For some reason I really like "aged" domain names and I started looking back to the history of prices back in the day and thought I would share with you. Most of the time I liked aged domain names is because all the good domain names were registered way back in the late 80′s to late 90′s. I think they (aged domains) help with SEO and many people have debated if that matters or not but I think it does. Many aged domains are already indexed in search engines and that is a benefit most of the time with many being indexed for a long time. This is often times why I like aged domains but keywords are still the most important.

Age is just a number right? Yep, it is but if you look at that number from a different aspect of "its age" and the journey it took to get to this day and age, you end up respecting it for more than a number.

How many times do you see a domain name registered in the mid 90′s and not really think that much about it?

Let’s consider domain’s from the late 80′s and to the end of 1999 as a pretty interesting focal point.

From around 1985-1995 domain names were free to register but it was no where close to how easy it is today to register one. I personally never registered any back then but I have heard some stories. So if you see a domain name that wasn’t dropped from the registry that is dated before 1995, it was free when it was first registered.

From 1995-1998 Network Solutions was the only domain name registrar and .com (I think .net and .org as well) domain name fee’s were $100 for a 2 year minimum ($50 a year). In 1997 following a lawsuit, domain name registration fees dropped to $70 for a 2 year minimum registration.

By  the end of 1999 the registrar monopoly was broken and competition lowered domain name registration prices to as low as $6 reseller fee (registry level) which resulted in domain name registrars like Dotster to offer domain names for about $15-$20 a year to the general public.

So what does this mean?

Any domain name that has been continuously registered since 1995 and to 1998, a minimum of $170 was paid for registration fees during that time. From 1998 until the end of the year in 1999 an additional $70 was likely added on to the domain registration fee depending on creation date. (1995 to 1997 $100) (1997 to early 1999 $100) (end of 1999 $70).

Network Solutions has since dropped the minimum 2 years off registration but the $34.99 registration fee has stayed the same since the end of 1999 and is the highest on the market today between the top 5 domain name registrars by volume. Yes, some registrants get a discount but many do not, so let’s assume a discount is not being given.

So for an example, let’s say you see a domain name that was registered in 1995 and it has been since. The domain reaches expire date and is listed in the Pre-Release section on NameJet. You consider purchasing the domain name and do but did you think of what it has taken to get that 1995 registration to today?

$170 minimum from 1995 – early 1999. 1999 to 2010 is 11 years to bring you to current date with the domain never leaving Network Solutions, so 11 x $34.99 = $384.89 + $170 = $554.89 in domain name registration fees for a .com domain name with a creation date of 1995.

Pretty interesting when you dig back and look more into a domain names "age" and makes you add a bit more respect to the age of the domain name and the minimum registration fees paid over the year.

Resources:

NetworkSolutions Wikipedia.org

DomainName Wikipedia.org

ICANN.org Registrar History

Andrew DomainNameWire.com