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Why domain registrars could not just give it for free?

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They could give it for free, if they wanted. But why would they want to give for free something the can make money from? Those that do give it away are expecting to get your $$ from you in other ways, similar to how registrars get you in the door with $0.50 domain names (losing a few dollars for every domain sold - but only in the short-term). – akTed Jan 24 at 8:49
@ATKed: For the same reason that web hosts want to give you unlimited subdomains, or free e-mail accounts, or unlimited shell accounts. These things cost the host practically nothing, and thus most provide them for free to deliver better value and customer service. Likewise with other stock features (free unlimited SVN repos, MySQL DBs, regular backups, one-click install, etc.). If you want to be competitive, then you need to keep up with standard offerings. – Lèse majesté Jan 24 at 10:30
@Lèsemajesté: The price it costs a host (or any business, for that matter) to provide a service has little to do with the amount it charges (or doesn't charge) to actually provide the service - as noted in my $0.50 domain name reference. You charge what the market will bear. Registrars charge for domain privacy because the market bears it. Eventually, the market won't. – akTed Jan 25 at 10:38

closed as not constructive by danlefree♦ Jan 24 at 7:06

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1 Answer

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Some do. If yours doesn't, switch.

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As implied here; while common, this isn't an ethical practice. There are many registrars out there that don't charge extra to not give out your address and contact info. And a hosting company willing to use your confidential info for blackmail is likely to be just as unethical in other areas of business. – Lèse majesté Jan 24 at 10:25

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