A premium domain name is a domain that is already owned by a person or registry. Its cost can be significantly more than a typical domain purchase ” anywhere from hundreds to hundreds of thousands of dollars ” due to its perceived higher value. The higher price will apply to the initial acquisition of the domain, but it will renew at the regular renewal price for whichever domain extension it uses.
A domain becomes premium when someone believes that a particular domain name is more valuable than the average domain. Domains are considered premium for a large number of reasons including length, keywords and brandability. To go more in-depth, check out our post on how to calculate your domain names value.
To become premium, the owner will use a marketplace service like Afternic to set a price and list the domain. Potential buyers can then either go directly to the marketplace to browse available premium domains or will see these in results when searching a domain provider like Hover.
Not all premium domains are set by individuals. Some registries (the owners of domain extensions like .club or .info) will set a higher initial price of domains that they believe are premium. Its not always clear which premiums are set independently or by registries, and the process of buying one wont be noticeably different for you.
