It's called an 'expiration date' for a reason: that's the date you're supposed to have paid for continued service by. The grace period (and the redemption perio

It's called an 'expiration date' for a reason: that's the date you're supposed to have paid for continued service by. The grace period (and the redemption period) are leeway. It's in no way an extortion fee: you're given plenty of notice before the domain expires, and if it ends up in redemption, you only have your own incompetence to blame. Also, you don't own the domain, it's a lease. If you let a domain expire and a competitor snaps it up, that's on you, not the registrar. You can initiate UDRP actions to recover it, but it's your fault.