The facts about cheap domains

[B33R]

I found this article on Dynadot last week and just got permission to republish it so here it is.
Think about this next time you try and find ultra cheap domain registrations.


Domain Name Cost Breakdown

by: Dynadot Staff of Dynadot LLC
date: 2006/1/5
source: http://www.dynadot.com/resource/article/qa.html?qa_id=2


Domain name prices have plummeted in recent years. When domain names first became available to the public back in 1995, they cost $70 for a two-year registration. Since then the average price paid for a domain name has steadily declined. These days paying more than $10 a year is considered expensive.

In the last year or so, some hosting companies have started selling domain names for $3-$5 dollars a year. They lose money on each domain name, but make up the difference with customers that later buy hosting from them. Domain names become a “loss leader” for them.

There is always catch when you buy a domain name (or anything) for below cost. Some of the common situations are:

• You can only buy a very limited number of domains at the below cost price. After that you pay regular price.
• You have to pay very high renewal fees.
• You have to buy hosting to get the low price.
• The below cost price is for a limited time only, after which the prices will increase.
• Only the first few hundred customers get the low price.
• Often the domain control panel is inferior, because most of these companies do not specialize in domain names.

Remember, you get what you pay for, and there is no such thing as a free lunch, no matter what their marketing department tells you. Always read the fine print.

Here at Dynadot, we believe in charging a low price for an excellent service. At $7.99 a domain (same price for renewals), we offer one of the lowest prices in the industry. Furthermore, we specialize in domain names, and have top notch customer service and control panels as well. We believe in running an open and honest business - no catches, gotchas or gimmicks. What you see is what you get.

We charge you $7.99 for a dot com domain registration. Our costs are as follows:

$6.00 registry fee paid to Verisign, the central registry
$0.50 credit card processing fee
$0.25 ICANN transaction fee
$?.?? Office rent, employee salary, advertising, government taxes, hosting fees, computer equipment, software, utilities, insurance, fraud, legal fees, etc.

As you can see, we make less than $1 profit for each domain name we register. With over 450 accredited registrars, the competition is fierce. We survive by cutting costs to the bone, and registering lots of domains for lots of people. It’s a great deal for our customers.

.

 

[UD]

I say go big and support them. Dynadot.com has been exceptional in all areas to my company. With the new push feature I see them being forefront. The only thing they need is all the cctld's .