Domain renewal - is this a fair price?

[simpo two]

I need to renew autograph.uk.com, and 123-Reg (with whom I have a hosting package) are charging 2 years @ 24.99pa = £49.98 + VAT

Is that reasonable, and if not, what steps should I take?

[zumbruk]

Seems expensive to me, although in absolute terms it's a small amount of money.

I pay £10/year for my domain, and I've seen them cheaper than that.

[docevi1]

I'm with Jamie and just paid £5.27 for domain name renewal, and £49 for a years hosting with him.

£49 for 2 years hosting and domain name renewal is quite cheap, but it is very expensive if you're paying more for hosting.

[JonRB]

123-reg.co.uk (who are now part of Pipex, BTW) are usually pretty reasonable on cost. I have a lot of domains with them and recently renewed some .co.uk domains for something like £2.99 each.

I can only asume that .uk.com addresses are expensive for some reason.

[simpo two]

JonRB said:

I can only asume that .uk.com addresses are expensive for some reason.

I mailed them and think I've found the reason. I registered the uk.com (when such extensions were very new) with CentralNic. 123 replied: 'This doesn't include the hosting space. CentralNic domains are expensive to renew, but you can transfer away if you find a cheaper renewal price.'

So maybe I can transfer it from CentralNic to 123? It would senssible to keep it all under one roof, and I'm otherwise happy with 123.

[JamieBeeston]

In general, you should expect to pay no more than £6 a yr for .com .net .org domains, and £3 a year for .uk domains.

.uk.com isnt a REAL domain, its just uk.com (like bob.com) that some bright spark registered 'back in the day' that they have turned into a pseudo SLD (Second Level Domain), effectively they made a business selling SUBDOMAINS from uk.com (again, like secure.bob.com, www.bob.com, fish.bob.com)

We charge £5.48 a yr for .com .net .org and £2.74 a year for .uk (transfers aswell), AFAIK, we are the cheapest in Europe for .com .net .org

Just click the banner in the top right for more details

[simpo two]

Thanks Jamie.
Here's my dialogue so far with 123:

simpo said:

As you may know my domain autograph.uk.com is due for renewal and I see you're charging £24.99 + VAT pa. Does that include the hosting package? If not, my conversations with others tell me it's rather expensive. Look forward to clarification!

123 said:

This doesn't include the hosting space. CentralNic domains are expensive to renew, but you can transfer away if you find a cheaper renewal price. To transfer away update the billing contact at www.centralnic.com/domains/modify to the new company.

simpo said:

Hi Alan and thanks for the quick reply. I thought CentralNic might be the problem. Can I transfer the domain to you, and if so, what would renewal cost be with yourselves?

someone else at 123 said:

the domain name is already with us and as stated we charge £24.99 + VAT per year of renewal.

Am I stuck with that price then?

[JamieBeeston]

Hi,


Given its not a 'true' domain type, not many places offer the .uk.com extension. This limited choice will always lead to increased prices.

I had a quick scout around, and that price seems to be one of the best you will find..

If you want to keep using .uk.com then I am afraid you will have to pay almost 10x as much as for a .co.uk

Sorry I couldnt give better news.

J

[JonRB]

Jamie is right.

Given that pretty much all TLDs called 'autograph' are taken, maybe you should start looking for an alternative if you don't want to be tied into .uk.com forever.

autograph-video.com and .co.uk are currently available, for example.

Edit: Although autographvideo.com and .co.uk are taken. Oops.

>> Edited by JonRB on Friday 20th May 15:56

[simpo two]

Thanks again Jamie. I was just confused when they implied I could move it from CentralNic to somewhere else, then it seems I can't.

Well I use the domain for work so I can't change it. Still, the more I spend, the more VAT I can claim back eh?

[JamieBeeston]

heheh

CentralNic are the people who own uk.com

t'interweb said:

Registrant: CentralNic Ltd 64-66 Coleman Street London EC2R 5BX UK Domain Name: UK.COM

As you can see, its just like any other .com domain.

They own this one, so they get to set the price of your 'subdomain' thats what 123-Reg are saying.

They are simply a reseller of CentralNics uk.com domain.

Always good to put a positive smile on things

J

>> Edited by JamieBeeston on Monday 23 May 21:15