Possible (Domain) Lawbreaker?

Nothing unethical and certainly not "illegal" about reacquiring a dropped, available domain that you owned previously. If the name was poor enough to not be "caught" and/or auctioned, why would anyone care?

Further, a registrar isn't going to give a toot whether you re-register a name at a discount elsewhere.

Thanks, kind sir.

Lewstar said:

l would let expire the few names l bought at NetSol for a buck but would need to pay $37 to renew—and buy much them back much cheaper at a registrar like NameSilo

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Just initiate a transfer at namesilo if you have an account there.

Lewstar said:

...If so, l would let expire the few names l bought at NetSol for a buck but would need to pay $37 to renew—and buy much them back much cheaper at a registrar like NameSilo...

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Okay, here's my Renewal vs. Transfer Primer or "How not to lose your domain by letting it expire and not being able to re-register later when someone else snaps it up"...

Renewing a domain in place is always the most expensive option, the few exceptions being Epik, Namesilo, Dynadot and a few others. Registrars count on people to be lazy or lack the knowledge about renewing via transfer to another registrar.

On the other hand, they are keen on gaining new clients, so transfer pricing (at the gaining registrar, where you initiate and pay for the transfer) is usually lower than renewals or even new regs there. Hence renewing by doing a transfer to another registrar is your best option, price wise, but a bit of a hassle.

When availing yourself of this option, it's a good idea to check what you are getting yourself into. The best transfer promo on the market currently is at UK's LCN at £5 (US$6.50). However, renewals there are a whopping $18!

Transfering to Epik, on the other hand, will set you back two bucks more than LCN, but renewals in place there in the following years will cost you the same: $8.49.

Another good thing to check is what is the gaining registrar's renewal grace period policy (how many days past domain's expiry date you can still renew at their regular pricing). LCN gives you 29 days to renew or transfer out past expiry. Dynadot gives you 40 days to renew, but they surcharge a whopping $10 extra past 30 days. NameSilo gives 30 days. Many registrars, Epik for one, give you only 15 days past expiry to renew. After which, the domain goes into Redemption Period, when the forgetfull, or the undecided, can still snap it back for another 30 days, but at a whopping $60 - $200 "Reinstatement Fee".

Lewstar said:

doing so it seems would be an unethical practice but illegal as well.

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There is nothing illegal about being frugal, saving money or getting the best deal you can find. Not in the USA anyhow. It may be illegal in other countries and localities.

Unethical? Well, in this case that would depend on one's personal constitution. With my personal constitution, it does not compute as unethical. But with yours, maybe different.

Re-registering a domain you let expire is perfectly legal, and reasonable.

This is a function of basic free market principles. Netsol is well outside the standard price ranges for renewing most extensions. That is their decision, but when you are charging say $10 vs $35 to renew a domain, you can expect to lose a lot of future business.

I would argue what is far more unethical is these registrars placing themselves in the role of middle man, to profit from selling expired domains (pre-release) that they had no role in creating. That is not how the expiration process was designed to work.

You can just transfer them now if you want, and don't need to wait for them to expire.
When you transfer them an extra year is added to the registration.

Brad

bmugford said:

I would argue what is far more unethical is these registrars placing themselves in the role of middle man, to profit from selling expired domains (pre-release) that they had no role in creating. That is not how the expiration process was designed to work.

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Absolutely and unquestionably.