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Uniregistry adds “late renewal” fee

by — Domain Registrars 55 Comments

Registrar will charge a fee if you renew domains in the last ten days of the grace period.

envelopes with notice 'past due' on them

Uniregistry sent a notice to customers today informing them that it has updated its Terms of Service, including adding a “late renewal” fee for domains renewed toward the end of the grace period.

The fee applies to domains registered during the final ten days of the 40 day grace period after a domain expires.

Uniregistry says it’s making this move in response to customers trying to renew at the last minute and missing the deadline:

We have observed a small number of incidents where some customers delay renewing their domain names until the last possible moment, as an expense management technique. While customers are entitled to manage their payment practices as they see fit, this practice has consumed an inordinate amount of customer support time and expense when customers fail to appropriately time these late renewals. In order to dis-incentivize this practice, we have instituted a nominal “late renewal” fee, which we hope will allow us to maintain lower costs for all of our customers.

The email notice doesn’t link to the actual terms of service, but the new language is in section 2.13.

It’s unclear how much the late renewal fee is. The Terms refer to Uniregistry’s pricing page, which does not currently list a late renewal fee. Presumably, it will be less than the $50 restore fee for .com domains. [Update: it will be $10 when it is imposed.]

There are two benefits to waiting to renew a domain. First, depending on how the registrar auctions expired domains, it could give you some intel into the domain’s demand. Second, it postpones the renewal expense.

But I’ve never really understood the expense management side of this. You effectively get 30-40 days of “free registration” but only one time. During this time, your domains will point to registrar default servers so your for-sale landers will not appear. If you really need this extra grace period, you should probably re-evaluate your finances.

Who bought domains at Uniregistry this past week

by — Domain Sales 1 Comment

Big three-letter eko.com sale was just one of many sales.

Screenshot of solarfoods.fi

Solar Foods has been using the domain SolarFoods.fi. It bought SolarFoods.com.

Uniregistry’s sale of Eko.com smashed the charts this week, but it wasn’t the only notable sale the company made.

I reviewed the company’s top 20 sales to figure out who bought domains. In many cases, I don’t know because the domain doesn’t resolve to a developed site and Whois information is obscured. Uniregistry Whois often only provides a state/province and country for the domain owner, and I’ve noted it when that’s the case.

Let’s take a look.

1. eko.com $1,500,000 – A video content company that uses HelloEko.com bought the domain.

2. 7732.com $49,500 – Probably a domain investor.

3. practicemanagment.com $14,985 – The Capital Group Companies, Inc., a financial services company with nearly $2 billion under management.

4. ground.org $11,000 – Whois is under privacy and site goes to a register parking page. Seems like an end user purchase here.

5. alfas.com $10,000 – The buyer is in Tokyo, according to the Whois.

6. ratefinder.com $9,800 – Mortgage rates? Tax rates? Shipping rates? I’m not sure, but Whois shows the buyer is someone in Texas. Nice domain name.

7. solarfoods.com $8,500 – Solar Foods Oy is a Finish company creating a protein. It uses the domain SolarFoods.fi.

8. realwin.com $7,500 – The buyer is in Latvia.

9. schoolcloud.co.uk $7,475 – The Nominet Whois record doesn’t tell us much.

10. steeltrader.com $7,000 – Technology & Engineering Services in Uruguay.

11. talabani.com $6,000 – Whois is for someone in Maryland. The domain still resolves to a Uniregistry lander.

12. banfu.com $5,500 – Banfu is a town in China. Whois shows the buyer is in China.

13. kicksnation.com $5,500 – Kicks Nation will be a site to buy sneakers.

14. foldingknives.com $5,000 – It’s under Whois privacy and still resolves to a Uniregistry lander.

15. ghid.com $5,000 – Hmm. Buyer is in Pennsylvania but I’m not sure who it is.

16. zipextractor.com $5,000 – The company that uses ZipExtractor.app bought this domain.

17. streetracing.com $5,000 – Whois says the buyer is in Florida.

18. theadventurer.com $3,500 – Someone in Ontario, Canada.

19. nirvana.ca $3,500 – Nirvana homes in Canada.

20. bedbugbites.com $3,000 – Someone in Canada.

Eko.com domain name sells for $1.5 million

by — Domain Sales 1 Comment

Video company picks up short domain for big bucks.

Screenshot of HelloEko.com

Video storytelling company Eko has purchased the domain name Eko.com for $1.5 million. The deal was co-brokered between Uniregistry and Buy Domain Guide, LLC.

Eko has been using HelloEko.com for its website. Eko.com now forwards to HelloEko.com.

It’s a bit difficult to understand Eko’s business by viewing its website. It seems that it works with brands to create video content. We’re not talking commercials; its longer form video and content that hits the brand’s target audience. It also creates video production tools for creators.

