Contrary to common beliefs, domain names are actually not expired when their status is "expired".

When the domain name first expires, it goes into few phases so that the owner may still have time to redeem the domain name.

1) For 40 days, the domain name is in a grace period where all services are shut down. This is the period where the owner can still renew the domain name at the normal rate.

2) After 40 days are up, the domain name status becomes "RGP", meaning Redemption Grace Period (RGP). The renewal fee becomes much higher now, depending on the domain registrar. The whole RGP takes 30 days.

3) After this redemption period, the domain's status is updated as "locked".  Now, the domain name is entering the deletion phase. The whole deletion phase takes 5 days. Once its drop from Icann database, the domain name is available for the public and anybody can register and become the new owner.

The whole process takes exactly 75 days after the listed expiration date.