11 November 2013

Go Daddy sets steep gTLD prices

Domain name registrar Go Daddy has begun accepting pre-registrations for four new generic top-level domains (gTLDs) at seemingly high prices.

The four gTLDs are .menu, .build, .luxury and .uno. Pricing for gTLDs such as .app and .inc are “coming soon”, according to Go Daddy’s website.

For each gTLD, there is a pre-registration and a priority pre-registration price. Individual prices for the .uno gTLD will be either £25.99 or £191.99; .menu either £31.99 or £223.99, .build either £63.99 or £121.99; and .luxury either £511.99 or £767.99.

Go Daddy sells .com domain names as cheaply as £6.99 for a year.

Pre-priority registration for the four listed new gTLDs allows customers to “jump the line”, Go Daddy has said. The windows are open from February to April 2014, depending on the gTLD.

While several registrars are offering pre-registration services, Go Daddy is believed to be the first established registrar to price those services.

Retail prices are set after registries calculate their wholesale price (NIC).

The NIC prices are certainly a lot higher than anticipated, said Stuart Fuller, director of commercial operations at brand protection company NetNames.

“Initially, we thought they would be pitched around the [current] gTLD rate (around $4 per annum), but we haven’t seen any yet that are close to this. In fact we have seen NIC fees on some generic names as high as $30. We have confirmed pricing for about 30 of the new gTLDs so far.

“Wholesale prices may be high if either the registries are looking to recover their investment in the new gTLDs over a shorter period than we thought or they want to deter the domainer or cybersquatter,” he said.

Fuller added: “The high prices will not deter brands – it may mean they move from registering in sunrise or landrush to general availability, though.”

The first new gTLDs are expected to be open for registration before Christmas.

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