Berlin Design Studio
Blue Star Domains LLC operates a direct-to-consumer domain name marketplace and reseller on berlindesignstudio.com, selling premium domains and aftermarket brokerage to SMBs and individuals using NameBright as the underlying registrar.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2011
- HeadquartersDenver, United States
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingDigital Commerce or Content
What Berlin Design Studio does
Berlin Design Studio operates as a consumer-facing storefront on berlindesignstudio.com for Blue Star Domains LLC, a Delaware-incorporated domain name registrar and marketplace headquartered in Denver, Colorado. The legal entity was founded in 2011 and operates with approximately 15 employees. Core activity is the direct sale of premium domain names from the company's own portfolio (e.g., berlindesignstudio.com listed at $100) plus aftermarket brokerage for third-party-owned domains, with each sale including a free one-year registration. Supporting products include WHOIS privacy protection ($2.95/year after year one), email hosting plans, SSL certificates, annual renewals (~$10/year for .com), and a private Domain API for approved users with a $100 minimum account balance.
The underlying technology stack is a thin reseller layer on top of NameBright.com, which serves as the ICANN-accredited registrar for ~99% of transactions; domains are pushed to customer-created NameBright accounts after purchase. Payment processing is handled by Stripe and PayPal, with SEDO (15% surcharge, $30 minimum) and Atom.com (free, $100 minimum) available as escrow channels for higher-value or buyer-preferred transactions. The proprietary tooling includes automated transfer instruction delivery, configurable auto-renewal with multi-interval email notifications, WHOIS privacy sync with expiration dates, and ICANN-compliant 60-day transfer lock handling.
The business model is predominantly transactional: one-time domain sales drive top-of-funnel revenue, while recurring renewal fees and privacy protection subscriptions provide modest, fragmented recurring revenue. Go-to-market is direct-to-consumer through the website, supplemented by customer testimonials, Reddit/online reviews, and educational tutorials that connect domains to Wix, Shopify, and SquareSpace. The named customer base is almost entirely SMBs and individual buyers purchasing single domains, with no enterprise anchor accounts visible in the disclosed data.
Berlin Design Studio firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Berlin Design Studio
- Legal name
- Blue Star Domains LLC
- Website
- https://berlindesignstudio.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2011
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- Blue Star Domains LLC operates a direct-to-consumer domain name marketplace and reseller on berlindesignstudio.com, selling premium domains and aftermarket brokerage to SMBs and individuals using NameBright as the underlying registrar.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Berlin Design Studio industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Domain Name Marketplace
- NAICS
- Software Publishers (5132)
- SIC
- Retail-Computer & Computer Software Stores (5734)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Software License Resale & Optimization (Perpetual/Subscription) (BPAEAOAC)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Digital Creative & Experience Design Agencies (Web/App/UX) (MPAAAAAD)
Keywords
Where Berlin Design Studio is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Denver
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Berlin Design Studio business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Digital Commerce or Content
- Cost components
- Operations, Technology or R&D, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Others
Revenue model
- Domain Name Sales: One-time sale of domain names to customers. Prices vary - example domain berlindesignstudio.com priced at $100. Includes free 1-year registration with each domain purchase.
- Domain Renewals: Annual domain renewal fees approximately $10/year for .com domains. Customers must renew after initial free year expires.
- Privacy Protection: WHOIS privacy protection service. First year free with domain registration/transfer. Renews annually at $2.95 per domain per year.
- Redemption Grace Period Recovery: Fee charged to recover domains that have entered the Redemption Grace Period after expiration. $100 for .com/.net domains or registry's redemption fee, whichever is greater.
- Email Plans: Email hosting plans with 7-day money-back guarantee. Auto-renews annually, two weeks before expiration. $150 fee for WHOIS privacy abuse cases.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| One time/ perpetual license | Pay-as-you-go | Standard domain sales |
| Subscription | Annual | Domain renewals |
| Subscription | Annual | Privacy protection |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Redemption Grace Period recovery |
| Transaction based/ take rate | Pay-as-you-go | SEDO escrow transaction |
| One time/ perpetual license | Pay-as-you-go | Premium/Aftermarket domains |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels4 records
Berlin Design Studio product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Berlin Design Studio operates as a domain name marketplace and reseller, selling premium and aftermarket domain names directly through its website. Each domain sale includes one free year of registration, with the company's portfolio including berlindesignstudio.com listed at $100. The business supports domain transfers through NameBright registrar, annual renewals, WHOIS privacy protection, and add-on services such as email hosting and SSL certificates.
Product overview
Blue Star Domains operates a domain name registrar and marketplace platform. The core offering consists of direct premium domain sales from their portfolio (sold at prices from under $100 to premium aftermarket rates, with berlindesignstudio.com offered at $100), combined with aftermarket brokerage services for third-party owned domains. Supporting services include domain transfer management (with advanced locking for security), annual renewal services with auto-renewal options, and WHOIS privacy protection (first year free, then $2.95/year). Add-on products include email hosting plans and SSL certificates. A private API enables programmatic domain management for approved users with minimum $100 account balance requirements. The platform uses Stripe and PayPal for payments, with SEDO and Atom.com as escrow options, and NameBright as the underlying registrar for 99% of domains.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Premium Domain Sales
Quantifiable outcome
- Quick turnaround on domain transfers - customers report easy and simple transaction processes
- +1 more outcomes
Companies that use Berlin Design Studio
Customer profileNamed customers13 records
Segments2 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
Berlin Design Studio technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- Yes
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration8 records
Feature3 records
Berlin Design Studio partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- NameBrightcoreNameBright.com is the underlying ICANN-accredited registrar used for all domain registrations and transfers. Blue Star Domains operates as a reseller, with customers creating NameBright accounts to receive domain transfers. All DNS management (nameservers, DNS Editor, URL forwarding) is handled through NameBright's platform.
