How can I place a back order? And is there anyway I can find out how many people are competing for a domain i.e. How many people have already requested a specific back order?

Search for the Domain name here on Domainmonster. There will be an option allowing you to backorder it.

There is no way to find out how many people have it on backorder but if someone has it on backorder at Domainmonster then it wont allow you to also do it.

Hope that helps.

Mat