Domain reclassified as premium. I need advice.

[ryan87]

Hi. I own a domain that was non-premium when I registered it. It was non-premium when I renewed it last year. When I went to renew it today, I noticed it's reclassified as premium. I have ~4 years of daily logs for the classification (from Namecheap's APIs). I'm not confused. I understand how it works and, assuming it's not a mistake at Namecheap, my domain was reclassified without the registration lapsing and without my consent.

That violates section 2.10c of ICANN's baseline registry agreement [1] and, based on common knowledge, it shouldn't happen [2]. Does anyone here know of any tools I can use to check domain classifications (or have access to an API that's not Namecheap)? I'd like to know if the domain was reclassified by the registry (Uniregistry). I'll reach out to Namecheap, but I'd like to have the classification verified by a 3rd party first.

I previously renewed the domain on Feb 5, 2023 when it was classified as non-premium, so I doubt I accidentally consented to a change in classification. On April 12, 2023 it was considered non-premium:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<ApiResponse Status="OK" xmlns="[link removed]">
  <Errors />
  <Warnings />
  <RequestedCommand>namecheap.domains.check</RequestedCommand>
  <CommandResponse Type="namecheap.domains.check">
    <DomainCheckResult Domain="****.help" Available="false" ErrorNo="0" Description="" IsPremiumName="false" PremiumRegistrationPrice="0" PremiumRenewalPrice="0" PremiumRestorePrice="0" PremiumTransferPrice="0" IcannFee="0" EapFee="0.0" />
  </CommandResponse>
  <Server>PHX01APIEXT01</Server>
  <GMTTimeDifference>--4:00</GMTTimeDifference>
  <ExecutionTime>0.39</ExecutionTime>
</ApiResponse>

On April 13, 2023 it was reclassified as premium:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<ApiResponse Status="OK" xmlns="[link removed]">
  <Errors />
  <Warnings />
  <RequestedCommand>namecheap.domains.check</RequestedCommand>
  <CommandResponse Type="namecheap.domains.check">
    <DomainCheckResult Domain="****.help" Available="false" ErrorNo="0" Description="" IsPremiumName="true" PremiumRegistrationPrice="1180.0000" PremiumRenewalPrice="1180.0000" PremiumRestorePrice="35.4000" PremiumTransferPrice="1180.0000" IcannFee="0" EapFee="0.0" />
  </CommandResponse>
  <Server>PHX01APIEXT03</Server>
  <GMTTimeDifference>--4:00</GMTTimeDifference>
  <ExecutionTime>0.619</ExecutionTime>
</ApiResponse>

As of today, it's still classified as premium:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<ApiResponse Status="OK" xmlns="[link removed]">
  <Errors />
  <Warnings />
  <RequestedCommand>namecheap.domains.check</RequestedCommand>
  <CommandResponse Type="namecheap.domains.check">
    <DomainCheckResult Domain="****.help" Available="false" ErrorNo="0" Description="" IsPremiumName="true" PremiumRegistrationPrice="325.0000" PremiumRenewalPrice="28.6000" PremiumRestorePrice="39.0000" PremiumTransferPrice="28.6000" IcannFee="0" EapFee="0.0" />
  </CommandResponse>
  <Server>PHX01APIEXT01</Server>
  <GMTTimeDifference>--5:00</GMTTimeDifference>
  <ExecutionTime>0.616</ExecutionTime>
</ApiResponse>

1. itp.cdn.icann.org/en/files/registry-agreements/base-registry-agreement-21-01-2024-en.html#article2.10
2. domainnamewire.com/2022/06/24/can-registries-reclassify-your-domain-as-premium-before-renewal/

 

[ryan87]

I haven't heard from ICANN yet. It'll be 3 weeks in a couple of days.

Does anyone know if there's a way I can check the status of my complaint without contacting them directly? Also, does anyone have an idea of what kind of wait time I should expect? Is it weeks, months?

I wonder what a reasonable wait time is before following up.

 

[DomainNature]

I haven't heard from ICANN yet. It'll be 3 weeks in a couple of days.

Does anyone know if there's a way I can check the status of my complaint without contacting them directly? Also, does anyone have an idea of what kind of wait time I should expect? Is it weeks, months?

I wonder what a reasonable wait time is before following up.

