Fierce battle with GoDaddy — Dotster enters

When Dotster launched its domain name registration service in 2000, it radically changed the domain registristration market by offering registration for around $15. I was one of the first to flock to Dotster (I think my receipt number was something like purchase #21). The market has changed since then, as domain registration has become a low margin business and add-ons make most of the money for registrars. Dotster has been undercut by lower-priced registrars like GoDaddy. I personally transfer domains away from Dotster to GoDaddy ahead of they expire to take advantage of lower pricing.

Dotster has bled enough, and is offering a special to clients that transfer domains away to GoDaddy. In the past they sent a message to people as they transferred a domain away, stating that they could renew the domain being transferred at a lower price. But now they are offering permanent lower prices to select clients. It’s unclear what triggers these lower prices, but at a minimum it involves transferring domains to low-priced registrars. It might require a number of transfers ahead of the fresh prices kick in. The prices are $8.95 for fresh registrations, $8.95 for renewals, and $6 for domain transfers. That compares to their regular prices of $14.95 for fresh/renewals and $8.95 for transfers.