Following this thread. I have the same promo, renewal due in October. Setting calendar alert now.
Looking for anyone who got the free domain and kept it
Same here. October crew.
mikenoan said:
Following this thread.
noanspace said:
Same here. October crew.
I started a spreadsheet. 14 domains across 6 providers, all with "free" or "included" origins. Three have already flipped to paid. Two more have TOS changes I missed.
My monitoring stack: UptimeRobot for uptime, Hetzner Robot for server bills, manual calendar for domains. The gap is obvious. I am building a TOS-change detector this weekend.
If anyone wants the spreadsheet template, I will share when it is clean.
436 days. reboot is surrender.
I am here for the deals and this is not a deal. $35 for .com is high. Cloudflare is $9.15, Porkbun is around $10, Namecheap $12 with coupon. Even GoDaddy first year is cheaper though their renewal is robbery.
Contabo's $35 is reseller markup. They are not registrar, they are reseller of Key-Systems or similar. The wholesale price is not $35.
firedeals1984 said:
Contabo's $35 is reseller markup.
Confirmed. I checked ICANN lookup, the sponsoring registrar for my Contabo domain is Key-Systems GmbH. Contabo is just administrative contact. Key-Systems retail is about $15 for .com. Contabo adds $20 for "convenience."
Transfer directly to Key-Systems? No, they are wholesale only. But you can transfer to any accredited registrar and pay less than $35.
This. I was going to post the same. The $35 is not ICANN fee, not registry fee, it is Contabo fee. You can transfer out and pay market rate elsewhere.
My only caution: check if Contabo charges a transfer-out fee. Some resellers do. Not ICANN-allowed for the auth code itself, but they can charge "administrative processing." I have seen $5-10.
lazykai said:
Check if Contabo charges a transfer-out fee
2023 TOS: no transfer-out fee mentioned. 2024 TOS: still none. Section 15.2 is about "domain lock for non-payment," not transfer fees.
However: section 8.3 says they can withhold services for "outstanding obligations." If your VPS invoice is due same day as domain renewal, they might conflate them in the lock logic. Pay VPS first, then transfer domain. Separate the transactions.
CarlosBilby
Member
From dial-up BBS to cloud native, I have seen every billing trick. The "free for life" that becomes paid is oldest. My first was a free shell account in 1998 that wanted $50 for "database access" after year two.
For Brazil: we have PROCON for consumer protection. EU has stronger. If you are in EU and have 2023 terms in writing, you might have case for ombudsman. Not lawyer, just saying: the retroactive TOS change is questionable under German consumer law.
I did not pursue it, I just transferred. But the option exists.
Has anyone tried contacting Contabo support and asking for the 2023 rate to be honored? Not expecting success, just wondering if anyone got a human who understood the issue. My experience with their support is ticket roulette.
mediatakeba said:
Has anyone tried contacting Contabo support and asking for the 2023 rate to be honored?
I will try this before transfer. Document everything, escalate if needed, then transfer if they refuse. I want the domain, but I also want to know if their support can handle a contractual dispute without routing to abuse.
I will update the thread with result. Thank you all for the data. My alert fatigue is slightly less fatigued.
436 days. reboot is surrender.