The cost to register and renew .COM domains is very likely going up…but it probably won’t make much of a difference to most people

In case you haven’t been following the incredibly boring world of big companies working out agreements with the US Department of Commerce, here’s the skinny.

Verisign, the company that currently runs .COM has been working on inking a deal that could allow them to increase prices by 7%. They have approved from the US Department of Commerce but in order to get the deal done they need sign off from ICANN.

The good news for Verisign here is that ICANN wants to distance themselves from regulating domain pricing…which means, if it was already approved by the DOC, they’re likely going to defer to them.

Now before you get too upset, the reality is we’re talking 7% over the next four to six years which means very little impact to most people. If you own thousands or tens of thousands of domains you’ll feel a bit of a sting but if you own hundreds of domains it’s honestly not going to impact you very much.

Let’s do the math here. Let’s suppose you own around 500 .COM domains, and you’re going to renew every single one next year. If your current renewal price is $9.99, your new renewal price will be $10.69. So rather than spending $4,995 to renew your domains you’ll now be spending $5,345. That’s an extra $350.

While I know nobody wants to spend an extra $350/year I don’t think it’s going to break the bank for someone that owns 500 domains, nor will it for. someone that owns 1,000.

Now once you’re at 5,000 domains, an extra $3,500/year might sting a bit but I sure hope you’re making quite a bit of money if you own 5,000 domains in which case, it’s all relative and that $3,500 should feel like the $350 does to the person who owns 500 domains.

Of course I know what you’re going to say now. Why the heck should these big companies continue to take money off of normal people for no additional value add? I don’t have a good answer for you there and like everyone I’d love to see things get cheaper, not more expensive. That being said my point is, unless you have thousands or tens of thousands of domains, it’s not really worth getting too upset about because the impact is pretty minimal.

Well that’s my two cents. What do you think? I want to hear from you, comment and let your voice be heard!

Morgan Linton

Morgan Linton