- StripecorePrimary payment processor for domain transactions. Blue Star Domains never receives full credit card information; Stripe only shares last four digits if needed for transaction confirmation.
- PayPalcoreAlternative payment processor for domain transactions. Domain transfer instructions are sent to customer's PayPal email address upon payment completion.
- SEDOminorDomain escrow service available for high-value transactions. SEDO ensures neither party receives funds/domain until the other party's obligations are met. Blue Star Domains charges 15% additional fee ($30 minimum) due to SEDO's higher fees.
- Atom.comminorDomain escrow service and marketplace. Offers free transaction facilitation with $100 minimum. Works as domain escrow ensuring secure transactions between buyer and seller.
Scale indicators2 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights4 records
Berlin Design Studio competitors and assessment
Company assessmentOthers
- SEDO: The world's largest domain marketplace and escrow service. Already a partner of Blue Star Domains for high-value transactions and a comparable channel for aftermarket domain sales, though SEDO also operates as a marketplace that could compete with Blue Star Domains' brokerage service.
Emerging players
- Epik: Independent registrar with focus on domain investing, aftermarket sales, and Web3/crypto-related TLDs. Comparable to Blue Star Domains on domain registration and aftermarket positioning, with a more concentrated domain-investor customer base.
Direct peers
- Hover: Tucows-owned registrar focused on a clean, no-upsell domain buying experience for individuals and small businesses. Highly comparable to Blue Star Domains on customer experience philosophy and SMB/individual target market.
- Dynadot: ICANN-accredited registrar and aftermarket platform offering domain registration, transfers, and marketplace buying/selling. Comparable to Blue Star Domains across both core registration services and aftermarket brokerage.
- Cloudflare Registrar: Offers domain registration at-cost bundled with Cloudflare's DNS, security, and performance products. A direct competitor in the domain registration space with a similar minimalist philosophy, though at much larger scale and with deeper infrastructure.
- Namecheap: Independent ICANN-accredited registrar competing on price, free WHOIS privacy, and customer-friendly policies. Closely comparable to Blue Star Domains' domain registration, transfer, and renewal services, particularly for SMB and individual customers.
- Porkbun: Independent ICANN-accredited registrar known for low-cost .com registrations, free WHOIS privacy, and straightforward transfers. Directly comparable to Blue Star Domains on pricing structure, renewal policies, and target SMB/individual customer base.
Broad incumbents
- GoDaddy: The largest ICANN-accredited registrar globally, offering domain registration, hosting, email, and website builders. Directly comparable to Blue Star Domains on the domain registration/transfer core, but operates at vastly larger scale with bundled hosting and productivity services.
- Afternic (GoDaddy Group): Domain aftermarket platform owned by GoDaddy, enabling premium domain listings and brokerage. Comparable to Blue Star Domains' aftermarket/premium brokerage product line, though at significantly larger scale and integrated with GoDaddy's registrar.
- Squarespace Domains: Domain registrar acquired from Google, integrated into Squarespace's website builder ecosystem. Comparable to Blue Star Domains in domain registration and transfer, while bundling website builder tools that Blue Star Domains only integrates with via tutorials.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat3 records
Key risks7 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Berlin Design Studio social profiles
Digital presenceBerlin Design Studio financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Berlin Design Studio leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles3 records
Berlin Design Studio funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Berlin Design Studio M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Berlin Design Studio
What does Berlin Design Studio do?
Berlin Design Studio operates as a domain name marketplace and reseller, selling premium and aftermarket domain names directly through its website. Each domain sale includes one free year of registration, with the company's portfolio including berlindesignstudio.com listed at $100. The business supports domain transfers through NameBright registrar, annual renewals, WHOIS privacy protection, and add-on services such as email hosting and SSL certificates.
Is Berlin Design Studio a public or private company?
Berlin Design Studio is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Berlin Design Studio founded?
Berlin Design Studio was founded in 2011. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Berlin Design Studio based?
Berlin Design Studio is headquartered in Denver, United States, in the North America region.
How does Berlin Design Studio make money?
Five revenue lines are on record. Domain Name Sales are the primary driver. The others are domain Renewals, privacy Protection, redemption Grace Period Recovery and email Plans.
Who are Berlin Design Studio's main competitors?
SEDO is listed as an others. Epik is listed as an emerging player. Direct peers are Hover, Dynadot, Cloudflare Registrar, Namecheap and Porkbun. Broad incumbents are GoDaddy, Afternic (GoDaddy Group) and Squarespace Domains.
Does Berlin Design Studio have an API?
Yes. Private API access available for domain name management. Requires application with reasoning for desired use. Minimum $100.00 USD account balance required. Charges deducted from account balance only (not linked to credit card). Rate limit: 30 requests per 30-second timeframe; spacing requests by 1 second is recommended. API access may be revoked for excessive requests. Restricted from purchasing expiring/dropping domains.
What industry is Berlin Design Studio in?
Berlin Design Studio's product category is Domain Name Marketplace. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAEAOAC, Software License Resale & Optimization (Perpetual/Subscription), with a secondary code of MPAAAAAD, Digital Creative & Experience Design Agencies (Web/App/UX). Its NAICS code is 5132 and its SIC code is 5734.