When I have contacted ICANN regarding other type of issue I have wait about 2 or 3 weeks, wait a month if no reply then this is questionable why they not reply, in such case maybe sue all of them together if you can afford, because they are together in this biz, ICANN, IANA, Verisign, etc, of course lets not forget those who control them, like Masonic Reptiloids.

 

[LoveCatchyDomains]

I haven't heard from ICANN yet. It'll be 3 weeks in a couple of days.

Does anyone know if there's a way I can check the status of my complaint without contacting them directly? Also, does anyone have an idea of what kind of wait time I should expect? Is it weeks, months?

I wonder what a reasonable wait time is before following up.

So did they say that they actually opened a case file? There would be a case number associated with this.
If you never received a case number, perhaps contact them again to see if they even have jurisdiction in this situation.

 

[ryan87]

So did they say that they actually opened a case file? There would be a case number associated with this.
If you never received a case number, perhaps contact them again to see if they even have jurisdiction in this situation.

Yes. I got a case number in Feb. It had links to the process they follow. The turnaround time (icann.org/resources/pages/faqs-84-2012-02-25-en#40) says they try for 5 business days to assess and 15 business days of notices, so 20 business days. Mine hit 25 this week. I'm planning to wait until it hits 30 next week and then I'll follow up.

Something that's going to be a problem for me is that I can't figure out how to follow up. The complaint acknowledgement email was from a no-reply address and I can't find any contact info on the ICANN site for complainants to ask for an update.

Does anyone know how to contact ICANN to ask about the progress of a complaint?

 

[LoveCatchyDomains]

Yes. I got a case number in Feb. It had links to the process they follow. The turnaround time (icann.org/resources/pages/faqs-84-2012-02-25-en#40) says they try for 5 business days to assess and 15 business days of notices, so 20 business days. Mine hit 25 this week. I'm planning to wait until it hits 30 next week and then I'll follow up.

Something that's going to be a problem for me is that I can't figure out how to follow up. The complaint acknowledgement email was from a no-reply address and I can't find any contact info on the ICANN site for complainants to ask for an update.

Does anyone know how to contact ICANN to ask about the progress of a complaint?

Let's see if some of our astute NP members here can provide guidance. My case was a while ago, and I think I had communicated through the ICANN account that I set up for it.

Perhaps there are some more recent ICANN users here on NP that are savvy with their platform? Or perhaps someone from ICANN in our midst?

 

[The Great Biz Bee]

hey y'aLL!
i am sooo glad I stumbled into this community and especially this thread guys! I've been trying to find an answer for months. i host 50+ domains for friends/family. Of which, over 5 domains purchased thru NameCheap that were NOT Premium when I bought them, are now auto re classified as Premium without any knowledge or for that matter, acknowledgement.

In particular, I have two with the same name. For redacted purposes let's just call it "reward.cookie" and "rewards.cookie"
I just gave the kids cookies for cleaning up after themselves lol. At some point i noticed the singular REWARD became Premium and 6+ months later in the year, so did the plural REWARDS equivalent!

The other domains I had similar circumstances that weren't Premium and became Premium. Not knowing any better the first time it happened, I transferred from NameCheap to Google. Now the Premium tag is stuck and I can't move to CloudFlare. I had no idea CF became a registrar in 2018 with no extra charges, otherwise I would've moved then! Thats thou$ands gouged.

This one takes the cake though (cookie?). Another one auto changed to Premium literally just after I unlocked and generated auth code in NameCheap portal so for the same reason I could move to CloudFlare before they auto make it Premium and in flight- it became Premium!

I'm going follow the steps mentioned here. thank you so much! <3

 

[LoveCatchyDomains]

In particular, I have two with the same name. For redacted purposes let's just call it "reward.cookie" and "rewards.cookie"
I just gave the kids cookies for cleaning up after themselves lol. At some point i noticed the singular REWARD became Premium and 6+ months later in the year, so did the plural REWARDS equivalent!

The other domains I had similar circumstances that weren't Premium and became Premium. Not knowing any better the first time it happened, I transferred from NameCheap to Google. Now the Premium tag is stuck and I can't move to CloudFlare. I had no idea CF became a registrar in 2018 with no extra charges, otherwise I would've moved then! Thats thou$ands gouged.

