registries Verisign to increase .com prices

[Radu054]

Not sure if this was posted before, but I just received an email from Dynadot that .com prices might increase due to Verisign increasing registration and renewal prices to all registrars.

https://www.icann.org/public-comments/com-amendment-3-2020-01-03-en

The amendment states that the price charged by Verisign for registrars will be maximum $10.26 ( until 2026) - with current price being $7.85

How will this impact domaining?

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Related:

• https://www.internetcommerce.org/comment-com/

 

[ResoluteDomains]

does that not mean we can increase our selling price as well? We are thinking like pennypinching misers instead of economist.

Absolutely!

 

[DomainRecap]

Late-stage capitalism at its worst, where everyone is madly running around trying to steal that last dollar before these corporations inevitably dig their own graves.

I see this every single day in all business sectors and it's like one massive "feather your nest" apocalypse.

 

[BrandEntrance.com]

I wonder if there is any explanation for the increase other than greed. I don't buy into the "increasing operation costs" because as the number of domains goes up, the income goes up, even if the pricing stays the same.

Kinda like the oil industry. I bet they hate raising the price of oil!

 

[DomainRecap]

Versign executives need a quick influx of cash in order to buy their "Doomsday Bunkers" and "Private Islands" to keep the unwashed masses away once things turn really bad.

And I'm not joking.

 

[Daniel Owens]

I need renew soon then? When does price increase of .com start?

 

[mitch007]

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[Abraham Bar]

I feel the price raise is just another way to discourage domain investors from hoarding domains.

 

[Ryan3]

Does anyone have the direct email address for this?

Looks like it's this
[email protected]

I found this from NameBio showing a modal linking to this form
https://www.internetcommerce.org/comment-com/
Very comprehensive and easy to use.

Make sure to comment soon because according to ICANN comments close on 14 Feb 2020 23:59 UTC
https://www.icann.org/public-comments/com-amendment-3-2020-01-03-en

 

[DomainRecap]

Oh yeah and those "public comments" aren't just a sham, right?

I took a post-grad course that covered this, and it's clearly outlined as a public relations angle to "get people to think they have a voice" and "to blow off some steam", while then allowing the corporation to do whatever they had intended to do in the first place.

Look what happened with the .ORG price increases - 99%+ of the comments were against the price increases, yet they went through without a hitch and with ICANN/PIR contending that most were fake or auto-generated, neglecting of course the sheer number of non-profits who signed their name to the comments.

These "public comments" and "town hall meetings" are all a sham and nothing ever changes. Money talks and money walks, and unless there is a legal challenge, the price increases will arrive as expected.

We saw a clip on the NEB, a supposedly-independent organization that determines whether pipelines go through or not. At a townhall meeting the NEB reps were asked if they "ever said no to a pipeline". The NEB gentlemen paused, looked a bit shaken, and then said something like "Our job is to make sure pipelines go through, not to say no."

I observed one last year concerning a huge apartment building going up in the middle of a residential neighborhood - every zoning/parking/obstruction/roadway bylaw imaginable had to be changed and tons of politicians paid off (there were several "championing" the project), but every voice there was against it, from residents to city traffic to MPs to the mayor (who probably didn't get paid off) to environmental advocates.

I drove by yesterday and the monolith is about half-done. Oh, and two of the championing politicians divorced their wives, retired, and are now in the Caribbean on permanent vacations. A local newspaper even interviewed one.

 

[cipcip]

Fine for me

 

[Lox]

The price of a .com domain is set to rise, and some sellers aren't happy

The other issue is a change to the rules about vertical integration, specifically about what Verisign can and can't do with the domains it sells. ICANN wants to bring Verisign's rights broadly in line with other registrars, allowing the company to operate a TLD and act as registrar. Whereas before, the documentation said that Verisign couldn't compete at all, now the rule is to be shrunk to only apply to .com, and not .net or any other domains it offers.

read more (engadget)

 

[Yusupbabay]

Email from :
NameBright

The organizations which oversee .com pricing, ICANN and Verisign, are considering a plan to dramatically increase the cost of owning domain names.

If adopted, the price you pay for .COM domain names could increase 30% over the next 4 years, and even more thereafter.

If you oppose paying more to register and renew domain names, it is important that you share your opinion now during the public comment period, which ends soon.

Two easy ways to make sure your voice is heard are:

1. The Internet Commerce Association has made submitting comments easy at https://www.internetcommerce.org/comment-com/
2. Send an email directly to [email protected] with your thoughts on prices being raised.

If we act now, we can steer ICANN away from these unjustified price hikes. Thank you for your attention to this very urgent matter.

 

[Yusupbabay]

email I sent to :
[email protected]

 

[Priyansh]

Yes

 

[Kai W.]

I observed an interesting detail, but I have no evidence that this is related to the increase in COM prices: many of Verisign's old employees on LINKDEIN left last year.

 

[Sutruk]

Guys, I hope all of you comment against the increase of the .com Registry price.

At least if you don't want to pay more and more every year. If you don't comment, then don't complain later about the price increase.

https://www.internetcommerce.org/comment-com/

https://www.icann.org/public-comments/com-amendment-3-2020-01-03-en/mail_form

You just have to send an email to them.

And say that you are against the price increase.
I think this is the least we can do.

 

[Ryan3]

Please comment ASAP. They close tomorrow.

