SCAM ALERT!! THE NEW G'S

[Internet.Domains]

With the recent news of some domain extensions increasing yearly registration renewals nearly 3000%, are the New G's a scam? Do the Registrars that sell the domains of the Registries have obligations to protect the consumer against these type of dramatic price increases?.......These and many other questions should be reviewed as the New G program continues.

 

[Traveler]

I don't think they are a scam, just not well thought out from the very beginning. It is easy to see now in hindsight that some safeguards should have been put in place to prevent something like a 3000% increase from happening.

 

[Internet.Domains]

I don't think they are a scam, just not well thought out from the very beginning. It is easy to see now in hindsight that some safeguards should have been put in place to prevent something like a 3000% increase from happening.

The fact is, there is NO safeguard, but the registrars should put one in place.

 

[Casey L]

Not a scam, just a business model aimed to prey on uneducated investors that has proven valueless to end users

 

[Internet.Domains]

Not a scam, just a business model aimed to prey on uneducated investors that has proven valueless to end users

Sounds like you believe it's a scam, without calling it one.....

 

[MapleDots]

Not a scam, just a business model aimed to prey on uneducated investors that has proven valueless to end users

On one side I agree with you whole heartily.

On the other I can't imagine that domainers where foremost on their mind. If just one domain like fast.cars is used and the cost is $2,888.88 per year (actual fact) it might still be worth it if I had a race car betting site or something. For a successful site it might be worth it to get a cherry domain.

Don't get me wrong, I hate the idea and I have been vocal against it but in some rare cases those domains may still be a bargain compared to a .com sale of fastcars.com for a crazy amount 100k+

Just saying (playing both sides here)

 

[Traveler]

On one side I agree with you whole heartily.

On the other I can't imagine that domainers where foremost on their mind. If just one domain like fast.cars is used and the cost is $2,888.88 per year (actual fact) it might still be worth it if I had a race car betting site or something. For a successful site it might be worth it to get a cherry domain.

Don't get me wrong, I hate the idea and I have been vocal against it but in some rare cases those domains may still be a bargain compared to a .com sale of fastcars.com for a crazy amount 100k+

Just saying (playing both sides here)

You make a good point, but that $2,888.88 renewal could increase by whatever amount Uniregsitry sees fit.

 

[garptrader]

The big selling points of new TLDs were keyword availability and much lower prices than a comparable .COM. Well, with domain investors holding 20+ million new TLDs, keyword availability is history. How about price? The best keywords either have premium prices, premium renewals or are held by an investor who wants five figures for their .XYZ. While Google probably pays ~$10-$15 for Google.com, what is to keep the XYZ registry from boosting the ABC.XYZ renewal to $1 million annually? A successful business brands on one of these new extensions and then they are gouged with a huge renewal bill. Or a domain investor thinks they found a good keyword combination which is reasonably priced and then the registry changes the pricing so they are forced to drop the domain and lose 100% of what they invested in it including any acquisition cost. Sound like a good deal?

 

[shayan]

Increasing costs are not indicative of a company scamming you. That's not what defines a scam. You should also understand that the contract you sign upon registration accepts changes within the cost structure.

 

[Internet.Domains]

Increasing costs are not indicative of a company scamming you. That's not what defines a scam. You should also understand that the contract you sign upon registration accepts changes within the cost structure.

scam
skam/
noun
informal
noun: scam; plural noun: scams

1. 1.
   a dishonest scheme; a fraud.
   "an insurance scam"
   synonyms: fraud, swindle, fraudulent scheme, racket, trick; More
   pharming;
   informalcon, hustle, flimflam, bunco, grift, gyp, shakedown
   "the scam involved a series of bogus investment deals"

verb
verb: scam; 3rd person present: scams; past tense: scammed; past participle: scammed; gerund or present participle: scamming

1. 1.
   swindle.
   "a guy that scams the elderly out of their savings"
   synonyms: swindle, cheat, deceive, trick, dupe, hoodwink, double-cross, gull; More
   informalrip off, con, fleece, shaft, hose, sting, bilk, diddle, rook, gyp, finagle, bamboozle, flimflam, put one over on, pull a fast one on, sucker, stiff, shake down, hornswoggle
   "he was trying to scam residents with phony insurance policies"

Origin
1960s: of unknown origin.

