We are always getting so many requests stating my registrar is crap, who to switch to? So I created this thread, hopefully so we can eliminate so many duplicate postings.

OK. First off. You should always separate your hosting and your registrar. This may cost you an extra dollar or two per year, but the insurance is well worth it, believe me. If you don't believe me just read all the threads here about my host won't allow me to transfer my domain.

Secondly, I would usually suggest you signup directly with the registrar, and not with one of their resellers. If you are penny pinching on one or two domains, I'd suggest one of the other registrars below.

GoDaddy The biggest by far. Very extensive control panel. Std Price is $11.99 but there are coupon codes to reduce that under $8, so look around. I get it for $7.87. The main things about GoDaddy is their checkout. You really have to watch what you are paying for, and it's a lengthy process. Also it's a hassle if you want to keep on searching for the cheapest coupon code. Renewals, like privacy can be without coupon codes, so gets expensive. But if you just want domains at almost the cheapest prices without privacy, they are very good value for money. If you have enough domains to be able to afford the Domain Discount Club, it's worth it because you get the cheapest prices, without having to worry about coupons. You can get your own account manager with something more than 300 domains. All the reports you hear about domains being stolen from GoDaddy accounts, is generally due to security issues of the domain owners, not issues about GoDaddy's security. They are quite quick to resolve stolen domain issues, but you need the proof, and the domain still needs to be in their system. Overall, I like them a lot (as a DDC member), checkout is about the worst there is, but you get used to it. Someone with one or two domains only might find them ok, or prefer a simpler checkout for a higher price.

eNom The biggest Reseller registrar. Very good and well laid out control panel. The best imho. Probably the best API also. They have eNom (their Reseller business) and eNomCentral (their retail business). Stay away from their retail business. You won't like their pricing. They have two kinds of accounts, 1) where to pay a usable deposit for a fixed number of domains, the higher the deposit, the cheaper the price, and 2) where you pay a non-reusable fee to have an account, where the higher the fee the cheaper the price. But probably the best way for the average Joe to get an account with eNom is to get a free Reseller account with an existing ETP. These prices range for these is about $8.95 to $9.50 registrations. I get it for $8.50. Choose your ETP wisely. You will need to top-up your account $100 at a time. PayPal ok, but they minus their PayPal fees. Make sure the Reseller is an ETP and not a sub-reseller. Also if you want privacy, it's quite expensive, like GoDaddy. If you are in the medicine business in the US, their tie-up with LegitScript.com means they are very likely to take your domain away from you if LegitScript.com complain to them. So don't use eNom if you are in the pharmacy/medicine business. Overall, I like them (as an ETP), but support is far removed from they're heyday. And who know what other industries are planning a LegitScript type assault on your domains.

Now we've commented about the biggest two gorillas on the block, let's turn our heads to some of the others.

Firstly, I cannot recommend any Registrar which uses the Directi/LogicBoxes control panel. It just isn't user friendly, imho. You can get an account at similar prices with Registrars which have much better control panels.

NameCheap Nice control panel. Std Price is $9.98 but there are coupon codes to reduce that, so look around. Free privacy for first year, then $2.88 (cheaper in bulk). Free SSL Certificate for the first year. But because they are still an Enom reseller, the issue with LegitScript is a big one. So don't use them if you are in the the pharmacy/medicine business in the US. Who knows what other industries are planning a similar strategy to LegitScript.

Name. I like Name.com. Std Price is $9.99 but there are coupon codes to reduce that, so look around. I get it for $7.99. Free privacy with the use of coupon code, FREEWHOIS, otherwise $1.99. FREEWHOIS still good for renewals also. Easy to use control panel. SuperFast checkout and DNS resolution. I like them.

Dynadot. I like Dynadot. Std Price is $9.75 but there are coupon codes to reduce that, so look around. Bulk Pricing (Spend $500/yr) $8.25. SuperBulk $7.99. Easy to use control panel. $2 privacy, I get it free with my SuperBulk Pricing. Easy to use control panel, almost minimalistic.

Moniker I'm ambivolent about Moniker. I get $8.99 registrations. Privacy is $1/yr. they claim to be the safest registrar. They have good security features. OK control panel, although not as easy as some of the others. I prefer Name or Dynadot control panel.

Fabulous You need to be a very big player to get the best registration player at Fabulous. Spend about $40,000/yr and you get $7.95 registrations. Good registrar. Tad overcomplicated control panel. Offshore from US.

Internet.bs Based in Bermuda. Cheapest prices $7.49 prices (cheaper than GoDaddy), free whois. Also a Reseller. Control panel works if a bit quirky in places. Good reports about them, but basically newish and an unknown quantity. Too new for me.