This one takes the cake though (cookie?). Another one auto changed to Premium literally just after I unlocked and generated auth code in NameCheap portal so for the same reason I could move to CloudFlare before they auto make it Premium and in flight- it became Premium!

So perhaps there is a trend here with premium reclassifications. And this can become an issue when trying to use Cloudflare as a registrar.
So the renewal prices were signiificantly increased as well?

 

[ryan87]

Of which, over 5 domains purchased thru NameCheap that were NOT Premium when I bought them, are now auto re classified as Premium without any knowledge or for that matter, acknowledgement.

Would you be willing to give the TLDs? Knowing the registry or registries is useful.

And this can become an issue when trying to use Cloudflare as a registrar.

Cloudflare doesn't support premium domains. Someone else on here pointed it out IIRC. From the docs:

Your domain cannot be a premium domain as Cloudflare currently does not support them. Some registries designate a domain name as premium and charge higher wholesale rates for these domains. In most cases Cloudflare is able to identify premium (non-standard priced) domains during the transfer eligibility step. However, this check might fail. When this happens, Cloudflare will not be able to determine the domain’s premium status until the transfer is initiated.

 

[The Great Biz Bee]

i talked to namecheap support about a few of the domains, and I think I had a misunderstanding of my Premiums altogether. It is frustrating though that NameCheap invoices don't show the word Premium because I have no idea other than my memory which I could've sworn by..but hey i'm becoming EEPROM with age. My understanding now there is no way to walk this backwards without screenshots or external API results ? /sigh

I didn't want to disclose someone else's domains of folks in my circle, but the relative and the sales friend didn't mind so here we go:

First, I was wrong, the renewals are the same price. i got mixed up on reward vs rewards when looking at invoices thinking one was not Premium based on the 2x price.. Or at least thats what NameCheap is trying to convince me of. I do swear by it still for that one in particular not showing Premium. Maybe it wasn't before he decided to buy it, then it flipped to Premium a few months later.


reward.discount = $43 - Premium
rewards.discount = $86 - Premium
sales.discount = $129 - Premium
discounts.discount = $46 - Premium
membershiP.discount = $110 Premium <--- but membershiPS plural is NOT premium

grandmas.kitchen = $220 - Premium (Grandma be gettin' taxed, so much for Social Security!)
kitchen.recipes = $86 - Premium
but grandmas.recipes $= 43 NOT Premium

its such a grab bag, i crossed wires..

 

[ryan87]

i talked to namecheap support about a few of the domains, and I think I had a misunderstanding of my Premiums altogether.

Don't feel bad if that's the case. I've been watching for premium reclassification for almost 5 years and, anecdotally, a lot of people don't understand what they're getting when they register a premium domain. The downsides aren't exactly advertised and most people associate "premium" with better.

Factor in a co-mingling of premium first year registration, premium (ongoing) renewals, and after market domains and it's not surprising there's a lot of consumer confusion. The registrars need to be called out and do a better job of labelling those products in my opinion.

Plus, as someone pointed out in the other thread about this, some of the registries may not keep the (implied) promise that comes along with first year premium registrations that are supposed to renew for a lower price.

It is frustrating though that NameCheap invoices don't show the word Premium because I have no idea other than my memory

I had the same complaint and I think the premium status should be explicitly listed on your receipt; non-premium, first year premium, ongoing premium, aftermarket premium.

Renewal pricing is too opaque. I posted in the other thread about this that I had to resort to registering and renewing a non-premium domain at Namecheap just so I could determine the renewal price of non-premium domains vs my reclassified domain.

First, I was wrong, the renewals are the same price. i got mixed up on reward vs rewards when looking at invoices thinking one was not Premium based on the 2x price.. Or at least thats what NameCheap is trying to convince me of. I do swear by it still for that one in particular not showing Premium. Maybe it wasn't before he decided to buy it, then it flipped to Premium a few months later.

Based on my interaction with Namecheap, I wouldn't be super confident they have great access to the historical status. It's been assumed that reclassification is not supposed to happen, so building the technical systems to monitor for and log it don't make a lot of sense.

If you have one where you think it was non-premium, you could follow up for that specific domain, ask them to escalate the issue, and ask them to clarify the premium vs non-premium status at the time of registration. Just be polite.

