When I bought a handful of .XYZ domain names, I had a look at the list of premium .XYZ domain namesย to ensure I wasn’t going to face the decision of paying a high transfer/renewal fee or losing my initial acquisition investment. Domain investors who buy non .com domain names that aren’t ccTLDs or legacy extensions need to be mindful of the potential landmine that are premium renewal fees.
Marc Kohlbrugge shared a warning on Twitter after he purchased a domain name for $5,000 that had a $55,000 annual renewal cost:
Accidentally bought a domain name with a $55,000/year renewal feeโฆ pic.twitter.com/E9Osp5FCHY
โ marckohlbrugge.eth (๐,๐) (@marckohlbrugge) January 1, 2022
Marc disclosed that he anticipated a higher than usual renewal fee but was surprised that the cost was $55,000:
I paid $5,000. Couldn’t find the renewal fee, but figured it would be like $1,000/year max. Never seen a $55k renewal fee before ๐
โ marckohlbrugge.eth (๐,๐) (@marckohlbrugge) January 1, 2022
I am not sure what registries beyond .XYZ have lists of their premium domain names and their individual renewal fees. I believe people may be able to check the annual renewal fee by initiating a transfer to their domain registrar. This is not necessarily the best way to do it, but I think it should show the renewal fee.
One thing Marc said that I agree with is that the annual renewal fee should be disclosed at the time of purchase:
In hindsight I should have continued trying to find out the fee. But yes it should also be stated upfront upon purchase.
โ marckohlbrugge.eth (๐,๐) (@marckohlbrugge) January 1, 2022
Domain sales platforms should ensure that sellers disclose these renewal fees. I also believe domain name sellers should be obligated to tell buyers about premium renewal fees for private transactions.
It turns out the domain name Marc purchased was a single letter .XYZ domain name, and he was able to revert the purchase:
Update: I was able to revert the domain purchase ๐
The domain was a single-letter .xyz โ I don’t blame them for asking a high renewal fee. IMO, the issue was a combination of poor research by myself, and the seller and market place not disclosing the non-standard renewal fee. https://t.co/OA5Mt4TBfe
โ marckohlbrugge.eth (๐,๐) (@marckohlbrugge) January 2, 2022
Learning about a premium renewal fee after purchasing a domain name is an unwelcome surprise.
Just stick with dot com!!
KISS
Keep it simple SUCKER!!
.xyz is embedded with flim-flam, imvho.
Swetha?!?! ๐๐๐๐๐
Another way of knowing the renewal fee of a domain name on a registrar is by searching the domain name on the register.
* Correction: The “register” at the end should be “registrar” instead.
Couple people over there at namepros get a hard time because they say the dot XYZ sales don’t make sense.
Here’s the deal Holyfield. Finally got the mark on the spot. How can she have thousands of one-word generics at $10 renewals when most popular one words have a high renewal at the registry.
The .xyz registry is very active in the decentralized space. That is why most of the buyers are from there. They’re also not the smartest bunch in regards to domains as they are just discovering subdomains LOL.
People need to join Twitter and follow the decentralized space such as ens and handshake and enlighten them that .com and .us can do the same and is much more brandable and credible.
Just saying:)
In some instances registration fees are negotiable. i happen to know this from personal experience.
Work with Namecheap. They disclose these renewal costs. Their other policies on restricted domain name purchases (Covid related etc) sucks but their upfront honesty all round is much appreciated. They also do not try to nickel and dime you like some daddies do.
My Daddy nickel and dimed the hell out of me. I disowned Daddy after that. He’s dead to me.