More .co domains will be sold at a premium through the domain name registrar channel.
Neustar, the company that operates the .Co domain name, is drastically expanding its premium domain name program starting September 1.
.Co launched premium domain name sales through the registrar channel back in August 2015 on a very limited basis. Three years later, it is going all in on the model. An expanded tiered pricing program will go into effect September 1, and tens of thousands of domains will be added to premium tiers for domains available directly from domain registrars.
The premium domain model has become popular with new top level domain names. As of a couple of years ago, new TLD seller donuts was generating $9 million in annual revenue from premium domains, representing 15% of sales. Another new TLD company, Radix, made 10% of its revenue last year just from the renewal of premium domains.
While companies like Donuts and Radix typically charge the premium fee each year, premium .co domain names renew at standard prices.
Richard says
RIP .co
Either you believe in first come first served or you don‘t. Neustar obviously doesn‘t.
Taylor says
I agree .RIP should merge with .co
H says
Which does not mean Radix made significant money, it just means Radix gets very little from normal registrations.
Andrew Allemann says
$12M in revenue in 2017
John Napoletano says
Source for that information, a link to a press release?
Andrew Allemann says
It’s directly sourced
John Napoletano says
I was told that ALL renewals would be at the same low standard rate. Initial offering of domain might be tiered, but renewal rate would be the same for all. Please read my email and ask your source to clarify the Sept 1 change.
https://www.namepros.com/threads/co…es-report-thread.573976/page-492#post-6826235
“…Even if you pay a premium price to register a .CO premium domain name, your annual renewal fee will be the standard .CO renewal fee charged for all .CO domain names. Please check with your preferred retailer for details as fees may differ according to each retailer’s individual pricing policies and practices…”
Problem is they punt to the registrars — always. Have a GoDaddy contact?
Andrew Allemann says
As my article states, all .co domains renew at standard prices.
You can see an FAQ here: http://support.go.co/customer/es/portal/topics/564422-domain-management/articles?page=3
John Napoletano says
You really expect me to read the last few words of an article?
Joking. Thanks for clarifying. It’s a confusing issue and I hope that everyone comes away understanding that ‘Tiered’ can mean the initial price, the renewal price, or both. In this case it’s only the initial price.
I like that model better then premium forever. Just as domainers charge an up front premium they now will too.
These domain names expired, then were reserved by .CO before they could be back ordered or re-registered. With the intention of releasing at a later date at a premium price. Correct?