You should also check all of them to see if you renewed any for 2+ years at any point. As far as I know, Namecheap only allows premium domains to be renewed 1 year at a time, so if you registered anything for 2+ years in a single transaction that might help to show it was non-premium at the time.

I probably got lucky that mine was transferred to them with a promo code that wasn't usable for premium domains. I also had API logs which made it easy for me to be insistent when asking for information. I've never heard of anyone else keeping API logs for their domains and I was only doing it to try to learn when domains would get reclassified.

My understanding now there is no way to walk this backwards without screenshots or external API results ? /sigh

I'm thinking about setting up a website that explains how everything works, the roles of all the participants, traps to avoid, what steps registrants should to take to protect themselves against predatory pricing, etc.. The lack of registrant rights is increasing the risk of registering the wrong type of domain or registering a domain on a risky TLD.

I think consumers need some kind of TLDR style buyer's guide to help them act in their own best interest without needing to spend dozens of hours learning the subtle intricacies of the industry. I started playing around with it yesterday and I think a documentation themed site with two sections for every topic works well. The fist section would be a TLDR of the topic; prefer X, avoid Y, do Z. The second section section would be a detailed, opinionated justification (that no one reads - lol) of the TLDR.

That way people could use it as a quick guide, but all the recommendations would be backed by an opinionated, but reasonable explanation of why the advice should be taken. I know most people on this forum have a good understanding of everything, but my experience with "normal" registrants shows a lack of consumer understanding and education. Many people don't even realize it's important to be listed as the registrant of their domain. They don't have a chance when it comed to complex pricing schemes like "premium" domains.

 

[LoveCatchyDomains]

Something that's going to be a problem for me is that I can't figure out how to follow up. The complaint acknowledgement email was from a no-reply address and I can't find any contact info on the ICANN site for complainants to ask for an update.

As a simple contact method for ICANN, perhaps an email [email protected] can help lead you in the right direction? Also, facebook/icann.org with a quick posting about that question might help?

I'm thinking about setting up a website that explains how everything works, the roles of all the participants, traps to avoid, what steps registrants should to take to protect themselves against predatory pricing, etc.. The lack of registrant rights is increasing the risk of registering the wrong type of domain or registering a domain on a risky TLD.

Yes, that is very much needed. I searched for the domain tutorial I saw in the past where it provided some cautionary notes on this potential issue. It may have been on Google when they had "Google Domains." To me, it was the best introduction to web domains. Now, since Cloudflare took over, the tutorial pages are no longer there.

Newbies especially deserve to know that you are not just purchasing a "name" with these extensions. Different tlds have specific companies behind them. And the reputation of that company, their track record, and other factors such as spam risks related to tlds may matter--among other factors.

If you take a look at basic intros on domains on the web right now, I would say, Ryan, that your insights and eloquence could really help folks understand the deeper issues here with all the new extensions.

 

[The Great Biz Bee]

i really appreciate all the details. i've been registering domains for friends and family since high school class of 2000. I had no idea the background context, other than registration via ICANN being handed over from the USG while i was still in school. Fast forward now I'm 40 yrs over the hill, i think they should've made it part of NATO. Perplexity wasn't giving me the answer I was hoping for on why NATO shouldn't get involved.
It appears to be a long-term money grab in the future. i guess its time to consider auctioning them and getting real appraisals. It would be really bad to build a brand up only to have the price of the carpet ripped out under your feet being upgraded to a Persian rug. My relative's local restaurant .kitchen domain is a good example. Unless she becomes a successful food chain, thats not feasible if the domain ends up big bux down the road. From what I read, the new gTLD doesnt help SEO results anyway..

i've got a lot of posts to read here and looking forward to being surrounded by domain experts. thanks guys

 

[branding]

It would be really bad to build a brand up only to have the price of the carpet ripped out under your feet being upgraded to a Persian rug.

Basically the most important argument against using nGTLDs. They play by different rules.

 

[ryan87]

As a simple contact method for ICANN, perhaps an email [email protected] can help lead you in the right direction? Also, facebook/icann.org with a quick posting about that question might help?

Thanks. I used the email address you suggested to follow up. I also think I could have complained to the ICANN Ombuds since "delays" is one of the examples of ways the Ombuds can help participants, but I think it's fair to ask for someone to follow up first.

