Usually the best deals on domain name registrations, and occasionally on transfers, occur around Black Friday and Cyber Monday. This year is no exception, with great sales this year from a number of registrars. This article provides a list of resources and points to consider for those doing hand registrations at this time of year.
Finding The Deals
NamePros member @aelko, from the very helpful domain extension pricing site TLDES.com, has created a NamePros discussion for 2024 Black Friday – Cyber Monday deals. Go there to find Black Friday – Cyber Monday deals links from registrars such as Dynadot, Namecheap, Porkbun, Namesilo, Name.com, and Unstoppable Domains. Please add other deals as you find them, so that can be a one-stop hub.
@Michael Cyger launched a GitHub Depository list of 2024 Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals. That list has them sorted by extension, so helpful if looking for best deals on a particular TLD.
Watch the Date/Time
Since deals on various extensions and at various registrars start and stop at different dates and times, make sure that the price in the cart is what you are expecting before checking out. Also, some deals require a coupon, and others not.
The Year of Domain Pair Deals
Many investors are primarily interested in .com registrations, and this year there are unlimited .com at Name.com for $4.99 each. But assuming that the .pro is also available in the term, if you purchase a bundle that includes both the .com plus .pro is only $4.49 at Name.com. That’s right, you get both for less than the price of the .com alone. Note that these prices do not include the $0.18 per domain name ICANN fee.
Another TLD sought by many investors is .io, and Dynadot has a fantastic bundle deal on .io plus .tech. If you find the same term available in both .io and .tech, you get the pair for just $8.99 at Dynadot, a small fraction of the wholesale cost of .io registrations alone. Dynadot also has the .io alone discounted, but it is substantially more than the duo deal. This is a bit harder than the .com/.pro pair, as many terms that are desired in .io may already be taken in .tech, and some others are registry premiums. But when you find an available pair, it is a great deal.
Both Name.com and Dynadot make finding bundles easy. Just enter the .io domain name that you seek at Dynadot. If that term is also available in the .tech extension, the system will automatically produce a link to add the pair to your cart. Name.com works similarly for the .com/.pro pairing, search first for the .com, and after a slight pause, if the .com/.pro bundle is available it will show a link, and you can add the pair to your cart.
Unstoppable Domains also has a pair deal, with a second name, of lesser value free, up to $100 saving. The promotion applies to their ICANN ENS extensions, as well as blockchain extensions, but excluding .eth, and to marketplace sales. Read the details Cyber Monday: Buy One, Get One Free!.
Many Other Deals
Check the sites mentioned previously to find many other deals. There are deals in many new extensions, in generalized country codes like .co and .me, in other legacy extensions like .biz and info, and in registry premium listings. And undoubtedly more deals will be announced after this article went to press, since we are not yet at Black Friday officially.
Know the Registrar and Terms
If a deal is with a registrar that you have not dealt with before, it is always good to check here on NamePros for any comments or reviews, and to read their terms. For example, how easy and fast will it be to transfer names out.
Also, are names held at the registrar eligible for the Afternic Fast Transfer and/or Sedo MLS networks? There may be other essentials on your list, such as bulk handling capability, a registrar marketplace, or payment options.
Domain Extension Price Check Sites
The sites that track domain extension pricing usually update every few hours, so you can use them as well to compare pricing. I covered them in the article How to Save Money on Domain Names, but here are the links:
TLD-List has a helpful price history graph that will give an idea of how good a promotional price is when compared to previous promotions.
Oops…
Odds are you are not doing as full research on names as normal in the rush to register names under seasonal deals. Try to avoid outright mistakes like spelling errors, misconceptions about words, or typos. The article Costly Mistakes as a Domain Investor covers these and other points.
Turn Off Auto Renewal
A couple of the points mentioned in that article are on the topic of auto renewal. In the race to register names at promotional pricing, it can be easy to overlook auto-renewal possibly being set at a new registrar. Particularly if you are doing speculative investments, or pairs of names where you don’t really want one TLD, it is a good idea to turn off auto renewal right after registration.
Cheap Does Not Mean Investment Worthy
When pricing is great, it is enticing to hand register many names. Keep in mind, though, that even if you offer a name for a bit less, it still won’t sell unless someone finds worth in it. As always, concentrate on quality over quantity.
