100% Australian owned and operated
I thought you said it was $0.05?
Same avocado, new shop. In case file 1, the one cent only counted if you bought two years. Here, the five cents only counts if you buy three. The offer page says it in small type, under the price:
Five cents for year one, then $21.95 for each of the next two: $0.05 + $21.95 + $21.95 = $43.95 before GST, or $48.35 inc GST. That’s the least you can pay for the five-cent offer. If the real offer is three years for $48.35 inc GST, why doesn’t the page just say that?
The badge beside it says “Estimated Value $1,170”. We don’t know how that figure is worked out. The name wasn’t registered to anyone: it was available at the offer price.
The short answer
Not $0.05: you can’t check out for that. The offer needs a three-year term, so the domain alone is $48.35 inc GST. Click Continue and a domain protection add-on is already switched on. Then you’re asked to create an account. The cart only shows a subtotal that “does not include applicable taxes and fees”, and the checkout, after the account, said $94.38 inc GST.
- A three-year minimum for the offer. The five cents covers year one only.
- An add-on already switched on. Domain protection at $46.04 inc GST, nearly as much as the domain.
- An account before the full price. We had to sign up, agreeing to their terms of service, before the total with GST appeared.
- Renewals listed for October 2029. $72.44 inc GST for the domain and $75.74 inc GST for the add-on.
Chill Domains sells .au domains, so we have an interest here. We haven’t named the provider, and we’ve removed its name and logo from the screenshots, along with our own billing details. Their prices may have changed since 23 October 2026.
What happens when you click Continue?
The domain goes into the cart, and a “Customize” page offers three extras. One of them is already switched on:
The protection add-on is priced by the month here: $1.16 a month, “Save 39%”. In the cart it becomes $1.17 a month, charged as $41.85 before GST and listed to renew in October 2029. That’s $46.04 inc GST, for an add-on to a domain that costs $48.35.
It’s described as protection against theft and unauthorised changes, with two-factor checks for crucial actions. Those are worth having. A transfer lock and two-factor sign-in, which cover much of the same ground, are standard at many providers, and our guide to keeping your domain safe covers the free ways to get them.
Why do I need an account to see the full price?
We don’t know why this provider asks for one. But we had to create an account, agreeing to its terms of service and privacy policy, before the checkout would show the total with GST:
By this point you’ve handed over an email address or a social login, and agreed to terms, without yet seeing what you’ll pay. The cart that follows only shows a subtotal, and says it “does not include applicable taxes and fees”.
What’s in the cart?
Two items: the domain and the protection add-on. Below them, more domain endings to “lock in” “before someone else does”.
| Line in the cart | Today, inc GST | What the cart lists next, inc GST |
|---|---|---|
| jacksdomain.com.au, 3 years | $48.35 | “Renews October 2029 for $65.85” before GST: $72.44. |
| Domain protection add-on | $46.04 | “Renews October 2029 for $68.85” before GST: $75.74. |
| Total at checkout | $94.38 | The checkout’s own total: subtotal $85.80 plus $8.58 “GST and Fees”. |
Adding GST line by line, the two items round to $94.39, a cent more than the checkout’s $94.38. The “GST and Fees” line is exactly 10% of the subtotal. The renewal prices are as the cart lists them; we’ve assumed GST is added to those too.
“You saved $48.90” is measured against the provider’s own struck-out prices: $65.85 for the domain and $68.85 for the add-on, which are also the prices the cart lists for renewal.
What did the checkout finally say?
$94.38 inc GST. We’ve cropped the checkout to its order summary, so our billing details aren’t shown:
Take the add-on out and it’s $48.35 inc GST for three years. Leave it in, as the cart came, and it’s $94.38. Either way, not five cents.
Which dark patterns does this checkout show?
Five of the patterns on our list. None of them is unique to this provider, and each one alone can be harmless. Together, they put the real price at the end of a sign-up.
- Intro pricing. Five cents for year one, then $24.15 inc GST ($21.95 before GST) for each of the next two.
- Prices before GST. The cart’s subtotal “does not include applicable taxes and fees”.
- A discount against the seller’s own price. “33% off”, “39% off” and “You saved $48.90”, all measured against its own prices.
- An extra already switched on. Domain protection, at nearly the price of the domain.
- An account before the full price. Sign up and agree to terms first; see the total with GST after.
What does the same domain cost at Chill Domains?
$20 a year inc GST, to register and to renew.
At Chill Domains. A .com.au is $20 a year inc GST, and it renews at the same list price. Every price we charge is shown including GST, and our cart shows the total, inc GST, before you sign in or create anything. The checkout has the domain and nothing else switched on: no add-ons added for you. Our one optional extra, a simple mailbox, isn’t in the cart: it’s sold separately on its own page. A transfer lock and two-factor sign-in are included. The rest of our promises are on how it works.
Questions people ask
Is a $0.05 domain a scam?
Do I need the domain protection add-on?
Why did I have to make an account to see the full price?
Sources
- The checkout itself: our screenshots of another provider’s offer, customise page, account step, cart and order summary for jacksdomain.com.au, taken on 23 October 2026, shown above with the provider’s name and logo and our billing details removed. Every price and quotation about that checkout comes from them.
- Chill Domains pricing and our promises: our own prices and terms, as at 23 October 2026.
General information, not financial or legal advice. Prices are as at the dates shown; check the checkout in front of you.
Keep reading
- Dark patterns in the domain business: the rest of the patterns, and what we do instead.
- Case file 1: the $0.01 domain and its cart: the same trick with two years and three extras.
- Keeping your domain safe: locks, two-factor sign-in and fake notices.
- Jack’s Renewal Run: the same hoops, as a game.