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Domain Names, Prices and Rules

A domain name is a human-friendly address on the internet. Freetimers can investigate, register and manage your domain names almost anywhere in the world where they are needed. Your domain name can be extremely important; it not only represents your internet identity, but can affect how people will view or recall your web site, and how well you appear in the search engines when a prospective client searches for your product. If you would like Freetimers to manage your domains, or need help or advice on a dispute or transfer problem, please don't hesitate to contact us. (For complaints regarding domain names, you are welcome to email us at support@freetimers.com).

International and UK-based Names

Freetimers can purchase the main international domains, .com, .org and .net (and now also .info and .biz) and the UK equivalents .uk, .co.uk, .org.uk, .ltd.uk and more, quickly and easily, and at very competitive prices. Freetimers is an authorised Nominet Tag Holder (Registrar) for UK domain names, and a Tucows/OpenSRS authorised reseller for international domains. Please note that when one acquires a domain name, a contractual relationship is undertaken with the issuing registrar (such as Nominet) as well as with the reselling agent (such as Freetimers). Details can be provided on request. The International Top Level Domain purchase agreement, Tucows' Exhibit A, can be seen here which you will be automatically agreeing to on purchase or renewal of any applicable domain name.

To find out more about the rights and responsibilities associated with being a top-level domain registrant, please see these pages provided by ICANN:

Foreign Domain Names

Most countries now offer a whole range of country-specific domain names, which can be important for a company to own in order to protect brands, trademarks and business names, or as a vehicle to market themselves in those countries. Each country, however, has its own specific rules regarding who can register such names, and often the registration process can be convoluted, difficult and time-consuming. We can advise on the requirements for each domain type for most countries and can liaise on our client’s behalf with the country’s registrar to, where possible, acquire the name.

The most popular domain names we sell and their purchase and renewal prices are listed below.

Special Rules for Top-Level International Domain Names Transfer and Renewal after Expiry

For Top Level International domain names such as .com, .net or .org, a set of special rules have been internationally agreed concerning transfers and the redemption of an expired domain. For transfers, the receiving registrar always charges a fee equivalent to the renewal of the domain name for 1 year and will add that extra year to the life of the domain. As far as our prices are concerned we would charge half the normal two-year renewal fee below to accommodate the Registrar's fee.

There is also a special rule for renewing a top-level domain after it has expired. Once one of these domains have expired, most allow a 40 day grace period during which time the domain may still be renewed without an additional cost. The exceptions are .biz, which has only 30 days grace, and .name domains, which have no grace period at all and are immediately deleted by the registrar. After the grace period, all the top-level domains (the ones we deal with below) except for .name, enter what is called a 'redemption' period, during which the domain can still be renewed, but at a much higher cost because of the convoluted process required for the renewal after that point. The Registrars allow a 30 day redemption period following the grace period for all except for .biz, which is allowed only 15 days. Once the redemption period is over the domain name cannot be renewed, and then enters the public market where it is first come first served to purchase it. Renew during redemption also takes more effort by the reseller as well, so the combined costs for the registrar and reseller can range from between £100 and £200 plus VAT. To avoid these extra costs please avoid allowing your domain name to enter the redemption period.

Freetimers sends automated reminders to our clients to hopefully keep this from happening. Expiration reminder emails are sent to the registrant email address approximately 1 month and 1 week before the expiration date of the domain and post-expiration renewal emails are sent to the registrant email address within 5 days after the deletion of the domain.

To see the full rules covering the expiry, transfer and renewal rules for Top Level domain names visit the ICANN website at:

https://www.icann.org/resources/pages/errp-2013-02-28-en

Domain Name Prices and Types

The domain names below are the most widely used, but there are much more available, so if you don't see the one you are looking for please ask us. Most usually we register or renew domain names for two year periods but for many, you can now do a single year, and if you want to do more than can usually be easily accommodated. The prices shown are for two years excluding VAT, and these are for our 'managed' service. This means we look after the domain name for you, including DNS management.

Top Level International Domains

.biz - £35.00 (2 yrs)
.com - £35.00 (2 yrs) The most widely known and most prestigious domain name for people who are serious about their business.
.info - £35.00 (2 yrs)
.name - £35.00 (2 yrs)
.net - £35.00 (2 yrs)
.org - £35.00 (2 yrs)
.tv - £60.00 (2 yrs)

UK Nominet Domains

.uk - £20.00 (2 yrs) The new shorter commercial domain extension for the UK
.co.uk - £20.00 (2 yrs) The principal commercial domain name for the UK
.ltd.uk - £20.00 (2 yrs) If you want a name specifically for your Limited Company, this domain type may be for you.
.me.uk - £20.00 (2 yrs)
.net.uk - £20.00 (2 yrs)
.org.uk - £20.00 (2 yrs) The UK domain type used primarily by non-profit organisations.
.plc.uk - £20.00 (2 yrs)
.sch.uk - £20.00 (2 yrs)