Microsoft Finds Extra Revenue in Domain Renewal Fees

Microsoft has some bad news for those who signed up for the Office Live Small Business service before February 2008. These people will now have to pay an additional fee to renew all web domains acquired through the service.

This is not the first time that Microsoft has requested payment for domain renewals.

In February 2008 the company started charging new customers $14.95 USD for each new web domain. Up until now, those who signed up for the Office Live Small Business service before February 2008 were exempt from paying any additional fee.

In the Interest of Fairness...

Now, all Office Live Small Business customers will be charged the same amount, though according to one Microsoft spokesperson the number of customers affected by the change will only be a "small percentage" of total users. (Source: cio.com)

As expected, once the additional charge was announced, Microsoft instantaneously began outlining the need for equality among its consumer base. Also, Microsoft defended their actions by saying that the company will now be in line with its competitors (domain peddlers and other small business hosts) that offer similar paid services.

While not the cheapest out there, the $14.95 domain renewal fee is rather competitive nonetheless. GoDaddy.com charges their customers $10.69 to renew a .com domain, $12.99 to renew a .net domain and $14.99 to renew a .biz domain. In comparison, Yahoo charges $34.95 a year to renew a Yahoo Small Business service domain.

Microsoft a Step above the Competition

Microsoft also promised their customers that they will forever be one step above the competition because "Office Live Small Business will continue to provide several other free services for the benefit of their subscribers." (Source: yahoo.com)

If you read between the lines, Microsoft has found an untapped resource with which to acquire a few extra dollars during the current economic slump.

The changes are not expected to start until October 1st of this year.