Why do you have to pay to use a domain name?

its a business

The following numbers are only for .com domain names for the last 24 hours:

Active: 82,796,423
Deleted: 306,741,396
New: 49,550
Expired: 54,414
Transfered: 78,128

That's just one TLD for 24 hours. Add in all the others around the world and it adds up to a lot of bookkeeping, which costs money. And the registrars wouldn't take it on if they couldn't also make a little money in the process.

why did they create domain names for then if they don't get anything from it...??

Usually, you have to pay a small administrative fee. You pay more for extras. If you want a domain name that is already taken, it could cost much more - if they accept to sell it.

1) "A domain name registry, is a database of all domain names registered in a top-level domain. A registry operator, also called a Network Information Center (NIC), is the part of the Domain Name System (DNS) of the Internet that keeps the database of domain names, and generates the zone files which convert domain names to IP addresses. Each NIC is an organisation that manages the registration of Domain names within the top-level domains for which it is responsible, controls the policies of domain name allocation, and technically operates its top-level domain. It is potentially distinct from a domain name registrar.

Domain names are managed under a hierarchy headed by the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA), which manages the top of the DNS tree by administrating the data in the root nameservers."

"Some registries sell the names directly (like SWITCH in Switzerland) and others rely on separate entities to sell them. For example, names in the .com TLD are in some sense sold "wholesale" at a regulated price by VeriSign, and individual domain name registrar sell names "retail" to businesses and consumers."

"The cost of domain registration is set by each individual registry."
Source and further information:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Domain_name_registry


2) "Check around and you'll see widely varying prices ranging from under $10 to over $30 to register a domain name.

As there is no technical difference as to who you register with, companies differentiate by offering free extras such as :-

* Forwarding - rerouting the address ie zzz.com can actually go to aaa.com).

* Masking - the forwarding address eg zzz.com is not shown in your browser, you see only aaa.com.

* Parked pages (a temporary one page host address until you create your site).

Curiously it is often the cheaper offers that carry the most free extras."
Source and further information:
http://searchwarp.com/swa1315.htm


3) "A: The cost to register a Domain Name can vary from Domain Name Registrar to Domain Name [Registrar] depending on the additional services they provide in conjunction with the purchase of a Domain Name. For example, Network Solutions is charging $35 / year for a domain name."
Source and further information:
http://www.hostsearch.com/q_domain.asp#Domain5


4) "When searching for a place to register your domain, look for a registrar that offers some kind of security. Many companies will conceal your contact information using various strategies. The results are generally the same which is keeping your name, phone number and address from being displayed when someone performs a search on your domain. Although registrars go to great lengths to keep your information secure, clever spammers may still be able to exploit the system by harvesting email addresses and delivering bulks of unsolicited messages. You can however, limit this exploit by opting for a private domain registration.

All in all, a domain name is a small investment that can work wonders for your online presence. As long as you keep it registered and secure, you can avoid all the ridiculous fees and other issues and get the most out of your website."
Source and further information:
http://webhostinggeeks.com/blog/2008/11/06/how-much-should-you-pay-for-a-domain-name/


5) "there's no good way to calculate the worth of a domain name. Compaq Computer paid millions of dollars for the altavista.com domain. For some reason, Digital Equipment Corp. — since acquired by Compaq — had named its AltaVista search engine without first obtaining the domain name. Whether or not the Compaq execs thought the price was fair or not, they still paid it.
Most domain names go for much less, of course. A few hundred dollars is a typical price for a domain name without an obvious application. But there's no way to compel a domain name owner to sell for any price, so every deal is something of a crapshoot."
Source and further information:
http://www.allbusiness.com/technology/internet-domain-names/1223-1.html

Well the reason is that it is diffucult to buy a domain. Sites like http://netsol.com ask you to pay around $35 for a domain, even if you have your own server.

It may be difficult to take care of and you need to "registrar" to a domain name before you get one. Domains need to be renewed every so often so then others can buy the domains that are not used anymore.

Although I might see that you do not need to pay for a bunch of letters, it is the only way for you to obtain an easy way of others coming to your website as usually a code is used to acess webpages.

You could always use a free domain site like www.co.cc or a web hosting site like www.webs.com although it is still not as good as having your own personalized domain.

o.k. but (go dawgs) who do you pay who mae the internet answer that realisticly and i believe u!