I am sharing this as a story of warning for those looking to register new domain names. Most of my domain names are registered on godaddy.com. I have registered and non-renewed dozens over the years without incident. Recently I decided to try something different. I had an idea for a class and looked to see if a domain name was available. The domain name _____.com was available and I registered it for $.50 on register.com (Some of you already know where this is going.) Looking at the fine print after registering it (duh, after...), I saw that after the first year of this smoking deal, renewal would set me back $38. Oh, oh. I called up and talked with a very nice fellow, who told me he could cancel the domain registration and return the $.50 to my account and the domain would be freed up for me. Should take 24-48 hours. Okay, great. What a nice guy. Next day, I find that the domain is now for sale by register.com. I call Adam, he says no problem, he will unblock it and get it freed up, in 24-48 hours. Next, I get an email from Kathy at register.com who says it will cost me $125 to have the name restored to my account. I call Adam, who says oh, knowing you wanted to retain use of the name, I should have told you you could ask for a transfer authorization code instead of cancelling the sale. Let me see what I can do. Next, I get a pleasant phone message from Jill at network solutions (come to find out both register.com and network solutions are owned by web.com) and she can return the domain name to my account for $79 dollars. Jill does not know the history of my interactions and I fill her in. She is sympathetic and says she will see what she can do. The next phone message from Jill says she is sorry, but there is nothing she can do and if I want the domain name it will cost me $79. Moral of the story: If the deal seems too good to be true, it probably is. Buyers beware. Other lessons: There are wolves on the web, it is the law of jungle. Just because the rep's of wolf, inc are nice, don't kid yourself. (register.com prides itself on its reputation for customer service.) The wolves will eat your lunch and your breakfast and dinner too. Nick of the Desert