Why Should You Have To Pay For Domain Names?

3 Responses to Why Should You Have To Pay For Domain Names?

1. Tracy L says:

   August 3, 2009 at 9:47 pm

   Think of a Domain name just like a DBA (doing business as) registration. Those cost money. All Domain names have to be on the ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers) registry. This allows names to be reserved and controlled so that no two are identical. With the number of domain names these days, that is a big task and a big big database.
   Resellers for ICANN have to meet certain standards and be able to submit the names into the database and be able to check all names before selling one to prevent duplications. There is also a certain amount of information that must be recorded and kept. It is a LONG and TECHNICAL process to become an approved registration company because of the complex situation and data interfaces required. If this did not occur, you wouldn’t have a unique domain and that would cause all sorts of issues.
   Names are sold to the end user from an authorized registrar who has met the qualifications and who has the servers and data to support the registrations. (Those aren’t cheap either). Names get resold for various amounts – $5-35 / year. Just use a low cost registrar and thank them for the job they do for you.! It really isn’t easy or cheap! They also have to pay for the ICANN fees from the amount they charge – its about $1/year/domain but it still has to be paid.
2. UnixSyst says:

   August 3, 2009 at 9:47 pm

   In the early 90′s when the value of domain names were unknown, you could have registered them for free.
   These days, I believe ICANN charges registrars a $6/domain fee, and they are certainly not getting them for free. The $6 is pretty much the minimum you can buy it for. As Tracy indicated, the work of a registrar is a rather complex process, so it’s best to negotiate a price with a reputable registrar if you are going to be buying domain names in bulk. Usually if you have 100 or so domains to register, they would be happy to give you a $7/domain price just to keep you renewing with them in future. This is a far cry from the $35/year we used to have to pay in the late 90′s. http://Unix-Systems.com
3. Snow says:

   August 3, 2009 at 9:47 pm

   Their paying for the rights to be the only one with that domain name.
   Simple economics – if someone will pay you for something, then you can sell it. People are willing to pay for domain names, therefore, other people are selling them.