I have recently got back in to buying some dropping domains, I am seeing quite often registrars renewing a few days before the domain becomes available. Is this a normal tactic to save a few months renewal costs? Its very annoying!
Renewals are backdated, so it isn't a case of saving money. As Martin said, more a case of free promotion within domainer circles. Maybe also allows them to renew a bulk of domains in a single transaction rather than almost daily.