Recently I received a letter from a company that advised me that I had a domain that was approaching its renewal date, and provided me with the option renew it now. This letter was worded in a particular fashion to draw my concern to the fact that if I did not renew my domain I might lose it, and that I could simply complete the included form to successfully renew my domain for another term.

This letter is the not the first I have received, and I know of clients who have also received these letters. As domain registration information is freely available, and for good reasons, organisations can take advantage of the right of domain registrars to approach consumers and issue domain renewal notices, even when they are not the current registrar of that domain. This may seem as a conflict of interest in respect to you current domain registrar, but is a business practice that is commonplace in today’s business climate.

This style of mail-out might be seen as trivial to those of us who take the time to thoroughly look over the terms of documents that we sign and agree to. If you consider however, that for the most part consumers skim, or do not read a single word of included terms and conditions, then you can begin to understand why this type of mail-out is predatory.

I have an acquaintance who works within the insurance sector who informs me on many occasions that consumers who purchase insurance products rarely take the time to thoroughly read the fine-print. That is, until they need to make a claim, and no-one likes to be shocked into reality that what they were expecting was insured is in fact not.

The domain name renewal mail-outs that people may receive from time to time are contingent on the fact that we don’t read documentation supplied to us. Furthermore, that we don’t consider all of the options available to us. Had I not taken any time to consider other renewal options available to me, then I would not have been aware that the prices outlined in this particular letter were 2-3 times higher than standard domain pricing.

This is not to say that you should not take up the offer of domain name renewal mail-outs, or of any other offer you receive. Instead be sure that you read and understand what you are signing and agreeing to before you pay for a service.