 

[Kate]

Extortion too: increasing costs for TM holders. TMCH is just another way of extracting money out of TM holders.

 

[Domains - Wanted]

Nope! No scam if it's acceptable under respective registry's TOS, which a registrant had agreed to. Even if he/she hadn't bothered to read or understand the implications of said TOS.

 

[Tia Wood]

I don't think it's a scam. I do, however, think it's a marketing nightmare.

 

[NigelD]

I think we need a third option there. The new Gtlds are legal so they're not a scam in that sense. But clear that some operators will operate in a disreputable way - hiking renewal fees after clients have started building out sites, and maybe after they've paid a premium price for the domain. Bit like spending a lot of money on a nice holiday lodge on a leasehold site and they increase your annual rental from $1000 to $10000 overnight. What do you do? You lose if you leave and lose if you stay

 

[Domains - Wanted]

...What do you do? You lose if you leave and lose if you stay

You don't start with new gTLD's! That's what you do.

I agree with @tiawood that this is a marketing nightmare. More like idiocy, IMO. This will have repercussions on all new gTLD's registries. If this news gets wider coverage, end users thinking of setting up in these "new territories" will run back to .COM's, resulting in domainers' new gTLD's sales drying up. This will dampen interest in investing and holding new gTLD's. Not all new gTLD's are created equal, so some will fare better than others. Interesting times ahead...

 

[FNet]

I find this 3000% a bit misleading. Maybe I m wrong. But I didn t met anywhere a price renewal price to raise x 30. Maybe it is referring for sites that sold for pennies on promotional ( less than a dollar) and now they are asking for thirty USD renewal fee?
While increasing the fees without warning is not a scam, it is a very bad businesses practice that will lead the company-registry out of the market in the long run. And yes, a jury can decide against and convict the act as a scam if a company has already used a site and must pay irrational fees or else lose its goodwill by changing domain name.
Please don t turn this into a discussion of how "good" a dotcom option is and how a company must pay six figures from start. A company has the option to buy a legacy notdotcom domain or a general cctld (eg me,io,co)

 

[ikhub]

Will not label all Gtlds as scam, but actions of some registries are obviously unethical and considered a scam in certain parts of the globe. Just because I agreed to the agreement does not entitle anyone to exhort anyone (is considered unlawful in many countries).

 

[Name Trader]

Increasing costs are not indicative of a company scamming you. That's not what defines a scam. You should also understand that the contract you sign upon registration accepts changes within the cost structure.

I never signed no contract

 

[Domains - Wanted]

I never signed no contract

Yes you did, if you registered any domains!

 

[Internet.Domains]

Yes you did, if you registered any domains!

Regardless of a contract, there is a certain expectation in business that price increases for a product or service will not near 3000%....It is very rare for any product or service to see these types of increases, without being called fraudulent.

 

[betthelot]

Is it legal? Yes
Is it extortion? yes

Legalised Extortion - the oppressive mis use of power to gain money or assets.

 

[Internet.Domains]

Is it legal? Yes
Is it extortion? yes

Legalised Extortion - the oppressive mis use of power to gain money or assets.

Actually, it may not be legal. Yes, ICANN allows it, but consumer protection laws have yet to decide on this issue.

 

[betthelot]

consumer protection laws

Do they have such things in the Caymen Islands?
You maybe right but no one will care enough to pursue, its the perfect crime!

 

[Internet.Domains]

Do they have such things in the Caymen Islands?
You maybe right but no one will care enough to pursue, its the perfect crime!

If a business in the Caymen Islands is doing business in the U.S, it is subject to U.S laws. This issue may absolutely be challenged, possibly through class action.

 

[betthelot]

If a business in the Caymen Islands is doing business in the U.S, it is subject to U.S laws. This issue may absolutely be challenged, possibly through class action.

Cant see it, no terms of contract have been broken. When you purchase you only commit to one or two years at that price. You have no rights to the third year and fourth year. The contract then changes the price and you have a choice to rent for another year.
Its the perfect bait and switch scheme - immoral yes illegal no