So I got a letter on Friday from the Domain Registry of Canada that I didn’t open until today because at first I thought it was from the CIRA and related to the reginapizza.ca domain that I recently renewed.
The letter looks all fancy and “official” so at first you think that it’s from some government agency and was actually regarding my michaeltozzo.com domain is going to expire in a few months. The Domain Registry of Canada conveniently provides a way to “renew your domain name to retain exclusive rights to it on the Web” and informs you that “now is the time to transfer and renew your name from your current Registrar to the Domain Registry of Canada”. The notice also warns you that “failure to renew your domain name by the expiration date may result in a loss of your online identity making it difficult for your customers and friends to locate you on the Web”. The clincher though is the price. To renew my domain for 1 year with the Domain Registry of Canada it’s a whopping $40. It’s $70 for 2 years and $160 for 5 years.
I can see a lot of people getting scared or thinking that the Domain Registry of Canada and filling out the form and transferring their domain over and making the Domain Registry of Canada their new registrar. I think sending out letters like the one I received is pretty shady. It wouldn’t be so bad if it was a good deal but you can easily get a domain registered for $15 a year so $40 or even $32 if you sign up for 5 years is a little on the pricey side. But seriously, unsolicited mail from someone trying to get your business? Who does that?