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Dark patterns · In domain carts

Extras in the cart: you came for one domain and left with four things.

You search for a domain. The cart holds the domain, plus “protection”, an email plan and a website builder. Some were switched on for you, one was pre-ticked, and one was a single bright button away.

Last reviewed: · The examples on this page are made up

The short version

  • What it is: add-ons placed in your cart for you, switched on, pre-ticked, or put one tempting click away.
  • Why it works: we tend to keep whatever’s already chosen, and taking something out feels like losing it.
  • How to beat it: read every line before you pay, and remove anything you didn’t choose yourself.
  • At Chill Domains: the checkout has the domain. That’s it. No pre-ticked add-ons.
A burger and a heap of chips in a red basket lined with checked paper
The oldest add-on in the book: “Would you like fries with that?” At least the fries are asked about. In some carts, the extras are already in. Photo: Bahnfrend, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

What does it look like?

registrar.example/customiseMade-up example
Customise jacksdomain.com.au
Protection add-on Most popular1$3.99/mo
Email plan, FREE for 3 months2$0.00
Site builderAdd for $13
Domain: $13.99/yr. All prices exclude GST. Protection billed annually.
Continue to cart
A made-up customise page, drawn by us. The prices are invented, and shown before GST, the way the page shows them.
  1. 1Switched on for you, with a “Most popular” badge, and priced by the month.
  2. 2Pre-ticked, and free for now. The paid part comes later: see free trials that turn into paid plans.
  3. 3Not in the cart yet, but the brightest button on the page is the one that adds it.

The protection add-on is $3.99 a month, billed for the year: $47.88 before GST, or $52.67 inc GST. The domain it protects is $15.39 inc GST. That’s an add-on costing more than three times the thing it’s added to.

Why does it work on us?

The default effect: whatever’s already selected tends to stay selected. We assume the seller picked it for a reason, and we’re busy. Taking something out of a cart also feels like giving something up, especially when it’s called “protection”. Some carts make that feeling stronger with a pop-up when you remove it; see confirmshaming.

Where else will I see it?

Travel insurance and seat selection on flights, extended warranties on electronics, a donation box ticked at the checkout, and the “frequently bought together” bundle that adds three items with one click.

How do I check out with just the domain?

  • Read every line in the cart before you pay, including the ones with a $0.00 price today.
  • Switch off, untick or remove anything you didn’t choose yourself.
  • Ask what each extra does that you don’t already get free. A transfer lock and two-factor sign-in cover a lot of “protection”; our guide to keeping your domain safe covers the free ways.
  • Convert monthly prices to yearly ones, and check whether they’re billed monthly or for the whole year at once.

What does the law say?

Under the Australian Consumer Law, a price advertised to consumers has to include pre-selected optional extras in the single total price. You can untick them to pay less, but the extras can’t be left out of the headline. From 1 July 2027, a new ban on unfair trading practices covers design that manipulates people or unreasonably distorts their decisions, for things people buy for personal or household use; commentary on it lists defaults and pre-selections that favour the business among the designs it may catch.

What does Chill Domains do instead?

At Chill Domains. The checkout has the domain and nothing else switched on: no add-ons added for you, and nothing pre-ticked. A transfer lock and two-factor sign-in are included. Our one optional extra, a simple mailbox, isn’t in the domain cart at all: it’s sold separately on its own page. We don’t sell website builders; the pricing page says who we’d use.

Questions people ask

Do I need “domain protection”?
It depends what it is. Many add-ons sold as protection cover theft and unauthorised changes, which are worth guarding against, but a transfer lock and two-factor sign-in cover much of the same ground and are free at many providers. Our guide to keeping your domain safe lists the free ways.
Do I need domain privacy?
For a .com or other gTLD, privacy can hide your contact details from public lookups, and many registrars include it free. For .au names, the rules on what’s shown are different. Our guide to WHOIS, RDAP and privacy explains what a lookup shows for each.
I bought an extra I didn’t want. What can I do?
Contact the seller straight away and ask for a refund; many have a refund window for add-ons. At the very least, turn off its renewal so it doesn’t charge you again next year.

Sources

General information, not legal or financial advice. We sell domains, so read this as a seller’s view.

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