Pre-registrations now accepted for fees of up to $1,200 per domain.
Overnight GoDaddy started accepting paid pre-registrations for four new top level domain names: .uno, .menu, .build, .luxury.
While many registrars have offered some sort of pre-reservation or pre-registration service that did not require any firm commitment by the customer, GoDaddy is the first major registrar I’m aware of to actually charge an upfront fee.
And the fees are steep.
Prices to pre-register each domain vary widely by top level domain. Each domain offers “pre-registration” and “priority pre-registration”. More than one person can make either type of pre-registration, and if that’s the case then the domain will go to auction.
It seems that paying the higher price for priority pre-registration will give you priority over people who opt for just pre-registration. But if multiple people select the priority option, you’re still headed to auction. Priority appears to be like a mini-landrush, as domains will be submitted to the registry ahead of general availability. A portion of the priority fee is a non-refundable application fee. The good news is that prices are so high that it’s unlikely there will be much competition for each domain.
It’s also not clear if you get a leg up by pre-registering at GoDaddy versus another registrar.
Here’s the pricing, with TLD / regular pre-registration / priority pre-registration (priority non-refundable amount):
.Build / $99.99 / $189.99 ($40)
.Luxury / $799.99 / $1.199.99 ($400)
.Menu / $49.99 / $349.99 ($150)
.Uno / $39.99 / $299.99 ($0)
I find it interesting that .build has the second highest pre-registration cost of the four, but the lowest priority cost. I also assume there’s some correlation between the lower number and the general availability registration fee, which suggests that .luxury will indeed be a luxury domain.
Other than the priority application fee (in parentheses above), fees are refundable if you don’t get the domain.
excitemental says
woah! those are some step fees especially for .Luxury.. i wonder how many per-registrations these are going to get.. may have a cheeky punt on a couple.
Rahid says
Time to rape the customer. Yay!
Ron says
Wow, namejet is auctioning off premium keyword with subpar extension gtlds of xyz and college, trying to raise registry funds, I bet you it’s going to be a big flop, most likely a few insider type wink wink bids, to get the buzz out.
This is just ugly what godaddy is doing Rick S was right, a few good terms, rest will not pan out.
Ms Domainer says
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Ah, yes.
The registries and registrars are posed to make a boatload of money off of gullible domainers.
Cheeky.
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Max says
Anybody interested in a 1 word .luxury – gardens.luxury is still available ! I tried a lot of the other obvious 1 word names and they all appear to have gone. Gardens.luxury will set you back around $4k as it seems that you have to register for 5 years ! (At least I couldn’t see any way to change the duration)
Saeed says
No body should be buying a single name to teach them a lesson. my guess is only attorneys are going to make money from law suits. look what happen to .xxx , they are still charging $99 per year .
Kassey says
I’ll wait to see how Frank will be releasing his gTLDs.
Mark J says
Aparently you guys weren’t around when the .coms came out. The process was pretty much the same, costs were way higher than they are now, but try and get a 3 or 4 letter domain and check out the costs of those now.
Angie says
a GOOD domain name now adays goes for at least 50,000$,,,,,these new TDLDs are giving customers the capability of registering short domain names. These pricings compared to getting a great .com domain name are LEGIT. Worth it.
HowieCrosby says
Agree Angie, the winners will shine through and many disagreeing domainers will be walking with their tails between their legs.
Jens says
GoDaddy pretents that paying the outrageous pre registration fee would give the customer priority access to a domain name. However, fact is that all registrars will enter the same foodrace once a registry is accepting registrations. There is no advantage for a GoDaddy customer paying the high fee over a customer of a different webhoster paying the regular fee. All you get is priority for a domain among other GoDaddy customers.