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Ask HN: Are Premium Domains a Scam? Getting charged $800/domain :(

3 points by MarcelOlsz ↗ HN
I bought two "premium" domains standup.tech and saving.cash a year ago. They are due for renewal but are $800/pop.

I found some random registrar called bluehost and they said if I transfer these to my account with Bluehost, they will only be $49.99/year to renew.

Anyone know how I can get around this crazy fee? Is it set by Namecheap or the registry itself?

13 comments

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LinuxBender
Are Premium Domains a Scam?

In my opinion, yes. It also depends on what that means. Squatters / Botters pick up short domain names and then sit on them until someone buys them. Short common names can also go for a lot. This is due to the ease of use on radio and television marketing. If I say "cars.com" it is hard to get that wrong. This is entirely up to the registrar or owner that holds the domain. Registrars pay very tiny registration fees to ICANN for a domain regardless of what TLD or apex name it uses.

MarcelOlsz
Doesn't really help me no offense. Trying to find out how/who to transfer these domains too and if it's possible to avoid paying $800/year to name cheap. Do you know any providers or if this is possible, concretely? I cannot find any information one way or the other.
LinuxBender
I think the best you could do would be to get Namecheap on the phone and ask them what they can do. This is not a regulatory issue, but rather a business negotiation. The registrar will accept whatever they can get out of someone for a domain. You could try talking to a few registrars and see if they can help you out. Provided you have the unlock code, it's up to the registrar to accept the transfer and agree to accept a payment for the domain. I don't really have a better answer. Perhaps someone else here does.
MarcelOlsz
After some more digging it looks like prices are set up by some "registry" that the registrar has no control over, so it'll be the same price everywhere. I don't think what you wrote is correct.
LinuxBender
What is this registry?
MarcelOlsz
I think ICANN?
LinuxBender
That is unlikely. ICANN has set fees per TLD that are very low. The registrars are the companies that jack up the prices. You should make them provide you a source for who is setting this price. I think they are pulling your leg.
detaro
If a registry wants high prices for it's "premium domains" (whatever it defines as such) on one of its TLDs, the registrar can't magically charge you less unless they are willing to make a loss on you. ICANN doesn't really restrict the pricing the registry chooses for this class of TLDs (afaik the contracts for older ones like .com/.org/.net have such limits, but not the new gTLDs, there the registry can do pretty much whatever if wants).
detaro
The owner of the top-level domain. With the new gTLDs that got sold they are quite free in coming up with their own pricing models.
aritmo
You should have avoided Namecheap and their "premium" domains. The "premium" is a made-up term in order to milk customers of their lovely $$$. They put ad hoc restrictions on selected domains, and these may include unreasonable fees for things like renewals or even transfers to other registrars.

If you bought the domain from another registrar, you would have paid retail price.

Read the comments at https://www.namecheap.com/support/knowledgebase/article.aspx...

MarcelOlsz
Namecheap said "The domains are marked as premium on Registry level (this is not done by a Registrar company such as Namecheap). The price is also established by the Registry and may vary only slightly depending on the Registrar you choose." so it looks like its not up to them?
akor
I also own a "premium" domain and IMHO what Namecheap said is correct. I originally purchased on Namecheap but then moved to NameSilo because it was $15-20 cheaper (approx $60 otherwise). For example NameSilo lists standup.tech as $640.
MarcelOlsz
So these "premium domains" always renew at $640? No way am I using this name then. Going to have to let both of these go.