The auto-reply I got after submitting my complaint said:

Upon completing review of your submission, ICANN Contractual Compliance will send you a confirmation that your complaint is under process or will request any additional information or evidence needed to assess your complaint.

It linked to a page about the process which says the following for turnaround time:

ICANN Contractual Compliance staff strives to address new complaints within 3-5 business days of receipt.

To me that sounds like I should have gotten a response to tell me my complaint was being looked at about 5 business days after my submission.

 

[The Great Biz Bee]

just thought i'd share my official response from Google. The writing is on the wall, in a deceptive redrum font for the unknown TBD future. It makes sense to me now at least between the NamePros community feedback and answer from the registrar. When I hear people getting price jacked from $200 to $6000 thats really concerning if you're auto pay and not "paying" attention to emails! I paid $500 for one .wedding thinking i'd only have to pay $80 per year until death do us part lol..miss an email and $5000 later. I'm out a down payment on a new car. thats just nutz
"usually remains and seldom (sell?dom) increase" AND "no increase foreseen" <- beez nutz!

Thank you for contacting the Google Domains Support Team.

I understand you are concerned about the renewal for your premium domains DOMAINA.kitchen and DOMAINB.engineer. Premium domains price once set by the registry usually remains at the same price and seldom increases. We will be notified by the registry once it happens. This means the annual renewal fee for DOMAINA.Kitchen $220.00 and for DOMAINB.Engineer $110.00 excluding taxes. on your next annual renewal it will be the same price, no increase foreseen.

If you have other questions or if your concern was not answered to your satisfaction, feel free to contact us again.

 

[jmcc]

It is no use blaming the registrars for these redesignations and fee increases. The changes are outside their control. They are completely down to the registries and the contracts that they have with ICANN allow for the renewal fees to be changed like this. I'm not sure that ICANN would even consider this to be an ICANN problem and would probably redirect the complaint to the registry operator.

The .COM and .NET gTLDs don't have this type of instability so registrants with only legacy gTLD experience may be discovering a very unpleasant aspect of some new gTLDs. The general price stability of .COM, even though it has increased over the years, is a major factor in the acceptance of .COM as the top global gTLD. Many new gTLDs do not have such a large market with tens of millions of developed websites. If you are registering in new gTLDs, read the fine print.

Regards...jmcc

 

[ryan87]

They are completely down to the registries and the contracts that they have with ICANN allow for the renewal fees to be changed like this.

The registry agreement is very clear when it comes to renewal pricing of non-premium domains. Registrants are entitled to uniform pricing that's "exactly" the same as every other non-premium domain on the same gTLD.

I'm not sure that ICANN would even consider this to be an ICANN problem and would probably redirect the complaint to the registry operator.

What's the point of ICANN if they're not going to step in to stop a blatant violation of the registry agreement?

I'd be shocked if my issue isn't resolved. I'd also bet almost anything that it'll get resolved through the informal portion of the resolution process (emphasis added):

The Informal Resolution process allows ICANN's contractual compliance team to work closely with Registrars and Registries to help them understand their contractual obligations and overcome any contractual compliance challenges and issues they may have. ICANN attempts to resolve contractual compliance matters informally before pursuing formal remedies available under the agreements. ICANN does not provide details regarding contractual compliance activities in the informal resolution phase, in the interest of facilitating open dialogue and resolution.

Unless everyone at the registry is sleeping, they'll respond with "oops! Fixed it" and nothing will ever get to the point where there's a decent public record of the violations. That's why it's so important for registrars to build a record of incidents like this. No one will ever know how often it happens because no one is obligated to publish incident reports.

As registrants, we can't do much. The best we can do is loudly complain about being mistreated so the next person knows they aren't the first.

It's not super interesting, but I made charts of the pricing for my domain after the pricing classification changed. It fluctuated a couple of times. They're all USD prices from Namecheap.

 

[ryan87]

I saw someone mention .icu as a gTLD they weren't happy with in another thread. I have logs for the matching .icu of my domain, so I decided to look at them. I don't own this domain. Based on the quick parsing I did tonight...

