.tv Is eNom/.tv corp breaking the competition law?

[qO_Op]

Premium names purchased at eNom are not allowed to be transferred to any other registrar, likewise with premium names purchased elsewhere such as Dynadot, Name, etc. Therefore all customers are forced to pay whatever the standard renewal fee is at that registrar. eNom charge more than double what it costs elsewhere ($49.95) in some cases for a .tv renewal. The best price being $20.99!
Is this fair business practise? Is it in line with competition laws? I am not allowed to shop around for the best price so I am forced to pay whatever they want otherwise I lose my domain name, it just doesn't sound right to me!

How do eNom justify charging such a high price anyway? Are they basically just ripping their customers off or is there a reason to charge double?

 

[SKG]

Antitrust?

 

[DU]

Signed contract?

ENOM has a rule that says they will not compete with their resellers - it is not intended to be a domain registration service in the same way GoDaddy is. You can get a better renewal at Enom.TV (you can transfer a premium as they have same base registry). It was $29.99 last time I checked.

 

[qO_Op]

Signed contract?

ENOM has a rule that says they will not compete with their resellers - it is not intended to be a domain registration service in the same way GoDaddy is. You can get a better renewal at Enom.TV (you can transfer a premium as they have same base registry). It was $29.99 last time I checked.

I tried it says "Canceled - Cannot transfer premium name".

Looks like I'm stuck paying $49.95 or whatever they want to charge.

Thanks for trying to help anyway!

 

[MicroGuy]

How do eNom justify charging such a high price anyway? Are they basically just ripping their customers off or is there a reason to charge double?

eNom has a team that sits around figuring out how to maximize revenue and growth.

They're primary objective is to make as much money as possible. What would be interesting is how many of these team members own .TV domains. To the best of my knowledge their leader has "seen the writing on the wall" and turned bear on the TLD.

This could be due to the tangled legal web that accompanies the extension. What happens if the king of Tuvalu takes back the extension and/or sues Verisign as he has threatened to do on more than one occasion? The best advice is probably to avoid the extension altogether or at a minimum put a fixed time limit of 12 months or less on your plans for returns.

If you don't see a growing revenue line after a few months, you need to consider an exit strategy much like eNom did a couple of years back. But that's another thread.

 

[DU]

I tried it says "Canceled - Cannot transfer premium name".

Looks like I'm stuck paying $49.95 or whatever they want to charge.

Thanks for trying to help anyway!

It's an account transfer (internal) not a domain transfer (external).

You should be able to just do a push.

---------- Post added at 01:35 AM ---------- Previous post was at 01:18 AM ----------

eNom has a team that sits around figuring out how to maximize revenue and growth.

They're primary objective is to make as much money as possible. What would be interesting is how many of these team members own .TV domains. To the best of my knowledge their leader has "seen the writing on the wall" and turned bear on the TLD.

This could be due to the tangled legal web that accompanies the extension. What happens if the king of Tuvalu takes back the extension and/or sues Verisign as he has threatened to do on more than one occasion? The best advice is probably to avoid the extension altogether or at a minimum put a fixed time limit of 12 months or less on your plans for returns.

If you don't see a growing revenue line after a few months, you need to consider an exit strategy much like eNom did a couple of years back. But that's another thread.

ENOM had an exit strategy? I think they were told not to let the door hit them on the way out

 

[qO_Op]

It's an account transfer (internal) not a domain transfer (external).

You should be able to just do a push.

That's some good thinking there Batman. Thanks a lot!

 

[SKG]

The issue I have with this whole set-up is that by saying one cannot move a onetime premium out of whereever the domain was purchased is in my opinion holding the domainer holder hostage to whatever renewal rate the registrar feels like charging. You cannot shop around. In the case of a premium renewal you know what you are committing to pay each year unless you miss a renewal.

When you buy a domain, ie a .com let's say from BuyDomains.com you receive a login and account at whatever partner BuyDomains is associated with for that domain. Sometimes renewals are the going rate while other times you see a 26 dollar .com renewal coming and you then can transfer the domain out to a registrar that is offering a rate you are happy with. To me, if the one time premium is paid, isn't that enough?

My understanding of antitrust, and I am no lawyer, not even by a stretch, is that you cannot restrain free trade or hold a monopoly.

 

[mwzd]

I'm quite sure that name.com said you would be able to transfer premium regs but I can't find that particular email now or maybe this was conveyed verbally when I called them last year.

Name.com is $35/yr, not that I mind paying that for media or munich. :p

I tried to transfer munich to godaddy and got this:

Transfer Request Failed for MUNICH.TV

Dear ***,

Your request to transfer the domain name MUNICH.TV has failed for the following reason(s):

The registry rejected the transfer request due to an ineligible domain status.

Your transfer request will remain active in our system for 30 days, after which time it will expire.

Great, so I get my money back after 30 days too. :D

 

[DU]

Great, so I get my money back after 30 days too. :D

Have them cancel the request. You'll get your money in FIVE!

 

[mwzd]

Hmm, thanks, time to contact my account manager, being a VIP at godaddy does have some privileges. :D

Bummer though, about this premium lock, while the money can be overlooked, the lack of freedom is irritating.

So now you have to take a subset of tv buyers and further fragment to those who don't mind keeping the domain at that particular registrar, am so glad I didn't buy any premium at just about any registrar, name.com is still decent.

 

[jwdomain]

This could be due to the tangled legal web that accompanies the extension. What happens if the king of Tuvalu takes back the extension and/or sues Verisign as he has threatened to do on more than one occasion? The best advice is probably to avoid the extension altogether or at a minimum put a fixed time limit of 12 months or less on your plans for returns.

I dont know if you're kidding or just misinformed. Queen Elizabeth II is Tuvalu's head of state. I think you mean the Governor General who is recommended to the Queen by Tuvalu's Prime Minister. Even so, i believe head of state issues such as suing Verisign on behalf of the Queen have to go thru or come out of "Her Majesty in Council" based in London UK.