Backpage.com in Pending Delete Status

Backpage.com was once one of the most popular classified advertising websites online. According to Wikipedia, “Backpage let users post ads to categories such as personals, automotive, rentals, jobs and adult services. It soon became the second largest online classified site in the United States.” It was also apparently a hub for illicit activities.

In 2018, the US Department of Justice seized the website and Backpage.com domain name. At that time, the USDOJ issued a press release announcing the domain name seizure with a link to the indictment. A screenshot of the landing page from Screenshots.com can be seen below with law enforcement seals and seizure notification:

Backpage.com has been registered at CSC, and the domain name expired on January 19th, 2025. Because CSC does not have an expiry auction partner, the domain name went into pending delete status. As a result, drop catching services like DropCatch.com, NameJet, and Sav will compete to catch the domain name once it is fully deleted today. If one of these auction platforms catches Backpage.com, it will be auctioned to the highest bidder.

I am not entirely sure if CSC has the ability to save the domain name from being deleted once it has reached this point if this was an oversight. If the Backpage.com domain name is auctioned to the highest bidder, it will be interesting to see how it is used.