We have seen many new gTLDs pop into existence recently, from .stockholm to .store, so you can now get a much more specific domain name for your website. Soon, .sucks will be available for purchase too, albeit with quite a premium; customers who are angry at their internet service provider will be disappointed to find out that it will cost them a hefty $2,499 to purchase a trademarked name with the .sucks gTLD.
But not all .sucks domains cost this much, as the pricing situation is actually a bit more complicated than that. For those with registered trademarks, yes, it will cost the whole bulk of the $2,499 to register their trademarked names. But for non-trademarked names, the price is much lower, starting at just $199 per “.sucks” registration during the “sunrise” period (March 30 through June 1st), while after June 1st, the price goes up to $249 per registration.
Knowing how dangerous it is for a defamatory website to be created for a company’s image, especially at a domain name that resembles their own, many corporations who can afford it will buy up their trademarks under the “.sucks” gTLD as soon as it becomes available, simply so no one else can.
There is one more final tier though, which seems to be designed for those with the sole purpose of defaming a large company. For just $9.95, a consumer can register any .sucks domain they like, with the caveat of not being able to put their own website up on it. Instead, users of this tier will be able to redirect the domain name to a discussion board on the everything.sucks forum. If you wish to use your .sucks domain for a regular website, then you’d better cough up the full $250 a year, unless you get in early.
While many people have complained that the pricing is predatory or extortive, the registrar behind the whole operation, Vox Populi, begs to differ. They say that the pricing is justified and even required when you want to prevent people from buying up tons of domain names and simply squatting on them.
On the other hand, some may argue that the price isn’t high enough, because a cost of $2,499 is nothing to a large company with an image to protect. We will likely see many companies rush to buy their name with the “.sucks” gTLD, just to make sure no one else can.
