Register a Domain Name - How People Make Money Off Of You

It seems everyone is trying to give you some free advice on how to register a domain name. That's because registering domain names is big business and we all want a slice of the pie.
But, make sure you do your homework before you register that domain name because once you've signed up, you can't get a refund. (Registrars may give you a refund on the web hosting package, but you'll never get the price of the domain name back.)
If you understand a little bit about how people make money selling domain names, you'll be able to take our information with a grain of salt. Here are three levels of people who make money off of domain names:

1. Large companies like GoDaddy or NetWork Solutions are Domain Name Registrars. They make money by registering the domain name for you. (You can't register a domain name by yourself. It has to be done through a registrar.) Domain names cost anywhere between $2.99 to $34.99 per year. If someone tells you it doesn't matter where you buy your domain name from, don't believe it. Different registrars offer different features and you need to find out what you get before you buy.
2. Smaller domain registrars might be domain name resellers. If you've ever seen a domain name registrar website that looked an awful lot like another company, it might be because one is a domain name resellers. You can make big bucks as a domain name reseller. Basically, they buy a whole bunch of domain names from the big companies at wholesale cost and then they resell the domain names to you.
3. People like me. We make money on commission by referring people to the big companies. It doesn't affect the price that you have to pay - that's set by the registrars. Our business model is to give out advice based on our personal experiences. People check out the registrars that we recommend, and if they decide to buy, then we get a cut of the action.

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So, now you know. The reason why everyone is offering you free advice about registering a domain name is because, ultimately, we want you to use our links when you go to the registrar so that we get a referral fee.
Bottom Line: Search through the internet for information and reviews about domain name registrars and web hosts. Read things with a critical eye. Don't believe everything at face value. And, make sure you check out a few different sources.
When you're ready to register a domain name, just click on one of those companies that you've been reading about and buy your online property.