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A domain name Registrar is a company accredited by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) and/or by a national ccTLD authority to register Internet domain names. These "retail" companies are often distinct from the "wholesale" domain name registry operator. Resellers are businesses that have an agreement with a Registrar to sell domain names through them at a cheaper price than what it is publicly available for.
Any place that you can register a domain name must ultimately use a domain Registrar or Reseller. The use of domain Registrars protects the public from multiple registrations of the same domain name and holds domain Registrars accountable for keeping attached contact information current for a domain name. This protects domain Registrants from third parties attempting to steal a domain name.
The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, or ICANN, has authority over generic top-level domains, or gTLDs. Examples of gTLDs include .com, .net, .org and .mobi. ICANN does not have authority over ccTLDs, or Country Code Top-Level Domains, although it is quite common for domain name registrars to offer ccTLD registration services as well.
Getting a domain name involves registering the name you want with an organisation called InterNIC through a domain name Registrar. For example, if you choose a name like "mycompanyname.com", you will have to go to a registrar, pay a registration fee for that name. That will give you the right to the name for a year, and you will have to renew it annually for (usually) the same amount per annum.
Domain names disappear extremely fast. Many people claim that all the good domain names are gone. I doubt that - but it is probably true that most good domain names that are descriptive of products and services have been taken. If you want a domain name for your site, I suggest you act now, or face the anguish of having lost that name later. After all, $140 (the price charged by the most expensive registrars) for a year's ownership of the name is pretty cheap when you realise that you're cornering a good name for your website.
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