OK. So that's my take. I personally consolidate all my domains at GoDaddy and Dynadot. I like the speed of Name.com. Don't post in this thread for the coupon codes I use to get my prices. All my prices are negotiated with the companies, but most times there are coupon codes to get the same prices. I've used and use all the registrars in this thread.

@stub Thank you, for taking the time to share your experiences and impressions of these registrars with WHT members!

I moved my domains from GoDaddy to Name, because GoDaddy does not accept PayPal payments, if they come from a bank account, as mine do. GoDaddy requires one paying by PayPal have it secured by both their bank account and a credit card. GoDaddy was fine, with the exception of their constant up selling and emails, trying to generate sales.

Name as you said is very good, in my experience. Early in February, I hand registered a .com domain name with them and it was in the WHOIS, in a minute or two. Then, I updated the Name Servers, to those of my web hosting provider, and the changes were shown in the WHOIS, 1 or 2 minutes later, when I looked.

Name permitted me to use two (2) discount coupons, on one domain renewal, recently. The first coupon for a discounted renewal price and then, a 2nd transaction, for free whois privacy. Very nice of Name to permit that!

Very Useful :agree:

No gandi.net?

Don't forget that Godaddy does not allow transfer out for 60 days if you make any change to the contact/owner info.

Yes, the LogixBoxes control panel is butt ugly but it works - esp for resellers. The downside for me is that even though independent registrars use it the backend is still controlled by Directi in India. Chris at NetEarthOne raised heck last year when Directi spammed his customers. Chris is on the ball, gives great support. and I'd recommend NetEarthOne

I lost my Moniker password once and was difficult to get it re-issued. I believe I had to phone. That's a good thing.

I lost my Moniker password once and was difficult to get it re-issued. I believe I had to phone. That's a good thing.
Phone isn't exactly secure...

Don't forget that Godaddy does not allow transfer out for 60 days if you make any change to the contact/owner info.

This is an urban myth. Their system is set to dissalow this, but all you have to do is ask them to remove the lock, and they will.

Chris is on the ball, gives great support. and I'd recommend NetEarthOne

Yes. I've heard that too. I just feel sorry for him using LogicBoxes as the control panel. It definitely isn't as good a control panel as the other registrars mentioned above. It might work for Resellers, but I feel sorry for their end user customers who have to suffer it.

No gandi.net?

I have no experience with gandi.net. Please share your's. Prices, privacy and control panel.

I hand registered a .com domain name with them and it was in the WHOIS, in a minute or two. Then, I updated the Name Servers, to those of my web hosting provider, and the changes were shown in the WHOIS, 1 or 2 minutes later, when I looked

Yes they are very fast. I have never beaten then back to the control panel before everything is set. Considering how fast their checkout is, that's quite amazing.

@quantumphysics Sorry for mis-spelling your username above. It's 4.30 in the morning here, and I'm only half-awake.

Internet.bs Based in Bermuda. Cheapest prices $7.49 prices (cheaper than GoDaddy), free whois. Also a Reseller. Control panel works if a bit quirky in places. Good reports about them, but basically newish and an unknown quantity. Too new for me.

They are based in Bahamas, not Bermuda. :)

I like them a lot. The control panel may not blow your mind, but it does what I need it to do.

Only had to contact support once and it was a positive experience.

GoDaddy The biggest by far. Very extensive control panel. Std Price is $11.99 but there are coupon codes to reduce that under $8, so look around. I get it for $7.87.

I've used GoDaddy in the past. I didn't care for their control panel. The whois privacy had to be set up through a partner service of some sort, and seemed to be more complicated than it needed to be. And you read a lot of horror stories about them.

Name. I like Name.com. Std Price is $9.99 but there are coupon codes to reduce that, so look around. I get it for $7.99. Free privacy with the use of coupon code, FREEWHOIS, otherwise $1.99. FREEWHOIS still good for renewals also. Easy to use control panel. SuperFast checkout and DNS resolution. I like them.

I've used Name.com, but after they started charging for whois privacy, I left. There's no way to know how long the coupon will last. Transfer out was problematic and not straight forward.

Dynadot. I like Dynadot. Std Price is $9.75 but there are coupon codes to reduce that, so look around. Bulk Pricing (Spend $500/yr) $8.25. SuperBulk $7.99. Easy to use control panel. $2 privacy, I get it free with my SuperBulk Pricing. Easy to use control panel, almost minimalistic.

I've used Dynadot, too. I liked them. However, it's not possible to shield your name with their whois privacy. And you have to pay extra for it.

