didn't believe this A fee to the company doing the
either, but... I've gotten domain name registration for you.
a number of letters from
companies who say they will 1. InterNIC is in charge of
"only" charge $1,000 to register registering domain names. Until
our domain name! Unfortunately, September of this year (1995),
some innocent people have there was no charge from InterNIC
accepted this ridiculous offer. to register domain names.
Therefore, if you knew how to
Clearly, this is a complete fill out the appropriate form and
rip-off. And we've received even submit it to InterNIC, you could
more offers to register domain register a domain name for free.
names for "just" $300!
Prior to the registration fees
OK. So what should it cost to from InterNIC, some people
register a domain name? The short registered huge numbers of domain
answer is that it should cost you names. For example, there were
between $15 and $75 (plus a fee individuals who tried to register
to InterNIC - see below). the names of as many major
Anything more is a rip-off. corporations as they could, so
they could later sell these
Here's why: There are two types domain names to these companies
of fees to register a domain (when the companies realized that
name: "their" domain names were not
available).
A fee to InterNIC (Internet
Network Information Center -- the On September 14, 1995, InterNIC
group in charge of assigning announced that the fee for all
domain names) and new domain name registrations
would be $100, which would
include two years of internic.html"
registration. So, all new domain target="_blank">name registrations now cost a color="#001000"
minimum of $100, the fee to size="-2">http://rs.internic.net/
InterNIC. (Update: The fee for rs-internic.html.
Web Addresses registered on or (Update: Network Solutions now
after April 1, 1998, is US$70.00. handles the registration
New registrations are in effect services: for a two-year period.) href="http://www.networksolutions
.com/"
The fee for annual renewals (for title="http://www.networksolution
both new and existing domains) is s.com/" target="_blank">$50. Therefore, all domain names color="#001000"
that were registered prior to size="-2">http://www.networksolut
September 14, 1995 (when the $100 ions.com/ )
registration fee was initiated)
will owe an annual renewal fee of 2. Many people hire their ISP
$50 on the anniversary of their (Internet Service Provider) or a
initial registration. (Update: consultant to register their
All domain names re-registered on domain names for them.
or after April 1, 1998, are
assessed a US$35.00 The process of registering a
re-registration fee.) domain name almost always
involves these five steps:
On the Web: For more information,
the Web address for InterNIC Selecting a domain name to
Registration Services is href="http://rs.internic.net/rs-i Finding out if this domain name
nternic.html" is currently available
title="http://rs.internic.net/rs- Selecting an ISP who will host
the domain
Filling out the appropriate form A reasonable fee to pay to have
to request the domain name (done your ISP (or a consultant) fill
by you or the ISP) out and submit this form for you
Submitting this form to InterNIC is between $15 and $75. Our ISP
(done by the ISP). charges us $30 and does an
A Useful Tip: It is now possible excellent job. Paying much more
to use the Web to find out for this is unnecessary.
whether or not the domain name
you'd like to register is This means that you will pay a
available using WhoIs. This is a total of $115 to $175 (including
LOT more convenient than the $100 to InterNIC) to register
alternative ways to find out your domain name. (at the time of
whether or not a domain name is original publication)
available. But remember, the name
may be assigned to someone else Note: This scam is about
between when your application is consultants who charge $2000 for
submitted and when it is reviewed ONLY registering a domain name.
by InterNIC. If your ISP starts talking about
fees of $2000, they are probably
On the Web: Look at example giving you more domain services
information along with the than you need. (The service most
instructions that are included as of you will want from your ISP is
part of the Domain Name sometimes called a "domain
Registration Agreement to request alias," and can be implemented
a new domain name. Filling out for the prices we mentioned.)
and submitting the form is not
difficult (however, it does Tip: Don't worry if you're not
require knowing what you're the technical or administrative
doing). contact (Questions 4 and 5 on the
form) -- that's OK. Just be sure own the domain name, not your ISP
that Questions 3a to 3f are or consultant.
filled in with your company's
name and info. That way, you'll
About the Author:
Douglas Miller is a retired fire service captain, now making a living working from home. His company Hundred-Fold-Life is not just a name but also a belief. To learn how to find the best home based business ideas and opportunities so you can work at home visit: http://www.ClixGo.com
Read more articles by:
Douglas Miller
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