Nobody really owns a domain name. It is leased. I am a lessee, on an annual basis (up to a maximum of 10 years) before it can be renewed. It comes with no guarantees, especially if somebody with deep pockets comes after you and challenges your assignment because they claim trademark or whatever over the name. ↩︎

Many domain registrars offer excellent promotional prices when initially registering a domain name, but when it comes to renewing, things get complex for a reason, and it’s not for the benefit of the customer. Despite competition between registrars, where the price difference can be slim to very much worth moving, they rely on switching costs and customer inertia; people have the dual problem of being lazy (because moving to a different registrar is an administrative hassle), and are too short-sighted to notice the long-term costs (because discounts are more attractive than the actual cost). ↩︎