If I let my domain name expire for months and someone wants to buy it, do they have to buy it from me?

[weaknwimpy]

I bought a domain name and am using it for my website now for 9 months now. If I let it expire and someone wants to buy the domain name, do they have to contact me to buy it or is it up for grabs. I have seen some inactive domain names and when I tried to buy them it said I had to place a bid on them. One of them was 500 dollars but originally it was about 12.99 before it was taken. Does the owner of that domain name choose who he wants to sell it to?

[Valleycat1]

Inactive is different from an expired account. Inactive means someone bought the name and is still paying for it but there is no actual website online. If you let your account expire the name is back up for grabs from whoever you bought it from. (Actually, you didn't buy it, you're renting the right to use it.)

[aashish bista]

If a domain name expired from your domain controller account, then most of the domain registrar will take it so any one interested on the domain have to buy from the domain registrar not from you as you will loose the domain after some month of expiry.