Eko certainly has the money to upgrade its domain name. It recently inked a deal with Walmart in which the retailer will invest over $250 million to develop over 100 video series over the next three years.

 

A sock company, game store and more bought domains at Uniregistry

by — Domain Sales 1 Comment

Here are some of the companies that bought domains at Uniregistry this week.

Screenshot of the website at NoveltySocks.com that sells novelty socks

This Australian sock seller picked the domain name NoveltySocks.com for its website.

Would a gaming shop in Bentonville, Arkansas pay $10,000 for a domain name so that it could move is online presence from just a Facebook page to an actual website? It appears so.

It’s just one of the end users that bought domain names at Uniregistry this past week.

Here’s what I could find about the top 20 domains that sold at the marketplace:

1. extasy.com $18,000 – The domain has Whois privacy. This is another spelling of the drug ecstasy.

2. mytips.com $17,000 – Another domain with Whois privacy that doesn’t resolve yet.

3. ohne.com $15,000 – OHNE, which uses Ohne.co, bought the domain and forwards it to the .co domain. The company sells products for womens’ periods.

4. plantastic.com $12,000 – I believe the buyer is Premier Foods, which recently launched a product line called Plantastic.

5. earlyedition.com $10,500 – Whois privacy and no indications about the buyer.

6. wig.ca $10,000 – The domain may be for Canada, but it was bought by someone in Texas. Other than that, we don’t know much about the buyer.

7. geargaming.com $10,000 – It appears that a gaming store in Arkansas is upgrading from Facebook to a website.

8. stockauto.com $9,000 – The buyer also runs a site at OldsParts.com with Oldsmobile car parts.

9. houst.com $8,200 – This appears to be a play on the word “host”, as in Airbnb hosts. It forwards to Airsorted, a business that helps short-term rental hosts manage their homes.

10. LL9.com $8,000 – The domain is at GoDaddy using Whois privacy.

11. gotosea.com $8,000 – Whois shows the buyer is in Washington DC.

12. eaglex.com – $7,600 – This is likely related to a cryptocurrency project called Eagle Project.

13. noveltysocks.com $5,200 – What will you find on this website? Yep, socks.

14. screensource.com $5,000 – Whois reveals that the buyer is a German company, but that’s all we have to work on for now.

15. pantechnicon.com $5,000 – It seems that a new London restaurant called Pantechicon bought the domain. It uses the domain ThePantechnicon.com.

16. aceauto.co.uk $3,900 – I can’t figure out anything about the buyer.

17. freebooksummaries.com $3,500 – Whois shows a buyer in Oslo but nothing else.

18. hairycellleukemia.com $3,500 – Hairy Cell Leukemia is a rare type of cancer. I don’t know who bought the domain.

19. kitun.com $3,500 – Chicago entrepreneur Scott Kitun bought the domain for his website.

20. bimcollaboration.com $2,393 – It has Whois privacy and resolves to a registrar holding page.

Who bought domains at Uniregistry this past week

by — Domain Sales 0 Comments

A rope maker and auto accessories company bought domains at Uniregistry this past week.

Uniregistry logo U in grayscaleUniregistry’s top public sales over the past week include Calisthenics.com at the top end for $30,000, down to SupremeStore.com in the 20th slot.

I was able to connect about half of this week’s Uniregistry sales to the buyers. Here’s a look at the sales:

1. calisthenics.com $30,000
2. deskphone.com $28,750 – MacNeil, an auto accessories company. I’m not sure what the domain is for but it forwards to its site WeatherTech.com.
3. digitalmining.com $25,000
4. cordage.com $22,000 – My bet is that Canada Cordage, a rope maker, is the buyer. The company uses CanadaCordgage.com and Cordages.com. It’s in Ontario, Canada, which is what the whois record denotes.
5. internationalworld.com $15,000 – International Associates in Bulgaria.
6. pdg.it $14,030 – Polo Del Gusto S.r.l. in Italy bought its acronym in the Italian country code.
7. knitch.com $14,000
8. bips.com $10,000
9. lovehub(.)com $8,600 – An escort site.
10. tepic.com $6,515 – The domain now forwards to Facilities.com.mx, the website for Facilities Solutions.
11. stanchions.com $6,500
12. levar.com $6,000
13. masteragent.com $6,000
14. radicals.org $6,000
15. insciencewetrust.com $5,000
16. sexologies.com $5,000 – The domain forwards to AIUS.fr, the website for an associate for sexology academics and practitioners.
17. highstakes.net $5,000 – 180Vita Ltd, a performance marketing company.
18. fittoday.com $4,500 – Saxberg Holding BV
19. greatchicagofire.com $4,000 – Someone in Illinois bought this domain. Perhaps it’s the Chicago Historical Society, which uses the matching .org.
20. supremestore.com $4,000