> 
> OK, I exaggerated with the '$0' crack,. but lets call it a rounding 
> error, shall we?  my math goes like this:
> Original cost for domain: $4.95 (per http://www.whatsinaname.com.au/ )
> Final cost to 'public': $550
> Original cost as percentage of Final cost: 0.9%

Well, you won't get any argument from me that $550 is too pricey...
but I wasn't referring to the price charged by the end supplier, but
rather the costs involved with implementation and support of the
domain name.

The $4.95 you quoted is only auDA's fee for administrating the .au
namespace.  There are registry and registrar implementation costs, as
well as support costs.  Also, the more eligibility rules a domain has, the
more manual work required by the registrar in ensuring compliance
(ie, the higher the cost to the registrars, which are passed on)

So, even if everyone involved was non-profit, domain names would
not have zero cost... not even close.

I still hear (mostly younger) people suggest that to set up a domain
name, the registrar just needs to add a row to a database or add a
file somewhere - and that's it... "So, where's the cost?"  It is such a
naive assertion that I hardly know where to begin!

> Damn, I let you draw me into it... :(

I know the feeling...

Regards,
Kirk Fletcher