Do any domain investors renew names for longer than one year?

Here’s a question I haven’t asked in a while that I’d be interested to know the answer to – do any domain investors out there renew domains for more than a year?

Of course I can’t ask a question without answering it myself, and the answer for me is no. I renew all my domains for one year at a time. The reason is simple, if a domain name sells, anything beyond this year will be extra money spent for no reason. If auto-renew didn’t exist then I might be in trouble since it could be less-than-trivial to remember when all my domains expire, but it does exist so I don’t have to remember.

One thing I do make sure to do at all of my registrar accounts is keep multiple payment methods on file, that way if a domain does auto-renew and a credit card got canceled or expired, there’s a backup. So far in the ~14 years I’ve been investing in domain names I haven’t had any domains accidentally expire so, so far so good!

I’ve heard some investors in the past suggest renewing domains for 5+ years so that if a potential buyer does a WHOIS search, they’ll see the domain doesn’t expire for a longer time and could be more likely to make an offer. Personally, I don’t see this as a big deal since most potential buyers don’t look at the WHOIS, especially now since there’s not much to see any more.

Still, I’m curious if there are investors out there who renew domains for more than one year, and if so, why do you do it? I want to hear from you, comment and let your voice be heard!