Last week I received an email from my Account Executive at my primary domain registrar and the email announced domain name prices are increasing. On January 15th, 2012, the price of .com by 7% and .net domains by 10%. I’ve been aware of the contract between ICANN and Verisign for the past 4yrs, but I never researched it in detail.

What I found was Verisign signed a 6yr contract with ICANN stating they can increase the cost of .com and .net domains in any 4yrs of the agreement.

Here’s the official verbiage:

“(ii) for each calendar year beginning with 1 January 2007, the smaller of the preceding year’s Maximum Price or the highest price charged during the preceding year, multiplied by 1.07; provided, however, that such increases shall only be permitted in four years of any six year term of the Agreement.”

This morning I received a similar email from another registrar as well. This weekend I’m setting aside a few hours to sort through my portfolio to renew in bulk to avoid the domain name price increase.

What I recommend doing is dividing your portfolio into short-term, mid-term and long-term holds. Renew all of your premium domains for 5 or 10yrs. Renew your short term domains for a year or two.

When dealing in bulk every penny counts. A small figure like 7% could easily amount to an increase of $60, $600 or $6000 per year depending on the size of your portfolio. Do yourself a favor and lock in the savings while you can.