Favorite registrars.

[GeorgeA]

I would like to know what registrar you use and prefer and why. Also , post bad experiences with other registrars, since we could learn from another person's mistakes.

So... I'll start by saying that I'm using namecheap (great prices,an eNom reseller) and dynadot. I actually had GoDaddy in mind for one of my domains , but was having some problems with my debit card (mastercard), and neither namecheap or godaddy could process it at the time.That's why I went to dynadot,and haven't had any problems with them.

What do you recommend me to try in the feature ? (btw,prices count for me :P)

[adb22791]

GoDaddy turns me off becuase of the ads they force down your throat when you try and register a new domain. I've used Namecheap for the past 3 years and they have been great (especially for SSL certs, etc). I now have an enom reseller account that I use for all my domains, and it works wonderfully too. It seemlessly integrates with H-Sphere, ModernBill, and a host of other control panels/billing systems we have used. I would definitely stick with Enom or Namecheap... but one warning, Enoms really cheap SSL certs (SBS Instant, etc) don't validate in FireFox. RapidSSL Certs are much better.


Alex

[ManagerJosh]

Godaddy is still my preference. There are ways to get around the ads, if you look for them :).

Domains Priced Right is also my choice too :)

[Henrik]

GoDaddy turns me off becuase of the ads they force down your throat when you try and register a new domain.

I think you can click a button similar to "continue to check out" - which means you won't have to stand those gazillion product ads.

I've had good experiences with GoDaddy and I'm also using Dreamhost's domain-registry function.

I have no major complaints, really. :homer::P

[Ray]

I think you can click a button similar to "continue to check out" - which means you won't have to stand those gazillion product ads.

I've had good experiences with GoDaddy and I'm also using Dreamhost's domain-registry function.

I have no major complaints, really. :homer::P

Yeah, you can do that.

I've traditionally used GoDaddy (or one of their resellers/partners/alter egos).

[shameless plug]
That's not to say that I discourage the use of our domain registration services, but I never have. I've also not purchased any new domains recently.
[/shameless plug]

[GeorgeA]

I think you can click a button similar to "continue to check out" - which means you won't have to stand those gazillion product ads.
It's called express checkout if I'm not making a mistake. (hope I'm not :) ).
So , from what I see , GoDaddy gets some points so far. Don't forget to post what you also don't like , things that annoy you (I'm evil,I know :p ).

[Henrik]

What are you plugging exactly? :P

[Ray]

Not really plugging it I guess. Just mentioning them in the thread. Seems cheap to me. :)

[GeorgeA]

Nobody mentioned this: http://steadfast.net/services/domains.php :D.
Looks decent , though adding some kind of whois protection is somewhat needed these days.

[Ray]

Nobody mentioned this: http://steadfast.net/services/domains.php :D.
Looks decent , though adding some kind of whois protection is somewhat needed these days.

Is there actually a way to do whois from that page or anything? I'm not seeing a way to do so.

[ManagerJosh]

http://domains.steadfast.net/whois.jsp?null

[GeorgeA]

Hmm.... well, doing a whois lookup wasn't what I was talking about.Since I'm not that good at explaining stuff,I'll let the people at wikipedia say it for me ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Domain_privacy ),excerpt from wikipedia follows:

Domain privacy is offered by several registrars such as Go Daddy, Network Solutions, eNom and so forth. A user buys privacy from the company, who in turn replaces the user's info in the whois with the info of a proxy service such as Domains by Proxy or Whois Privacy Protection Service.

However, this is not true anonymity. Personal information is collected by these registrars to provide the service. To some, registrars like Domains by Proxy take little persuasion to release so-called 'private' information to the world, requiring only a phone request or cease and desist letter.[1] [2] [3]

Others, however, treat privacy more seriously, and host domain names offshore, even using e-gold or money orders in transactions so that the registrar has no knowledge of the personal information about the domain name owner in the first place (which would otherwise be transmitted along with credit card transactions).[4] [5]

In March 2005, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration has said that all owners of .us domains will not have the option of keeping their information private, and that it must be made public.

