The advantages of buying domain names from a reseller

All of us with a website have gone through the process of reserving the domain name and hosting space. While some of us got the name and space as a bundle, the more adventurous of us bought the name and space from separate vendors. Many of us didn’t even know what the provider options were when buying a domain name. Domain names can be purchased directly from an ICANN authorized registrar or from a reseller of an authorized registrar. The reseller can be your hosting company or hardware or software provider or anyone. This article lists a couple of points why it may be more beneficial to purchase your domain names from a reputable reseller rather than directly from the registrar.

Prices

Price is a primary factor in determining where you should buy your domain name. Usually, registrars offer the domain name for sale at very high prices compared to resellers, as they would like to discourage people from buying from them due to the additional support burden. Resellers commit a certain amount of domain sales to the Registrar and are therefore able to obtain domain names at a cheaper rate, which they can transfer to customers. Some registrars charge $29-$40 for a .com domain per year, while their own resellers offer the domain name for $9-$15 per year. This could mean huge savings for companies with a large number of domain names or companies that have multiple group companies.

DNS Support and Management

Another important feature that only domain resellers can offer is personalized support. This means that if you have a problem with your domain name setup or billing, you can contact your local reseller and get a quick solution without going through a lengthy process. Some resellers may also offer phone support and may also provide remote setup assistance. Although changes to a domain name will rarely be required, when changing hosting providers or setting up a new domain account, you may need help with setup. DNS changes and name server settings can be considered critical support, because your entire website and related services depend on it. This means that if you set up your domain name incorrectly, your website may become inaccessible or not accessible from some parts of the world. This can be quite damaging if your business is dependent on online sales. This is an area where reseller support can be crucial.

Freebies and premium features

Some resellers offer freebies and premium features with a domain name, which others may not be able to provide. They may offer free WHOIS ID protection or even a free hosting account. Others offer an email address or even a free one page website to advertise your business before you start planning an actual website. The largest domain name providers can’t afford to offer these freebies, because their business model doesn’t allow them to micromanage their customers’ accounts. They are more into bulk selling and don’t cater to the retail market per se.

easy integration

Another important feature that a reseller can offer is easy integration. Domain names are never used in isolation and always have a service or system attached to them. These services can be anything from website hosting to email addresses or even an eCommerce portal hosted by a provider. Many software and hardware vendors offer domain names as a package with their other services, so the customer doesn’t have to worry about configuring the domain name with those services. The seller himself integrates the domain or sets up a system to easily integrate the domain name with the service in one click. A good example would be a hosting company that bundles a domain name and automatically configures the domain name with the hosting account. This takes the burden off the customer’s shoulder of linking the 2 services.

Readers should also keep in mind that buying a domain name from an unreliable or unscrupulous reseller can also cause problems and can also lead to poor service. However, these cases are rare and have many legal remedies. Other than that, one important thing to remember is to be in full control of your domain name at all times.