**Why are they all able to sell the same name at different prices? The pricing models seem very well worked out. Who’s making the money here? The Domain Agents who negotiate the sales of premium addresses… what’s their cut? Are they really representing themselves a lot of the time?**
I would love to hear from an industry insider to give us a little glimpse into this mysterious world.
In: Technology
All addresses are registered with an organization called ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers).
ICANN authorizes certain domain registrars to use certain domain names. Prior to this they are unowned. This is why you may see the same address listed from several providers. None of them have “registered” it yet but they are listing something which is owned by ICANN. Only the approved registrars can claim them from ICANN and ICANN authorizes those approved registrars.
At the point that you purchase the domain name you are paying the registrar a fee and the actual fee to ICANN for the domain name and the registrar books this for you. It is then registered in ICANN as belonging to that registrar (go daddy, etc.) and then that registrar lists it under themselves as belonging to you.
EDIT: As others have noted, it is worthy of noting that some approved registrars will preemptively purchase some domain names which they think will be highly desirable and then mark them up in hopes to make money. In fact, this is also something that individuals do on occasion WITHIN the registrars. There are several cases where individuals have poached high profile domain names due to an oversight in the renewal of the domain name and then “extorted” money from the previous owner seeking to reclaim them. The registrars mark up the domain names with their fees but so can individuals who have purchased them from the registrar. Those individuals are also many times able to re-sell them to others within the same registrar, etc.
Latest Answers