The simple test is ’If I was starting a business, investing substantial money, would I use this as my own business name?’ Read more in Will Anyone Really Use This Name?.
In the article Regrets, Here Are A Few I suggest that registering junk is probably the most prevalent regret among domain investors. Don’t let cheap prices lure you into registering names that should never be registered.
Time To Experiment
That said, this may offer the opportunity to, with limited cost, invest in a term that you think might trend, or an extension or niche for the first time.
I have written a few times about speculative domain investment, including Catching Trains and Avoiding Train Wrecks and Speculative, Niche, Momentum and Value Domain Investing .
The pages of NamePros are littered both with examples of people who spotted a trend early, and those who wasted money on trends that never panned out.
Know The Extension
If the seasonal deals have enticed you to invest for the first time in an extension, keep in mind that once one leaves .com, the type of name that sells in most other extensions is much more restricted. In many extensions, mainly single words sell, for example, and the buyers tend to be looking for a certain type of word.
If branching out into some extension, analysis articles on NamePros can help you get up to speed quickly. For example I recently looked at .io, Last 5 Years of .IO.
Last week in NamePros Blog I published a guide that links articles from the blog on different extensions.
ExpiredDomains Can Help Assemble A List
As you search for worthwhile words to register in an extension, sites like ExpiredDomains can be helpful in finding names that have dropped in a particular extension, and also meet criteria such as a single English word of length less than some number of letters. You can readily see things like registered TLDs, and through the Details section pricing on names for sale with that term in other extensions, although you need to check Afternic separately.
I have written a couple of articles on ExpiredDomains: Finging Expiring and Expired Domain Names and Getting More from ExpiredDomains.
Is This The Best Use of My Funds?
Remember that domain name investment is not easy or assured. Never spend money that you need for other purposes, or that you could not afford to potentially lose.
Also, make sure that you are retaining funds to cover upcoming renewals on higher-worth names.
The article Questions to Consider during Domain Name Acquisitions mentions these and other things to think about.
Best wishes in finding some hidden gems and registering them at great prices during the seasonal deals. Or if you are taking some days off domain investing to enjoy family time instead, that is a great decision too.
Updates:
Nov. 28, 2024 I clarified that the Name.com pricing shown is exclusive of the ICANN $0.18 fee.
Finding The Deals
NamePros member @aelko, from the very helpful domain extension pricing site TLDES.com, has created a NamePros discussion for 2024 Black Friday – Cyber Monday deals. Go there to find Black Friday – Cyber Monday deals links from registrars such as Dynadot, Namecheap, Porkbun, Namesilo, Name.com, and Unstoppable Domains. Please add other deals as you find them, so that can be a one-stop hub.
@Michael Cyger launched a GitHub Depository list of 2024 Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals. That list has them sorted by extension, so helpful if looking for best deals on a particular TLD.
Watch the Date/Time
Since deals on various extensions and at various registrars start and stop at different dates and times, make sure that the price in the cart is what you are expecting before checking out. Also, some deals require a coupon, and others not.
The Year of Domain Pair Deals
Many investors are primarily interested in .com registrations, and this year there are unlimited .com at Name.com for $4.99 each. But assuming that the .pro is also available in the term, if you purchase a bundle that includes both the .com plus .pro is only $4.49 at Name.com. That’s right, you get both for less than the price of the .com alone. Note that these prices do not include the $0.18 per domain name ICANN fee.
Another TLD sought by many investors is .io, and Dynadot has a fantastic bundle deal on .io plus .tech. If you find the same term available in both .io and .tech, you get the pair for just $8.99 at Dynadot, a small fraction of the wholesale cost of .io registrations alone. Dynadot also has the .io alone discounted, but it is substantially more than the duo deal. This is a bit harder than the .com/.pro pair, as many terms that are desired in .io may already be taken in .tech, and some others are registry premiums. But when you find an available pair, it is a great deal.
Both Name.com and Dynadot make finding bundles easy. Just enter the .io domain name that you seek at Dynadot. If that term is also available in the .tech extension, the system will automatically produce a link to add the pair to your cart. Name.com works similarly for the .com/.pro pairing, search first for the .com, and after a slight pause, if the .com/.pro bundle is available it will show a link, and you can add the pair to your cart.