Internet.bs Based in Bermuda. Cheapest prices $7.49 prices (cheaper than GoDaddy), free whois. Also a Reseller. Control panel works if a bit quirky in places. Good reports about them, but basically newish and an unknown quantity. Too new for me.

I currently use Internet.bs, and so far I've been happy with them. The prices are inexpensive. The whois privacy is free and easy to activate. You can choose whether to shield all of your details, or everything except your name. I've contacted support a few times, and they were quick to respond (via email) and helpful.

I suppose you get what you pay for. That is important indeed to think over prospective provider and customer service which might be provided for you.
Do not think about the price only.

@david3 - I agree with you about GoDaddy Privacy. A real PIA to install and get rid of, due to their 3rd party choice of Privacy, rather than within Godaddy itself. You hear a lot of complaints about GoDaddy because they are the biggest registrar (by far) and the have the most retail (stupid) customers. I've addressed most of the other issues above.

@david3 - Name.com are only charging for privacy if you fail to use the coupon code. Based on my experiences with Name.com offers, it will work through the renewals, and will probably work for a couple of years or unless the market changes. The only problem I had with transferring out is that it takes the longest time, about 10 days. But you can ask support to expedite it and they will. Support isn't 24/7, but they are real people, so support is generally good.

@david3 - My name is shielded with Dynadot Privacy. see comjr.com, as an example. I actually prefer this method because I can refer lookups to my sales website. I don't pay for privacy, but that's because I'm a SuperBulk customer.

@david3 - I think Internet.bs get mostly good reviews.

@Mr X - My bad. Yep they're in Bahamas

@SiberForum - Yep. Price shouldn't be the only criteria. Else you'd go with crap like 1and1 and NetFirms. All the above are good quality registrars.

@david3 - Name.com are only charging for privacy if you fail to use the coupon code. Based on my experiences with Name.com offers, it will work through the renewals, and will probably work for a couple of years or unless the market changes. The only problem I had with transferring out is that it takes the longest time, about 10 days. But you can ask support to expedite it and they will. Support isn't 24/7, but they are real people, so support is generally good.

Yeah, it took a long time to transfer out from Name.com, unlike every other registrar I've used where it was quickly approved automatically. And after it was finished, Name.com still listed my domains in their control panel until I contacted them.

@david3 - My name is shielded with Dynadot Privacy. see comjr.com, as an example. I actually prefer this method because I can refer lookups to my sales website. I don't pay for privacy, but that's because I'm a SuperBulk customer.

I last used Dynadot about 4 years ago, and I didn't notice that feature back then, but perhaps they've added it. Though when I check their Privacy section, it doesn't mention it:

http://www.dynadot.com/domain/privacy.html

How Does a Private Domain Work?

We replace your contact information with ours. Your name is not changed, to prevent any legal issues regarding ownership.

Yes. I've heard that too. I just feel sorry for him using LogicBoxes as the control panel. It definitely isn't as good a control panel as the other registrars mentioned above. It might work for Resellers, but I feel sorry for their end user customers who have to suffer it.

I see where you are coming from Stub, the plus point though from our pov, is 80% of our reseller base uses their own billing platform, AWBS, CE, WHMCS etc etc. So thankfully their customers are not subjected to the end user side of the platform. LB have started updating the UI so I see.

I bear you no ill-will, Chris, and I hear what you say about using the billing system, but it's the managing of the domain which is the PIA, imho. I don't think the billing system helps with that. Anyway, it's just my opinion. LogicBoxes control panel works, but has always been a huge source of frustration to me. Compare it to eNom control panel for example.

Internet.bs Based in Bermuda. Cheapest prices $7.49 prices (cheaper than GoDaddy), free whois. Also a Reseller. Control panel works if a bit quirky in places. Good reports about them, but basically newish and an unknown quantity. Too new for me.We were a bit hesitant at first too. Move about 100 domains there and now we've moved over 400.

At first their support was a bit lacking but I've been *very* happy to see they now have a live chat client running on the site... and their staff know their stuff too.

Another interesting bit of information - We had one customer who forgot to renew her hosting so we lapsed it and her domain lapsed too. 39 days later she emailed me asking for it back. I told her there was a registry redemption fee of $89 or thereabouts (Wild West) but that I'd try transfer it to internet.bs and see if we could get to skip that. I thought it was a long shot but to save her $80 was prepared to give it a go.

To my amazement, it worked: unlocked the domain at Wild West, got the EPP code and 5 minutes later the domain was transferred and renewed for $7 something instead of a "registry redemption" whatever for almost $90.

FWIW, we are going to transfer all our domains to internet.bs as they come up for renewal.

Oh, and that quirky panel they have -- I thought so too at first but now that I've used it on 400 domains I absolutely love it!