• On Jul 21, 2021 it changed from non-premium to premium without becoming available first. In the past, they always showed as available for a day before becoming premium. However, I'm not sure if the registrar auctions have any impact on that. The Namecheap USD renewal price was $6.50 after it became premium.
• On Dec 26, 2021 it was available. Assuming it was dropped, this is an extra hint that Jul was during the registration period. It might have been reclassified from non-premium to premium based on my logs, but it got dropped, so the point is moot.
• On Dec 28, 2021 it became unavailable (registered I assume) with the renewal price still at $6.50.
• On Feb 2, 2023 the renewal price changed to $10.40.
• On Feb 10, 2023 it showed as non-premium for a single day. This might happen if the API query errors out, but I didn't dig into it for now.
• On Mar 18, 2023 it became available. Does dropping 80 days after expiration make sense?
• On Mar 29, 2023 it became unavailable (registered?). The renewal price was still $10.40.
• On Jun 22, 2023 it showed as non-premium for a single day (possibly a failed API query).
• On Nov 21, 2023 the renewal price changed to $15.60.
• On Feb 2, 2024 the renewal price changed to $747.50.
• It currently has a status of autoRenewPeriod at Alibaba Cloud Computing Ltd. with a renewal price of $747.50.

A 72x bump in price is pretty rough. I'm guessing it's getting dropped.

This means the annual renewal fee for DOMAINA.Kitchen $220.00 and for DOMAINB.Engineer $110.00 excluding taxes. on your next annual renewal it will be the same price, no increase foreseen.

I'll believe that when I see it written in a contract. I'm not sure why they'd be telling registrants that. They have have no control over it.

 

[jmcc]

The registry agreement is very clear when it comes to renewal pricing of non-premium domains. Registrants are entitled to uniform pricing that's "exactly" the same as every other non-premium domain on the same gTLD.

The problem seems to be the redesignation of a non-premium domain name as a premium domain name with a higher renewal fee. From the API logs mentioned above, it seems to have changed status. Establishing its status before the change (ideally just after registration) is important. If it was a premium that somehow got accidentally released, the registry could claim that it was an error.

What's the point of ICANN if they're not going to step in to stop a blatant violation of the registry agreement?

Is it? The new registry agreement gives the registries a lot more leeway on pricing and renewals than the older version used by .COM and .NET. The new agreement creates uncertainty for registrants. The idea of premiums being held back by the registries predates the new gTLDs (it started off with the .MOBI gTLD.) ICANN seems to be heavily lobbied by the registry operators and the registrars.

Some posters here had domain names taken back by the registries when some of the new gTLDs first launched. The registries claimed that the domain names were registry reserved but were allowed to be registered in error. If the registry does not admit it made a mistake then this is might be what the registry will claim. Make sure that you have copies of invoices if ICANN Compliance asks for documentation.

I'd be shocked if my issue isn't resolved. I'd also bet almost anything that it'll get resolved through the informal portion of the resolution process (emphasis added)

I hope it does get resolved but it would not be surprising to see ICANN try to shift it to the registry operator. There may be a bit of tooing and froing to get it resolved.

Regards...jmcc

 

[DNSSEC]

We need to create a list of bad registrars and registries. Prevent more people from getting hurt.
Domain name is a product that needs to be renewed for a long time, not a one-time permanent purchase, similar to a mobile phone number, can we suggest ICANN to specify basic binding terms to prevent the registry from infringing on the rights and interests of registrants such as skyrocketing prices?

 

[LoveCatchyDomains]

I saw someone mention .icu as a gTLD they weren't happy with in another thread. I have logs for the matching .icu of my domain, so I decided to look at them. I don't own this domain. Based on the quick parsing I did tonight...

• On Jul 21, 2021 it changed from non-premium to premium without becoming available first. In the past, they always showed as available for a day before becoming premium. However, I'm not sure if the registrar auctions have any impact on that. The Namecheap USD renewal price was $6.50 after it became premium.
• On Dec 26, 2021 it was available. Assuming it was dropped, this is an extra hint that Jul was during the registration period. It might have been reclassified from non-premium to premium based on my logs, but it got dropped, so the point is moot.
• On Dec 28, 2021 it became unavailable (registered I assume) with the renewal price still at $6.50.
• On Feb 2, 2023 the renewal price changed to $10.40.
• On Feb 10, 2023 it showed as non-premium for a single day. This might happen if the API query errors out, but I didn't dig into it for now.
• On Mar 18, 2023 it became available. Does dropping 80 days after expiration make sense?
• On Mar 29, 2023 it became unavailable (registered?). The renewal price was still $10.40.
• On Jun 22, 2023 it showed as non-premium for a single day (possibly a failed API query).
• On Nov 21, 2023 the renewal price changed to $15.60.
• On Feb 2, 2024 the renewal price changed to $747.50.
• It currently has a status of autoRenewPeriod at Alibaba Cloud Computing Ltd. with a renewal price of $747.50.

