Register a domain for Ten years

[msn]

Do you recommend people to register a domain for 10 years?

[Kaliber]

Not realy, I do have a domain registered for five years tho :D

[Moonman]

i wouldnt recommend registering one for ten years, in case you decide to stop using it. If you are sure you will use it for the ten years, then go ahead.

[PageHelper]

I think its a bad idea... I would recommend registering for 2 years, thats what I did.

[Kaliber]

Well five years is the most I have ever registered one for, other registrations go for two and one year lengths

[stu]

who knows, maybe in ten years domain registrations may be even cheaper, or even free..

or if worse, a lot more expensive...

[thewitt]

What's a domain going to cost in 5 years?

It's an interesting question.

I was recently in a discussion with another domain sales company over the possibility of buying out their business. He was concerned that when the US Congress steps in and starts digging into ICANN and it's lack of management of the current domain system, that we will see either a formal government oversight, or a contractual bid for domain management services. In either case, he felt that domain prices would go up - with money diverted to the ICANN replacement organization.

Today, ICANN gets nothing from every domain name sold. More than one insider expects that ICANN - or it's replacement - will get $2-5 for every domain name sold in order to actually operate independantly - including the operation of a real domain dispute system.

With $6 going to the Registry, and up to $5 going to ICANN, we can expect prices to inch up a little at any rate.

Could be worse. The ICANN replacement could actually become a world Registry, run by a committee made up of government representatives from 9-13 countries. If anyone thinks that a governing body of this makeup will be able to run a lean Registry, think again. This would surely drive the wholesale costs up - and accordingly the retail prices. It might sound good at the start, and be seen as a way to not funnel that $5 to ICANN, but I can only imagine where it will lead in 5 years.

Of course, as some people seem to want to believe, there is a slim chance that socialism will prevail and domains will be free in the future. Not likely, but you do have to consider it a possibility. I cannot imagine a scenario where they become free, but I can certainly see many where they increase in cost.

So, should you register your domain for 10 years or not? How do you answer this question? I have three that are registered for 10 years today. I've had them since 1995. If I'd registered them for 10 years when I first bought them, that would have cost me $700 - as domains were $70 a year. I did not do it then, but I did it in the last year. Was it a wise investment for me? Only time will tell. It does mean I don't have to worry about someone else WLS-ing my domains and stealing them from me in the near future though.

-t

[Chicken]

That assumes that the current registry system would remain intact and that the registry would continue to receive $6 per domain. This could happen, or it things could change.

For my money, regardless of an increase, I'd rather see the registry run by people who just run the registry (not by people who sell domains), and likewise, they could also be tied in with the domain-dispute system (as if they aren't then it is just red tape between the two).

Anything run by anyone, whether it be a private firm or (eek) the government, or a mush of governments, would surely need to overcome the same disasters we currently have, not to mention the lobby of current forces which would like nothing more than to keep things as they are.

When large amounts of money are involved in anything, the result is sadly not always favorable to many people and very favorable to others.

[thewitt]

Originally posted by Chicken
[clip]For my money, regardless of an increase, I'd rather see the registry run by people who just run the registry (not by people who sell domains), and likewise, they could also be tied in with the domain-dispute system (as if they aren't then it is just red tape between the two).[clip]
Amen to that! Privately run, no conflict of interest with registration. What a concept...

-t

[ducktape]

2 years is my limit.why tie up a pile of money now when you have the opportunity to renew after ur time is up?