I have a thread about that over at NamePros. I've transferred a domain away from Godaddy up to 41 days after expiry. But after you get their email on day 42, you cannot do that any longer. So yep, transferring an expired domain out beats paying the Redemption Fee to GoDaddy :) You can even transfer out domains which have been through their auctions and have been won by somebody :)

Yet another vote for Internet.bs. I haven't heard any bad comments about them.

I bear you no ill-will, Chris, and I hear what you say about using the billing system, but it's the managing of the domain which is the PIA, imho. I don't think the billing system helps with that. Anyway, it's just my opinion. LogicBoxes control panel works, but has always been a huge source of frustration to me. Compare it to eNom control panel for example.

Hi Stub,

That's fine, none felt :) Actually the billing apps do control and manage the domain name from within the actual billing portal so the end user has no need to leave teh resellers site, for instance awbs and whmcs certainly do, so the end user doesn't see the LB platform or need too.

Domain management features that awbs/whmcs support for instance, register, transfer, renew, set locks on domain, update and create nameservers, update WHOIS, gain/update EPP code, DNS management (freeDNS service of the platform) and email forwarding.

I could be wrong but I don't think there is much left for the end user to want or need.

Chris

Hi Chris. That's interesting. I didn't know that. That would help a lot, although I haven't seen awbs or whmcs "control panel"

Really great Info... :)

@WHT Moderators - Possibly you can move this thread to Domain Name Tutorials? I believe it is very useful reference material.

@Techno - GoDaddy have now made their 60 Day wait on change of Registrant Name (company, firstname, lastname only) official. You can no longer request to get this hold lifted. You have to wait it out.

At Dynadot you can set folders to have fixed whois contacts and nameservers. Just like eNom's Magic Folders or GoDaddy's Preset Profiles. This is a huge plus, as far as I'm concerned.

I almost switched to 1and1.com and boy am I glad I didn't... thanks to this forum...

In the end I went with internet.bs - in spite of not being a fan of online chat - one thing they can improve - in the chat login panel -if they're asking 'what's your question', they ought to have the rep see/acknowledge the query - don't have us repeat ourselves..

But that said, I'm really happy with them, I transferred from godaddy to them in a flash - one thing with transferring away from godaddy, confirm your transfer once you get the email with "DOMAIN NAME TRANSFER - Confirmation of Registrar Transfer Request" (it only encourages you to cancel the transfer but doesn't mention confirming it), if you don't do so, expect to wait 5 full days for the transfer to occur (default).

Hi there, From all that, which one is easier to buy and sell domain, for transferring to buyer, and total dns control.
I'm at godaddy for domain only, I just don't like I have to park my domain before edit mx,cname.
Thanks

I'm also using internetbs - their control panel is a little quirky but does everything it needs to do. Am perfectly happpy with them.

For .nl & .be tld's I use transip (as it has an whmcs api) - their main plus point is that you don't have to provide credit. As a reseller I just sell their domains and get a quarterly bill from them.

Just my 2p

Me and many other people have been using NEO and don't see why others having a much better CP. I have used Enom and OpenSRS but still think yhey all have good and bad points.

After few days of practicing all are the same:-)

What bad points could you have about eNom's Control Panel. It's superb.

There were a few tabs I had to look more carefully before I press them, and that was a year ago. I don't use them anymore cause they charge for every extra like whois and also don't like their fee's policy nor the way they treat sub resellers and customers, especially on the phone they provide.

In the end, everybody is different and as such like different things:-)

Yep. they aren't the cheapest, but I still stand by my opinion that their Control Panel is First Class. As far as I know, sub-resellers (and their customers) are not supported by eNom. You have to get your support from the Reseller above you. Which is why maybe you felt the support was not good. When you should have been asking the Reseller above you, not eNom. Which is why I always stress you choose your ETP wisely, with a reputation for good support.

Great thread here by Stub.
I just wanted to add that I just signed up a new domain with internetbs.net and it was easy. I like them. And after I added my nameservers, my domain was live within 2 hours. Awesome.
Also, someone said they are pretty new, but their website says since 2003.
Only negative was for payment they use three services I'd never heard of (no paypal) but I clicked on the first one and put in my credit card (no need to set up an account) and it worked.
Anyway, at this point, thumbs up for them.

That's another positive recommendation for internetbs. Zero bad experiences. But I do still offer a caution. Because they are cheap, they tend to attract a lot of low-life domainers, as is shown with their spat with LegitScript, where LegitScript claim they have a hugely disproportionate share of the drug domains selling fake drugs in the US. This may or may not be a factor in your thinking when registering a domains.