Huge Domains Picked up our expired domain name before we had a chance to purchase it at auction through NameJet.com. Internet

Our domain name inadvertently expired in August 2016 and we were not able to catch it in the redemption period.  I placed a backorder for it through NameJet.com per the recommendation of the domain registrar. 

I received a notice from NameJet to increase my bid for the domain name from $69 to $79 even though there were no other apparent bidders for the name.  It's a locally based company and not likely that anyone would be interested in it.  Except someone trying to pick it up for a profit. 

Huge domains picked it up when it dropped and now they're trying to sell it for $1795.00 US.  This seems like extortion to me.  Others have had the same experience.  Huge domains offered to sell it to us for a reduced price of $1095 if we could show that we were the most recent owners of the domain (which we are).  Still a ridiculous amount of money for a domain name.