A 72x bump in price is pretty rough. I'm guessing it's getting dropped.



I'll believe that when I see it written in a contract. I'm not sure why they'd be telling registrants that. They have have no control over it.

Wow, great documentation, and a very concerning pattern.

Any further contact with ICANN? You may want to clarify if they unexpectedly closed your case?

 

[ryan87]

Wow, great documentation, and a very concerning pattern.

I finally went through all my logs for the other TLDs this weekend and, besides mine, .icu is the only other interesting one. Besides those, the worst thing I saw was a couple TLDs, out of about 320, where the renewal prices increased by a little over 2x.

The data was a pain to analyze because some TLDs would have the premium domain flip to non-premium for 1 day (while registered). That created a lot of false positives I had to throw out. Add in the odd failure for the whole day and about 700 partial failures and I had to clean up the data a fair bit before it was usable.

Besides my domain and the matching .icu, there was almost nothing noteworthy. Some domains flip from non-premium to premium, but not while they're registered. Mine is the only one.

The only interesting thing I saw from the whole data set was that it looked like one domain got changed from non-premium to premium the day after it expired, before any grace or redemption. I don't see any guidance in the ERRP for that scenario, so it would probably be hard to argue they're not allowed to do that. Don't let ngTLDs expire.

Any further contact with ICANN? You may want to clarify if they unexpectedly closed your case?

I emailed that general inquiries address and they responded fairly quickly with an email address for the compliance department. I emailed the compliance address on Apr 3, but haven't heard anything back yet.

 

[LoveCatchyDomains]

I finally went through all my logs for the other TLDs this weekend and, besides mine, .icu is the only other interesting one. Besides those, the worst thing I saw was a couple TLDs, out of about 320, where the renewal prices increased by a little over 2x.

Not bad overall. The doubling of the prices on a few is interesting.

The data was a pain to analyze because some TLDs would have the premium domain flip to non-premium for 1 day (while registered). That created a lot of false positives I had to throw out. Add in the odd failure for the whole day and about 700 partial failures and I had to clean up the data a fair bit before it was usable.

Besides my domain and the matching .icu, there was almost nothing noteworthy. Some domains flip from non-premium to premium, but not while they're registered. Mine is the only one.

Interesting phenomenon. The "reversible premium designation" metamorphosis?!

The only interesting thing I saw from the whole data set was that it looked like one domain got changed from non-premium to premium the day after it expired, before any grace or redemption. I don't see any guidance in the ERRP for that scenario, so it would probably be hard to argue they're not allowed to do that. Don't let ngTLDs expire.

Good pickup.

I emailed that general inquiries address and they responded fairly quickly with an email address for the compliance department. I emailed the compliance address on Apr 3, but haven't heard anything back yet.

So, still waiting....

 

[The Great Biz Bee]

is there really no way to lookup if a domain is Aftermarket Premium that will have a STATIC renewal price that the original owner bought in at and then reselling at a one time higher price vs a Registrar predefined high price and DYNAMIC 'scammy' high renewal cost for the Premium domain ?
This should be criminal.. I've been trying to hunt it down for mine. Of course I want to keep them if they are static. Would paying for domain tools or some other service help?

 

[ryan87]

is there really no way to lookup if a domain is Aftermarket Premium that will have a STATIC renewal price that the original owner bought in at and then reselling at a one time higher price vs a Registrar predefined high price and DYNAMIC 'scammy' high renewal cost for the Premium domain ?

It's not the registrars. Those are registry premium domains. The registries make that designation and set the prices. The registrars end up providing support to customers that are confused by the complex pricing and lack of rules.

I get your frustration, and it's something that's always annoyed me. Registrars sell both aftermarket premium and registry premium domains as premium domains, even though they could have two distinct classes for renewal pricing; uniform and non-uniform. I don't know if there's any value in labelling them differently though. In my opinion, both of them are complex products where it's "buyer beware".