Is this price a bit steep?

The_B_Man

Is €28 a year too expensive for a .com domain renewal??

I could've sworn when I got my first .com, it only cost like a fiver or something!! Is there a reason a renewal costs more?


Also, what if I do find a cheaper place to get a .com, can I transfer it, or do I have to let it expire, then buy it when it becomes available?

Thanks.

ressem

€28 is pricey for a .com renewal. I'm charged €11 and there is probably cheaper.
A lot of places will make renewal more expensive on the grounds that they don't think you'll switch.

You should transfer at least month or so before the domain expires.

Essentially you make any DNS changes before you start. (e.g. if you are also dropping web hosting or a mail service, change these records first)
contact the existing provider to get a transfer authorisation code, or contact them to get them to allow a transfer.
You then transfer with a new provider, providing them with the code.

The new crowd contact the existing provider, who in turn contacts you at your provided admin contact address. You confirm the transfer.

Most will have these steps in the faq. One thing to look out for is that some have lousy DNS controls, e.g. you have to email in DNS changes to them rather than making changes yourself on a control panel.

PeakOutput

around 14 dollars with go daddy and plenty of regular promotions that make it even cheaper

Sposs

That's way too expensive - shop around and you'll easily half that amount.

stelydave

Namecheap or Irish based Blacknight seem to be about the best in price/reputation...

http://www.blacknight.com/domains.html

https://www.namecheap.com/

No affiliation here, have used namecheap and have heard many others recommending BN, so will prob eventually switch mine there too.

The_B_Man

Thanks for the advice folks. I new it seemed a bit steep!

Just looking on that namecheap site. Its less than $3 for a new domain, but nearly $9 for a transfer!

Also, I'm just thinking, when I got the web hosting, the host registered my domain too. The letter I got in the post today wasnt from that company, it was from what seems like an American company with a base in London. The first time I've ever heard of this company was when I opened the letter. Weird!

But do I contact the hosting company who I bought the webspace off about transferring, or this new company who I've never had any prior contact with?

ressem

You can do a whois to find the company whose nameservers manage your domain, and the current registrar.
http://www.networksolutions.com/whois/index.jsp

You should try going through the hosting company that you went through originally; failing that, confirm with them that the new company is associated and not a scam.

daymobrew

The_B_Man wrote: »

Also, I'm just thinking, when I got the web hosting, the host registered my domain too. The letter I got in the post today wasnt from that company, it was from what seems like an American company with a base in London. The first time I've ever heard of this company was when I opened the letter. Weird!

But do I contact the hosting company who I bought the webspace off about transferring, or this new company who I've never had any prior contact with?

That letter sounds suspicious. I would stick with a company that you know about and trust.

I bought a .com from an Irish host today for 7.25 inclusive of VAT. They were mentioned earlier in the thread. I have all my sites with them.

Eoin

I got one of those letters as well for a .com that I manage. The wording was quite clever as it implied that they were my current registrar and that I needed to renew it, but obviously they just want me to transfer the domain to them for a ridiculous annual fee.

professore

It depends. If going somewhere else involves significant downtime which costs you time and/or money then $28 compared to Free is worth it. If it's just a hobby site then sure it's too expensive.

The_B_Man

Eoin wrote: »

I got one of those letters as well for a .com that I manage. The wording was quite clever as it implied that they were my current registrar and that I needed to renew it, but obviously they just want me to transfer the domain to them for a ridiculous annual fee.

Good call. I read over it again carefully and they're just some unrelated company trying to get me to switch! Cnuts!

Serves me right though, for not reading it carefully enough! Lucky I didnt pay them! I'll just wait til I find out what my current provider wants to charge me!

MOH

The_B_Man wrote: »

Good call. I read over it again carefully and they're just some unrelated company trying to get me to switch! Cnuts!

Serves me right though, for not reading it carefully enough! Lucky I didnt pay them! I'll just wait til I find out what my current provider wants to charge me!

I get letters from those fraudsters every year. I'd say a lot of people get caught out by them.

Second vote for namecheap btw.

The_B_Man

Well I'll wait til digiweb quotes me their price first. Hopefully it'll be cheap enough.

Eoin

Their registration price for a .com is 6.99; I can't imagine their renewal prices being much more: http://hosting.digiweb.ie/domains/