by Vanessa Wood
Design to Spec LLC - Darien, CT

The letter says, “Your domain name registration is due to expire.”

Your thoughts rush, “Hold on, that can’t happen– I want to keep my website up and running!”

Recently I received a letter in the mail. Its ominous title: Domain Name Expiration Notice. It came from a company called Domain Registry of America. I’ve never used them, never registered a domain with them, but they have been sending out these things for years. If you have registered your domain name with any of the top registration companies — GoDaddy.com, Register.com, or any of the numerous reputable online services — you will never receive this notice. They are Internet businesses and communicate with most frequently via email.

Mailed notices like the one from Domain Registry of America prey upon the un-savvy and the too busy. Unless it is read thoroughly it appears to be a renewal bill. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) got involved in 2003 and required this company to stop using misleading phrases in their notices like “register lock” and “loss of your online identity”. The 2007 notice doesn’t lie, because it is clear you can call them to transfer or renew your domain. If you choose to use them you are transferring your domain from the company it is currently registered!

Why not transfer your domain? The offer I received was roughly 3.5 times the amount I am paying for domain name registration. The letter urges “Act today!”… yet the domain does not come up for yearly renewal until June 14th. It’s not urgent to renew almost a half year in advance and the actual registration company will contact me in plenty of time before expiration.

The best advice: Ignore these types of mailed solicitations.