This helps you create a good comment.
https://www.internetcommerce.org/comment-com/

I have added two extra statements of my own in bold that you can also send.

I am a registrant of multiple .com domain names.
I am against the proposed price increase to .COM domains.
No one other than Verisign want increases in .COM prices.
The current rate of $7.85 is already far more than justified.
Verisign is merely your manager of the .COM Registry – it has no business dictating the price.
ICANN is supposed to govern the domain name system in the public interest.
Verisign already makes $1 billion in gross profit annually so the proposed .COM price increase is purely based on greed.
Other registries have said that they could run the .COM contract for much less.

 

[Ryan3]

Ask your friends to comment!
I asked a non-domainer friend (still a developer) and sent over my comment for him to copy and he did it!
Don't forget to tell them that comments close tomorrow.

 

[eternaldomains]

Just saw NP helping out as well (look for announcement at the top), thanks NP team!!!

Other registries have said that they could run the .COM contract for much less.

I'm wondering if its possible to initiate a lawsuit / class action lawsuit to prevent companies (like VRSN) and organizations (ike ICANN) from monopolizing (whatever they want to monopolize), or undo the evil policies that have been set......?

 

[Sutruk]

Verisign already makes $1 billion in gross profit annually so the proposed .COM price increase is purely based on greed.
Other registries have said that they could run the .COM contract for much less.

From https://investor.verisign.com/news-...ts-fourth-quarter-and-full-year-2018-results/

"For the year ended Dec. 31, 2018, Verisign reported revenue of $1.21 billion, up 4.3 percent from $1.17 billion in 2017. Verisign reported net income of $582 million and diluted EPS of $4.75 in 2018, compared to net income of $457 million and diluted EPS of $3.68 in 2017."

But they want more and more. Drunk of greed. They have the monopoly of the .com, but it's not enough to them.

I am sure there are many companies out there that would be quite happy to run the .com registry for less.

 

[Bob Hawkes]

The current wholesale (to registrar) cost of .com is $7.85 for registration or renewal. If we were to have 25 years of 7% pa increases, the wholesale cost for a .com registration would become $42.61 per year.

A domain investor with a 1% sell-through rate would need to increase prices per retail domain name sale by $3476 just to break even (compared to now) under this scenario. How will the retail market respond?

And the private equity group for .org are saying they will not increase .org by more than 10% per year. Currently the wholesale (to registrar) .org price for renewals is $9.93 ($7.93 registration). If we applied 25 years of 10% pa increases, that would become $107.59 at the end of the time period. Under the same 1% sell-through rates on average .org domain retail prices to end users would need to increase by $9766 per domain as a break even point.

I am definitely not saying every year will increase by these amounts, but it is important to realize what compounding will do.

Remember that the deadline is midnight UTC (note time zone) Feb 14 to get your comment in to ICANN re the proposed .com amended pricing.

It is encouraging to see so much of the domain industry working in concert on the pricing issue, with most registrars urging their clients to comment to ICANN. Make your voice heard.

Bob

 

[Bob Hawkes]

DNW just tweeted a link to this detailed brief on the .com price increases from Dechert LLP. Well worth reading for a detailed understanding of the issues involved, both in terms of the proposed price increases and other changes.

"The Internet community has rightly been concerned about the nature of ICANN’s relationship with Verisign for years now. As described above, Verisign’s control over the .COM gTLD gives it significant market power and leverage. Because of its legacy status and first-mover effects, .COM remains by far the most popular gTLD; it likely will continue to dominate the market for decades to come. And because Verisign’s domination of this critical resource will renew automatically for the foreseeable future, Verisign’s actions should be subject to heightened scrutiny. Instead, the proposed Amendment and accompanying LOI perversely grant Verisign more power with less oversight. "​

 

[Ryan3]

Here's Verisign (VRSN) on Yahoo Finance
https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/VRSN/financials?p=VRSN

You can see that their gross profit and net income both increased every year for the last 4 years while their total operating expenses have reduced each year for the last 3 years.
So they are already earning more while spending less before any price increases.

 

[CrazyOldGoat]

DNW just tweeted a link to this detailed brief on the .com price increases from Dechert LLP. Well worth reading for a detailed understanding of the issues involved, both in terms of the proposed price increases and other changes.

"The Internet community has rightly been concerned about the nature of ICANN’s relationship with Verisign for years now. As described above, Verisign’s control over the .COM gTLD gives it significant market power and leverage. Because of its legacy status and first-mover effects, .COM remains by far the most popular gTLD; it likely will continue to dominate the market for decades to come. And because Verisign’s domination of this critical resource will renew automatically for the foreseeable future, Verisign’s actions should be subject to heightened scrutiny. Instead, the proposed Amendment and accompanying LOI perversely grant Verisign more power with less oversight. "​

Honestly, we're lucky in a sense that .com hasn't significantly risen in price over time due to the market power and the demand for what is, by far, the most sought after and marketable domain extension in 99.9% of situations.

 

[Kai W.]

Guys, I hope all of you comment against the increase of the .com Registry price.

At least if you don't want to pay more and more every year. If you don't comment, then don't complain later about the price increase.

https://www.internetcommerce.org/comment-com/

https://www.icann.org/public-comments/com-amendment-3-2020-01-03-en/mail_form

You just have to send an email to them.

And say that you are against the price increase.
I think this is the least we can do.

agree,Please don't hesitate to let ICANN hear us.