Greetings fireduck!
Service providers usually buy domain registration "spots" wholesale
and then resell them to us (the public). For example, through
Tucows/OpenSRS a reseller can obtain domains "at $10 US for .com,
.net, .org, .biz, and .info with lower prices for high-volume
resellers":
http://resellers.tucows.com/opensrs/
So, in a simplified example, a reseller might buy 1000 domain spots
for $10/each and then charge their members $15 to register a domain
through them. Other places who also get $10 domains may try selling
them for $20/year each.
Of course, there are other factors that may come into play. A place
charging $30/year may offer better customer service or better online
management tools for the domain owners. Or they may have higher
overhead costs due to marketing costs, staff, etc.
The $8.88/year place you mentioned may simply be a "no-frills" place.
Or they may offer other services that they'll hope you'll buy from
them (so the low domain rate functions as a loss leader). Or they
simply may not be interested in making lots of money. Some places
also offer a low charge for the first year or two as an incentive and
then hope you'll still stick with them when the regular yearly cost
kicks in after a year or two.
In the past year or so, many people on the net have gotten upset at
the tactics and practices of VeriSign ( www.verisign.com/ ), a popular
place for registering domains. Their rates for domain registration
are fairly high, but many people have had nothing but hassles with
them:
Verisign Sucks page:
http://www.aetherlumina.com/verisignsucks.html
VeriSignoff:
http://www.verisignoff.org/
I list the above two sites because they both mention places that offer
cheap domain registration -- places with better services than the more
costly VeriSign.
I hope this information is helpful. If you would like for me to
clarify any of it, please let me know.
leep-ga
search strategy used:
"wholesale registrar" prices
personal knowledge about domain processes |
