Namecheap decided my domain was premium and my renewal is 500 usd now

[davidmt3]

Hello fellas,

I registered a domain more than a year ago. it was a domain with .sbs extension at a cheap price.

Now , namecheap wants me to renew the domain at a price of 499 USD. The domain has expired already. I have sent tickets, asked for live chat help and they only tell me they'll reach out to me asap.


These are the regular prices.

.sbs registration	$1.49 81% OFF$7.98	$15.96	$23.94	$31.92	$39.90
.sbs renewal	$8.98	$17.96	$26.94	$35.92	$44.90
.sbs transfer	$7.98

So, I am powerless since I was actively using such domain for networking and as a part of a my business. And it seems it will be gone and parked for the next 10 years (in the hopes someone buys it from them) because Namecheap deems it so.


Do you know if there is anything I could do about this domain without paying the 500 usd they have now asked me to pay?
TIA for your advice.

 

[lotk]

I honestly don't even know what the .sbs extension is but how far past renewal is it? Have you checked how much other registrars would cost to transfer? I know you mentioned you can't since it expired but maybe it is a registry change in price.

 

[Daniel Owens]

Hello fellas,

I registered a domain more than a year ago. it was a domain with .sbs extension at a cheap price.

Now , namecheap wants me to renew the domain at a price of 499 USD. The domain has expired already. I have sent tickets, asked for live chat help and they only tell me they'll reach out to me asap.


These are the regular prices.

.sbs registration	$1.49 81% OFF$7.98	$15.96	$23.94	$31.92	$39.90
.sbs renewal	$8.98	$17.96	$26.94	$35.92	$44.90
.sbs transfer	$7.98

So, I am powerless since I was actively using such domain for networking and as a part of a my business. And it seems it will be gone and parked for the next 10 years (in the hopes someone buys it from them) because Namecheap deems it so.


Do you know if there is anything I could do about this domain without paying the 500 usd they have now asked me to pay?
TIA for your advice.

Usually, people are notified in advance and given the chance to renew before expiry for the regular price before it becomes premium. If they didn't send you an email that said this domain will become premium on such date. Ask a lawyer if you can fight it and get it renewed for the standard like $9 renewal instead of $500. Also, the other issue is if the domain is in redemption it would be higher too. You better act fast!

 

[Future Sensors]

So, I am powerless since I was actively using such domain for networking and as a part of a my business.

One question, why did you let the domain expire?

 

[davidmt3]

They didn't send me a notification in advance, letting me know m ydomain would become premium on a given date. I just received the domain renewal invoice with 499 usd.

Letting it expire was a mistake, I didn't pay attention to some emails on time and missed the date to renew or transfer out. Stupid.

It seems i should just find a new domain and set a high priority to check some emails.

Between the abuse of namecheap, their lack of intelligent customer service and my own carelesness, this situation is doomed.

 

[Future Sensors]

In all fairness, this price increase is not Namecheap's fault. They are following pricing of the registry, ShortDot.

https://shortdot.bond/sbs/

And yes, such an increase doesn't feel good if the domain wasn't premium before. But I don't know if that's the case.

 

[Daniel Owens]

They didn't send me a notification in advance, letting me know m ydomain would become premium on a given date. I just received the domain renewal invoice with 499 usd.

Letting it expire was a mistake, I didn't pay attention to some emails on time and missed the date to renew or transfer out. Stupid.

It seems i should just find a new domain and set a high priority to check some emails.

Between the abuse of namecheap, their lack of intelligent customer service and my own carelesness, this situation is doomed.

My advice would be to spend $500 on a .com to use instead. You should be able to get a great .com for five hundred dollars for your business rather than waste it on a .sbs domain.

 

[davidmt3]

Yeah, it wasnt a premium domain when I bought it.

I appreciate your input. Thnks.

 

[Aibob]

Hello fellas,

I registered a domain more than a year ago. it was a domain with .sbs extension at a cheap price.

Now , namecheap wants me to renew the domain at a price of 499 USD. The domain has expired already. I have sent tickets, asked for live chat help and they only tell me they'll reach out to me asap.


These are the regular prices.

.sbs registration	$1.49 81% OFF$7.98	$15.96	$23.94	$31.92	$39.90
.sbs renewal	$8.98	$17.96	$26.94	$35.92	$44.90
.sbs transfer	$7.98

So, I am powerless since I was actively using such domain for networking and as a part of a my business. And it seems it will be gone and parked for the next 10 years (in the hopes someone buys it from them) because Namecheap deems it so.


Do you know if there is anything I could do about this domain without paying the 500 usd they have now asked me to pay?
TIA for your advice.

cant you just transfer it first? oh, nm...

 

[Future Sensors]

cant you just transfer it first? oh, nm...

That would not solve the problem of the high renewal price.

 

[davidmt3]

Well, after 3 weeks namecheap replied with a favorable decision and they allowed me to renew my domain at its regular price 7.80.

🤘 It turned out to have a happpy ending, I was surprised at the way namecheap handled things. 😁
Thank you all for your replies and help.