Currently, the Internet Coalition for Assigned Names and Numbers ICANN broadly requires that the mailing address, phone number and e-mail address be made publicly available through the "Whois" directories. That policy enables spammers, direct marketers, identity thieves, or other attackers to loot the directory for personal information about domain name owners.
If you don't want your e-mail address, phone number,street address to be collected by anyone on the Internet , using a whois protection (or domain privacy as I see it's called) is a wise choise. You don't want your e-mail inbox to be spammed , or to be harassed on the phone by nighttime by spammers/people who do not like/hate your website,right?

OR...I'm being paranoid :D . However , I prefer to be safe than sorry.

[Ray]

Ahh. I see what you mean. We'll look into that some. We're a reseller of domains so, we don't actually have too much control over what features we offer.

[Mike]

It looks like you resell for Directi. I have a Directi reseller account (just use it for my domains) and they recently added WHOIS privacy for free as an option. It's pretty much a must-have anymore.

I mostly use my Directi account, but I still have a few domains with Godaddy, Namecheap, iPower, Netfirms & Yahoo. I've never had any problems with any of them. I also wouldn't hesitate to use Steadfast @ $8.95.

In fact, I've never had a problem with any registrar... except for Registerfly. They need to fold. I just logged in there and see I have an unanswered support ticket from 2/21. Impressive! ;)

[Henrik]

It looks like you resell for Directi. I have a Directi reseller account (just use it for my domains) and they recently added WHOIS privacy for free as an option. It's pretty much a must-have anymore.


What are the fees for Whois-privacy?

[ManagerJosh]

What are the fees for Whois-privacy?
It varies from registrar to registrar.

[Henrik]

It varies from registrar to registrar.

I have never dealt with Directi myself, so they aren't offering domain-services themselves, only reseller accounts?!

[adb22791]

Enom charges a whopping $7 per domain per year. :(

Namecheap gives you free whois-protect for your first year, and it's like $1.50 or so for each domain for the subsequent years.


Alex

[GeorgeA]

I've seen the fee vary between 4$ and 8$ per year for a single domain.Oh ,and as adb22791 said , some registrars offer protection for free the first year that you have a domain at them.

[Mike]

What are the fees for Whois-privacy?

Free for Directi resellers, but the reseller can charge whatever they want for it.

[Henrik]

Free for Directi resellers, but the reseller can charge whatever they want for it.

What is the startup cost being a Directi reseller, and what is the price per .com (to take an example) over there?

[Mike]

What is the startup cost being a Directi reseller, and what is the price per .com (to take an example) over there?

I signed up a long time ago, so I'm not sure how things have changed. At that time, I don't think they had a minimum & the domain cost was $6.99. I think you get get it lower if you add a few thousand in funds, though.

Now, I believe directi is actually found at resellerclub.com, and it looks like you'd have to start with around $500 to get that pricing. Otherwise, it's $8.99, so you'd be better off just signing up through Steadfast or someone else.

If you only have a few domains, it's probably not worth it to be a reseller for your own use. There are registrars out there that are close enough to that pricing that the savings really isn't worth it.

Honestly, if you just have a few domains, I'd probably just use Steadfast & keep it simple. I wouldn't ever use the hosting service of the big registrars, but I don't mind keeping it together when it's registrations being offered by a host I trust.

Hopefully, they'll look into the WHOIS privacy and offer that sometime soon.

[Henrik]

I see, thanks Mike!

[Mike]

I still have some domains with Directi/Reseller club, but now I mostly use Resell.biz because it's the same setup, except they're much cheaper since Directi jacked up their prices.

I've been using them for about a year now & haven't had any problems. The other advantage is that they don't pull money out of your deposits if you use PayPal like Directi does.