Price change ::  .COM Domain(s)

.Com prices are about to increase, so now is an excellent time to renew domain names to beat the higher costs.

Verisign (NASDAQ: VRSN), the company that operates the .com registry, will increase wholesale prices from $14.99 to $18.99 on September 1. Most registrars add a margin to this, although some charge the wholesale price to customers. As a result, many registrars will increase their prices.

Customers can renew their domain names for up to 10 years at today’s prices before the end of August.

It’s the fourth consecutive annual 7% increase for the .com domains, which is the maximum amount Verisign is allowed to increase prices per its contract with ICANN and agreement with the U.S. government.

All told, Verisign has increased the wholesale cost of .com domain names by 31% since four years ago.

The good news for domain name registrants is that Verisign isn’t allowed to increase prices for the next two years. But then the company can hike prices 7% a year again for four consecutive years.