Premium domains – what they are, why they cost more

For something so fundamental to the Internet, the domain name industry contains a lot of surprises. Some of them are good – like the way .nz and .au registrations help fund groups that advocate for an open and free global internet. But then some surprises aren’t so great, as anyone who has tried to register a “premium domain” has found out.

Premium pricing can get very serious. The few remaining two-letter .co domains, for example, are listed for US$150,000.

This article explains where premium prices come from (spoiler alert: not us!), why they spring up so late in the registration process, and what happens in the background while you decide whether the extra cost is worth it.

Prices are set by registries

Every top-level domain (TLD) has a wholesaler, or registry, that…