Domain Reseller
A domain reseller is a company or individual that sells domain registrations on behalf of an ICANN-accredited [[registrar]], without holding their own [[registrar-accreditation|accreditation]]. Resellers access wholesale pricing and registrar APIs (typically [[epp|EPP]]) and brand the service as their own, handling customer billing and support while the underlying registrar maintains the contractual relationship with [[icann|ICANN]] and the [[registry-operator|registry]]. Many web hosting companies operate as resellers of a larger registrar. The key distinction is accountability: if a reseller fails, the sponsoring registrar remains legally responsible for maintaining [[data-escrow|data escrow]] and [[whois|WHOIS]] accuracy.
Example
A hosting company selling domains through its control panel is likely a reseller of a registrar like Tucows or CentralNic — the registrar's name appears as the 'registrar' in WHOIS records, while the hosting company handles the customer relationship.