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How Do You Become A Domain Name Registrar?

by Tony Dean
6 replies
I don't see too many Warriors discussing their domain name registration business, is it a 'closed shop' and virtually impossible to become one?

I know you can be an affiliate for one.
#domain #registrar
  • Profile picture of the author dmadnani
    I guess there are several fees before you can get started approx. 9k+ last time I checked, also the business module depends mainly on ridiculous amounts of turnover since margins are pretty small.

    Also, I should mention there's quite a bit of paperwork involved and each separate extension requires an individual application process. Just having capital to invest doesn't solve everything either, you need to have a very effective marketing campaign which may not be limited to online marketing.
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  • Profile picture of the author widemind
    Info at icann (dot) org/en/registrars/accreditation.htm

    (sorry for the lame URL... I guess I need 15 posts before I can post websites in the forum, so I improvised.)
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    • Profile picture of the author Tony Dean
      Originally Posted by widemind View Post

      Info at icann (dot) org/en/registrars/accreditation.htm

      (sorry for the lame URL... I guess I need 15 posts before I can post websites in the forum, so I improvised.)

      I just went to the link for icann and just leant about the fees:-


      • US$2,500 non-refundable application fee, to be submitted with application.
      • US$4,000 yearly accreditation fee due upon approval and each year thereafter.
      • Variable fee (quarterly) billed once you begin registering domain names or, the first full quarter following your accreditation approval, whichever occurs first. This fee represents a portion of ICANN's operating costs and, because it is divided among all registrars, the amount varies from quarter to quarter.
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  • Profile picture of the author Sparhawke
    It is a closed shop in the sense that there are some huge players in that space already like GoDaddy, Namecheap & Moniker but I guess anything is possible...

    The main issue you will be facing is marketing, making enough money to cover staffing and fees and expansion and server costs...

    The initial $9000 may sound like peanuts but I probably wouldn't be wrong in saying $1,000,000 per year costs would be more like it.

    When these companies first started up there was a hell of a lot of money floating around which meant they could get a foothold and get the lions share of the business while people where still reaching for their spades and shovels...you will be coming in from behind and though the risks are fewer now because the problems have been swept away or recognised you have an almost insurmountable problem to try to scale that hill the big boys are having a picnic on. To get any kind of market share to turn a profit you will have to spend a monumental amount of money on marketing which is why most people do not bother.
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    • Profile picture of the author SledgeHammer
      Do we need to pay separate fees to others like verisign since ICANN doesn't deals with all the TLDs ?
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