Here is a brilliant question we received recently, which I think is worth publishing, especially as our target market is end-users, who may not be too familiar with how domains work.
Question:
“If I buy a premium domain name for say $1,000, I am aware that the ownership of that domain is now transferred to me. However, upon renewing the domain for future years, would it cost the normal $10-20 or would I have to pay the premium price of $1,000 per year to keep ownership?”
No. It would cost only the regular low renewal fee. When you buy a premium domain name on the domain aftermarket, the premium price you pay is one-off. However, you will need to pay your domain registrar an annual renewal fee in order to keep the domain name registered to you. To renew the domain name each year, you will simply pay the renewal fee that your current domain registrar charges, which is an average of $10 for a .Com domain. Some domain registrars will even give you further discounts if you choose to renew for multiple years. Look at it this way: You would then pay annual vehicle/road tax of let’s say $150 each year to the government. Here in the UK, if you don’t pay your annual vehicle tax, the Driving and Vehicle Licensing Agency have the legal authority to take your car off the road and crush it. It’s the same with domain names. If you don’t pay the annual renewal fee to your domain registrar, you will loose the domain name.
It’s like buying a car for $10,000. That’s the upfront cost.
