When you start a domain reseller business, you will face several important choices in order to make your business profitable and sustainable over time. And one of the most important tasks is to find a good source of domains at the cheapest price possible. With a good source of domains, you will be able to calculate a competitive domain price for your customers, which also brings growth to you.
When the domain registration price and renewal price have nothing in common
Looking at overall registration prices will not be enough for your quest. Renewal prices often increase to up to three times the registration price. Other costs you certainly need to confirm are additional fees for certain operations, or from specific registrars. After all, each may have its own particular terms and conditions.
Why do we emphasize this? Some companies sell very cheap first-year registrations, but go on to charge very high prices for renewals. Besides this, it is also common to see companies charge extra fees that are not mentioned initially in the offer. Some first-year .com registrations are very cheap, indeed. But when renewal comes around, the situation changes drastically. Price structure matters, and it matters a lot.
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Comparing domain prices
Another important step in your journey will be comparing prices with your competitors, using as many sources as possible. Taking a look at your competitor’s prices always gives a good general glimpse of the market. For example, as Domain name stats states as of November 2021, these are the top 10 registrars for the .com domain according to price:
| Registrar | Registration | Renewal | Transfer |
|---|---|---|---|
| GoDaddy | $5.17 | $19.17 | $8.17 |
| Namecheap | $6.16 | $14.16 | $9.16 |
| Blacknight | $6.79 | $13.54 | $6.79 |
| Sav | $6.95 | $8.69 | $7.95 |
| OVH.ie | $7.92 | $8.94 | $7.92 |
| DreamHost | $7.99 | $17.99 | $9.99 |
| Dynadot | $7.99 | $8.99 | $8.03 |
| Epik | $7.99 | $8.99 | $6.99 |
| Infomaniak | $8.39 | $11.22 | $11.22 |
| Openprovider | $8.57 | $8.57 | $8.57 |
In many cases shown in the table above, the price of .com domain renewal is double or almost triple the price of the first-year registration. In the long run, this would increase the cost of keeping the domain active, and would definitely give a good lifetime value forecast for you as the provider. However, most probably such a price would increase your churn rate when your clients decide to transfer out for a better price with another provider.
Apart from that, this ranking only mentions the price for the registration, renewal and transfer of a .com domain. It does not mention any other additional fees (like the well-known ICANN fee, or processing fee many companies charge). In fact, if you actually buy a .com domain at many of these registries, you will see a different price due to additional fees.
The importance of transparency in domain pricing
What about Openprovider? Comparing us to all the registrars in that list, we certainly are the only ones offering the same .com renewal price as the first year (ICANN fee included).
| Registrar | Registration | Renewal | Transfer |
|---|---|---|---|
| Openprovider | $8.57 | $8.57 | $8.57 |
How is it possible?
As mentioned previously on our blog – and you can confirm it yourself through this price comparison – we are 100% transparent with our prices. What you see is what we will charge you. No hidden fees.
We assume the many costs of 178 direct registry accreditations. On top of this, we also look into all the specific terms and conditions related to domain operations prices and fees. We negotiate directly with registries in favor of keeping our resellers’ prices as low as possible. Our aim is to remain predictable to our customers. Therefore, we do not tamper with the renewal prices. We offer the same prices for registrations, renewals, and transfers that we pay.
How does Openprovider make this possible?
Our Membership model enables us to guarantee that you will not pay more than cost price for the domains we are accredited for. With us, you will always get competitive prices on premium domain registrations. We have different types of membership plans available according to your needs as a customer. Through our Membership plans, we help resellers of any size grow as big as their dreams.
Starting with the Basic Membership plan, you could save up to 6 times the price paid for the annual subscription. Moreover, you can verify exactly how much you will save with our calculator.
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In summary, the truth behind a very cheap registration price is that you will end up assuming extra costs that will increase overall cost in the long run. Having a supplier that shows you transparency will help you have a clear vision for planning. Therefore, you’ll be more efficient in generating revenue. Take this into consideration when looking for a domain provider for your reseller business.
