Where is the cheapest place to register a single domain?

I've used 1coms.com, they only charge $15 thru paypal and $12 without. I was wondering anyones that you may use that is even cheaper than that. I don't wank bulk registration though.

 

try powerpipe.com $7.99

 

how do they stay in business?

The registry sells for $6........that's a 2 dollar margin??????

 

[Omni]

Volume comes to mind

 

[Omni]

Ignore the last post, should have read the title twice. What about namecheap.com? (don't know much)

 

Originally posted by Omni
Volume comes to mind

Once you take away the credit card processing fees and system overhead, these guys are giving domains away.

It will be interesting to see how many survive once their investment capital dries out.

-t

 

[mole]

I agree with thewitt. I don't want a registrar bleed to death by promising the sky and earth and then go bankrupt and leave my domains in the lurch.

As a standard policy, I religiously pay $29 to eNom for each year of registration in hope that others will think the same to preserve the survival of a registrar in the mid-long term.

 

[Marty]

I agree both with thewitt and mole,

You guys just forgot to mention those cheap upstart registrars who have been in business less than a year and deletions has not yet started. Registrar renewal rates are not high these days and it will affect them sooner then they think. It is better to go with a registrar who has been in business for a while, even if you pay a buck more.

 

[dotsofdomains]

eNom at $29 or an eNom reseller at $8. Hmmm. Registering at either boosts eNom's chances of survival. My money goes to the reseller (3 1/2 times as often, too).

--dod

 

[sgopalam]

What happens to the registered domains if the registrar goes out of business?

 

[dotsofdomains]

Great question. Let's all investigate the fine print of the various "terms of use" out there. I am sure that eNom, for example, would not abandon a registrant who worked with one of its resellers that decides to get out of business. This should be a new thread.

--dod

 

Remember that resellers do not have an agreement with the registry, only registrars do - so if a reseller goes out of business your domain is still under the control of the registrar and is quite safe. Most resellers who have any sort of portfolio can sell them before they go under - not uncommon, and in fact we deal with resellers regularly who want to sell their domain "properties."

If a registrar goes under, the registry takes control of the domains. The same lessons as above apply though - the registrar will more than likely be able to sell all their domain properties to another registrar before going completely under. If for some reason they were not able to do so, your domains would be safe at the registry and would most likely be offered (read sold) to another registrar.

-t

 

[sgopalam]

So, the end cutomers do not lose their domains, but pay more fee?

 

The fee the customer pays in the end would be dependant on what the new reseller/registrar wanted to change. You would always be able to transfer of course.

The real problem here as I see it is as the domain reseller/registrar is going out of business, there are certainly a number of domains that will be lost in the process. Renewals will probably fail as systems fall into disservice - whois services will stop working - nameservers will not be able to be set, etc.

As the registrar who cannot afford to keep his business running slowly dies, some are likely to suffer...

-t

 

[dotsofdomains]

Don't act like scared chickens. As long as your e-mail address is still good, you can move that domain around at will. NO ACTIVE RESPONSE is necessary to take a domain away from most registrars (and if you are with one of those charging fees to transfer away--transfer NOW rather than later) (unless the domain sucks, of course).

So, if your registrar dies a quiet or not so quiet death (and is not one of the sub-standard fee-charging out-transfer p.o.s. registrars, you can move a domain out, without a problem.

Don't go daddy.

 

Actually, the losing registrar's system has to interact with the transfer. Many auto-ack per ICANN guidelines, however the ack is still required. If the registrar's system is idle, your domain will be stuck.

-t

 

[dotsofdomains]

I am talking about the demise of a reseller of a well-heeled ICANN operation. If an eNOM reseller disappears into the ether, eNOM, which has always been there, is still there.

Where are the eNom resellers? Chime in boyz and gurlz. Reassure your customers!!!

 

No one has disagreed with this.

If you'll re-read my post more carefully, I stated that if a reseller goes away, you are in no real danger since the contract with the registry is with the registrar anyway, and not the reseller. As a reseller, you are simply a representative the the registrar. The registrar's systems are where the domain lives - not the resellers.

The only thing you risk if your reseller goes away are reseller specific add-on services and the price you are getting from your reseller. In this case eNom could choose to manage your domains directly since they offer a retail service - or they could sell or give your domains to another reseller. I've not read their TOS regarding how they dispose of domains for resellers who disappear. I'm sure it happens.

-t

 

[dotsofdomains]

-t

I follow you now. Your statement that

"The real problem here as I see it is as the domain reseller/registrar is going out of business, there are certainly a number of domains that will be lost in the process."

lumped the resellers together with the registrars. I agree that as long as the registrar is sound, the resellers of said services can come and go.

Consequently, I see little downside in paying $8 for an eNom registration through a reseller rather than giving eNom $29 directly.

Thanks again for your insights.

 

Sorry for the confusion in that statement.

The reason I lumped resellers in with registrars in that vein is based on a personal experience, where a reseller effectively went away by no longer answering email and phone calls, and the registrar was not helpful in either renewing the domain or allowing it to be transferred away.

The reseller was still officially in business, however he was not responsive (has since taken down his website).

The domain expired, though it did not drop before we were able to get it renewed - at a very expensive rate directly with the registrar - and ultimately transferred. It was not a straightforward process by any stretch of the imagination.

There was a snapback on this domain, and had it dropped, it surely would have been lost to my customer. We only managed to renew it within a few days of it actually dropping, and this only after threats of legal action against the registrar if he allowed the name to drop.

-t