Unstoppable Domains also has a pair deal, with a second name, of lesser value free, up to $100 saving. The promotion applies to their ICANN ENS extensions, as well as blockchain extensions, but excluding .eth, and to marketplace sales. Read the details Cyber Monday: Buy One, Get One Free!.
Many Other Deals
Check the sites mentioned previously to find many other deals. There are deals in many new extensions, in generalized country codes like .co and .me, in other legacy extensions like .biz and info, and in registry premium listings. And undoubtedly more deals will be announced after this article went to press, since we are not yet at Black Friday officially.
Know the Registrar and Terms
If a deal is with a registrar that you have not dealt with before, it is always good to check here on NamePros for any comments or reviews, and to read their terms. For example, how easy and fast will it be to transfer names out.
Also, are names held at the registrar eligible for the Afternic Fast Transfer and/or Sedo MLS networks? There may be other essentials on your list, such as bulk handling capability, a registrar marketplace, or payment options.
Domain Extension Price Check Sites
The sites that track domain extension pricing usually update every few hours, so you can use them as well to compare pricing. I covered them in the article How to Save Money on Domain Names, but here are the links:
TLD-List has a helpful price history graph that will give an idea of how good a promotional price is when compared to previous promotions.
Oops…
Odds are you are not doing as full research on names as normal in the rush to register names under seasonal deals. Try to avoid outright mistakes like spelling errors, misconceptions about words, or typos. The article Costly Mistakes as a Domain Investor covers these and other points.
Turn Off Auto Renewal
A couple of the points mentioned in that article are on the topic of auto renewal. In the race to register names at promotional pricing, it can be easy to overlook auto-renewal possibly being set at a new registrar. Particularly if you are doing speculative investments, or pairs of names where you don’t really want one TLD, it is a good idea to turn off auto renewal right after registration.
Cheap Does Not Mean Investment Worthy
When pricing is great, it is enticing to hand register many names. Keep in mind, though, that even if you offer a name for a bit less, it still won’t sell unless someone finds worth in it. As always, concentrate on quality over quantity.
The simple test is ’If I was starting a business, investing substantial money, would I use this as my own business name?’ Read more in Will Anyone Really Use This Name?.
In the article Regrets, Here Are A Few I suggest that registering junk is probably the most prevalent regret among domain investors. Don’t let cheap prices lure you into registering names that should never be registered.
Time To Experiment
That said, this may offer the opportunity to, with limited cost, invest in a term that you think might trend, or an extension or niche for the first time.
I have written a few times about speculative domain investment, including Catching Trains and Avoiding Train Wrecks and Speculative, Niche, Momentum and Value Domain Investing .
The pages of NamePros are littered both with examples of people who spotted a trend early, and those who wasted money on trends that never panned out.
Know The Extension
If the seasonal deals have enticed you to invest for the first time in an extension, keep in mind that once one leaves .com, the type of name that sells in most other extensions is much more restricted. In many extensions, mainly single words sell, for example, and the buyers tend to be looking for a certain type of word.
If branching out into some extension, analysis articles on NamePros can help you get up to speed quickly. For example I recently looked at .io, Last 5 Years of .IO.
Last week in NamePros Blog I published a guide that links articles from the blog on different extensions.
ExpiredDomains Can Help Assemble A List
As you search for worthwhile words to register in an extension, sites like ExpiredDomains can be helpful in finding names that have dropped in a particular extension, and also meet criteria such as a single English word of length less than some number of letters. You can readily see things like registered TLDs, and through the Details section pricing on names for sale with that term in other extensions, although you need to check Afternic separately.
I have written a couple of articles on ExpiredDomains: Finging Expiring and Expired Domain Names and Getting More from ExpiredDomains.
Is This The Best Use of My Funds?
Remember that domain name investment is not easy or assured. Never spend money that you need for other purposes, or that you could not afford to potentially lose.
Also, make sure that you are retaining funds to cover upcoming renewals on higher-worth names.
The article Questions to Consider during Domain Name Acquisitions mentions these and other things to think about.
Best wishes in finding some hidden gems and registering them at great prices during the seasonal deals. Or if you are taking some days off domain investing to enjoy family time instead, that is a great decision too.
Updates:
Nov. 28, 2024 I clarified that the Name.com pricing shown is exclusive of the ICANN $0.18 fee.
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