OnlineDomain.com Domain Name News & Opinions
Radix joined Verisign and some other registries in temporarily waiving off the domain name restoration fees.
I don’t understand what is the point of temporarily waiving a fee that was totally unnecessary to begin with and almost no one uses anyway.
The domain name restoration fee is a relic from the old days where you had to actually do some (even at that unnecessary?) paperwork to pull a domain out of the redemption period.
Now it is used by registrars, that have their own separate internal restoration fee, so as to get some extra revenue as the supposedly restoration fee is charged before the domain name enters the redemption period and the registry restoration fee kicks in.
And of course very few valuable domains ever reach the registry restoration fee period…
Namecheap say Radix’s move is “a welcome gesture” but I don’t see any registrars waiving their totally unnecessary internal restoration fee.
Ironically I have not heard of any registrars waiving their fake internal restoration fee.
Here is the announcement from Radix:
In an effort to reduce customer burden on domain-related spending during current market conditions, we are supporting a temporary waiver on the Restore Fee for all Radix TLDs. This waiver is in effect from Tuesday, April 14th, 2020.
So far, 75 registrars have enrolled for this program and have agreed to pass on the benefit of this waiver to their customers.
Speaking about the waiver, Hillan Klein, COO, Namecheap, said, “Radix’s restore-fee waiver is a welcome gesture and very much appreciated by Namecheap and our customers. It’s more important than ever for registries and registrars to work together to help our customers during these uncertain and challenging times.”
Michiko Miyazaki from GMO too expressed her support towards this initiative and said, “We are all grateful that you (Radix) reached out to us with a helping hand. We are sure that this will bring some relief to the difficult situations our customers may be going through. Thank you!”
Appreciating this timely move from Radix, Endrit Muca from Namesilo said, “Major kudos to Radix for stepping up during these uncertain times and helping to ease some of the burdens customers are facing. At NameSilo, we will be passing 100% of these waived fees to our customers for all of Radix’s TLDs along with many others as well as waiving our fees for these actions as well. Stay safe and take care!”
We are grateful to CentralNic for making this initiative possible, and working swiftly to engage with Registrar partners. We hope to continue supporting our customers in every way possible.
Stay safe and take care!
With love, Radix Radicals
Contrary to your assumptions, we have waived redemption fees for our our customers and yes, they do use it and have been appreciative of it. Now whether or not having redemption fees is necessary to begin with, I’ll let you address that with the registries that usually impose it.
I am talking mainly about registrar internal fees not the registry fees. The registry fees are rarely used as they are applied later in the process. “Used” does not mean “massively used”.
I am not talking specifically about Namecheap and I don’t know if you have internal restoration fees.
Waiving restoration fees is BS. Waive some real fees.
There shouldn’t be restoration fees anyway nor should domains have an expiry date.
@Mark,
If domains don’t have an expiry date, then does that mean that we only pay $10 to register it and never have to pay renewal fees?
I’m not sure that would be a good thing since good domains would be locked up forever, right?
This is all part of the “In these uncertain times” sales pitch scam going on everywhere.
They all want to look good for being part of this even though it is essentially worthless.
Yes. Somehow they think this is the perfect time for PR stunts. Sad…
Totally agree with you!
It is for marketing attention whore drama queen publicity stunt.
Nothing is free.. they will always backstab you later on with bigger fees$$
PR exercise certainly.
They give you a chance to renew (and pay for) domain names that you might otherwise not have redeemed.
It is also very likely that in light of the current situation many people are running out of money and the abandonment rate has increased, hence the ‘gesture’.
I can defer tax and VAT payments too but there is no free lunch.
Resident conspiracy theorist here.
I think it’s meant to break down the process of the expired domain auctions implemented by registrars.
One way or another, make it more difficult to auction said expired name, because they commonly become renewed, redeemed…whatever, by the registrant.
So while auction houses have (a tiny) credibility and use today, even ‘domainers’ will start using them as a ‘free appraisals’, so to speak…that is with their more premium names even.
Now then, buyers really never ‘win’ anything, as their money gets refunded. The system breaks down.
But why? Simply, registries want the domains to go through the whole cycle and drop, as they do.
Now it is THEY who decides whether to play said domain into premium inventory or not…
Reluctant to post theory here though, seems domainers are whipped and don’t like exploring such possibilities. I certainly don’t like being chastised for them. I guess we shouldn’t ask questions. shut up and take it ‘they’ let us know for sure. We’ll sure see.
Oh, real quick, while it’s a conspiracy theory, I think the registries are a bit more connected and coordinated more than you think. Definitely more so than the registers. Why? Registrars tend to compete with each other. Registries have the incentive to work together.
I know, it’s just opinion…Shame, that I am provoked to have to disclaim that. Reading comprehension is low. Obviously, ppl cannot sort fact from a clear opinion/someone questioning (apparent) reality. Must socially attack writer/demean writer to protect other readers…really
Have fun being closed minded.
There, done ‘talking out of my ass’.
There is no point to it other than PR. It sounds like they are doing some kind of charity work when in reality they are doing nothing. They can toot their horn about their “Response to COVID-19” on their website.