registrar reseller?

Ok, I've been reading all over the board seeing all this talk about resellers and registrars.... What is the difference? Is there any reason to buy from a registrar over a reseller? Why are most reseller's prices lower then registrar's prices?

[SIZE=1]This is a bit late. But I'll explain anyway.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=1]ICANN-accredited domain registrars are truly the only companies on earth who can register and[/SIZE]
[SIZE=1]manage domain names. Only a few can handle the technical, financial, legal, and administrative[/SIZE]
[SIZE=1]responsibilities of running a registrar business.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=1]To expand their business, registrars form as many reseller partnerships as [/SIZE][SIZE=1]possible. This is a[/SIZE]
[SIZE=1]win-win solution for many since registrars gain more business, while resellers can offer domain[/SIZE]
[SIZE=1]registrations without the costs of actually running one.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=1]Major problems occur if the reseller goes belly-up for whatever reason or if the customer ends[/SIZE]
[SIZE=1]their service "prematurely" with the reseller, mostly a hosting company. You'll find a lot of horror[/SIZE]
[SIZE=1]stories online of such cases.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=1]Bottom line, you'll get better treatment with a domain registrar rather than a reseller for your[/SIZE]
[SIZE=1]domain name registration and management needs. There are notable exceptions, but they're[/SIZE]
[SIZE=1]very few.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=1][/SIZE]
[SIZE=1]Hope this helps.[/SIZE]

Wow. Thank you very much. Very helpful.

thanx for the breif description about the difference between the reseller and registere, I was asking this question for a long time and now finally answered.

and to add a little bit on the question of why resellers are cheaper...

Not all resellers are cheaper, though I'm sure quite a few are. Normally registrars have a 'retail price' that they sell a domain registration for, and a 'reseller price', usually a much lower price that they sell to their resellers for. The resellers can then set their own prices - the same as the registrar, higher than that, or somewhere in between what they paid and what the registrar is charging as retail.

[Digital.X]

Very nice and detailed explination Dave Zan, Plus rep!

Although I already knew that, thank you for the explanation!