com

In March 2025, I launched Backorder.com, covering a wide range of ccTLDs. To my knowledge, Backorder.com was the first public backorder service offering .ai domains.

Backorder.com is designed to shake up the market. The platform is built on a transparent model that I think the expired domain market sorely needed. Many competitors automatically trigger public auctions regardless of demand, sometimes before the domain has even been deleted, meaning buyers bid blind on something that isn't guaranteed.

However, Backorder.com only auctions a domain if it's successfully caught and more than one user backordered it. Even then, auctions are strictly private: only those who placed a backorder before the drop can participate. No snipers, no outsiders. I feel like it's a much fairer, more open way to do things, and I’m proud of that.

Over 10 years, my bespoke catching software has secured more than 11,500 domains. In the last 12 months alone, securing 627 .ai domains, with over 95% allocated directly to users, bypassing auction entirely. The site now serves active users in more than 56 countries.

My IT background spans system administration, server building, networking, and programming. All of which has been key to the bespoke software I’ve created, which is the key to catching a domain is a millisecond-level competition, and being able to optimise both the infrastructure and the code gives Backorder.com an edge most services can't match.

When I'm not coding or working, I'm usually weightlifting, playing video games, travelling (with my Mac!), or hiking. I head to Wales every January to hike through Eryri National Park (Snowdonia) - which I find to be the perfect mental and physical reset for the year ahead.