Price of new registrations will increase substantially next month.
But there was a big loophole that rendered the issue moot: no caps on pricing.
You want this TLD open to the public? Sure, but registrations are a million bucks a year.
I was reminded of this today when learning that makeup company L’Oréal is about to hike its price on .makeup domain names. Expect to pay over $5,000 per year effective April 14.
That’s up significantly from initial prices, which appear to be about $300 retail. As of right now there are only about 100 .makeup domains in the zone, and the price increase won’t apply to those domains.
In its initial application, L’Oréal said it planned to first restrict the domain to itself, then open it up to trusted partners, and then evaluate if it should be open to the public around year five. When it launched the domain it opened it up, but put stiff requirements on registrants. They can only register domains matching their name or brand; generics are off the table.
It is a bright strategy to keep domains for themselves. Now I wonder: who is their registrar.
They actually have a handful of accredited registrars, including some that sell beyond brands.
What a great program, we need more affordable options they told icann… well here you go people, it’s actually a black mark on domaining.
If they are grandfathering existing domains so registrants are not being penalized then I can’t fault the price hike aimed at keeping people out.
Feels a bit redundant what with the existing limitations on registering a domain, but whatever.
I don’t understand why they didn’t start the price over $5k to begin with.
Andrew, do you think they might have been just a bit too obvious to charge $5000 at the start, given they were knocked back to run a closed generic tld?
Now that others have done big increases in price it would seem it is now safe to do the same and effectively close the string to the public?
If they are only accepting brand names I wonder if they’d be opening themselves up to lawsuits if the decided to jack up the price of competitors already registered brandnames?
I feel sorry for the GTLD community, I understand the back story, and the strategy, but this is going to be spun in a negative form, but it is good awareness for what the program encompasses.
It’s all a big hoax
This is what happens when you privatise a public resource without adequate regulation.
The dramatic price increases look to be building momentum. Expect lots more in the next couple of years, some grandfathered, some not.