Hi All,
I currently use NetSol for my Registrar for my site at http://www.desert-storm.com. I am considering switching registrars to save some $$ (as I run my site our of pocket) and perhaps make administering my domain a little bit easier.

I was wondering if you would share your experiences with other registrars including 000domains. Specifically I would like to try and find the registrar with the best price/service ratio.

Thanks a lot. Ive been lurking on this board for a while and I have learned a lot!

Scott OHara

I've heard good things about http://www.000domains.com. I currently use http://www.directnic.com and have been very pleased with their response time when I open a ticket. Their control panel is also very easy to use. Both 000domains.com and directnic.com are opensrs resellers. The great thing about that is that you can use their control panel or go to opensrs.com and use the control panel there. I have also on occasion used the control panel at 000domains.com to manage my directnic domains.

You won't go wrong with either of these companies, and their prices are less than half than Networksolutions. Check out my wonderful thread about netsol at:

http://www.webhostingtalk.com/showthread.php?threadid=4251

Which is why I'm not surprised you want to leave them.

i use dotster..i dont know why. someone tell me and give me a good reason and i will switch. then again, i dont want an account at another registrar since i'll have too many to handle, doster, register, nsi and then the new one :(

well i have 56 domains,

49 of them registered with 000domains.com
4 of them were with NSI but transferred thme to 000domains.com with no problems
3 domains with 123domains.com before i found 000domains.com but intend to eventually move them if needed.

I recommend 000domains.com they register fast and support questions are handled quickly.

One thing i wish all registrars had was to allow multiple domains to be selected in their domain manager and have one change of the name servers reflect all selected domains :)

Maybe most of you already know this, but I just want to put this out.

000Domains, DirectNIC, and many others, are *not* really registrars accredited by ICANN. They are registration service providers(RSP) of OpenSRS, mostly, or BulkRegister, DotRegistrar. The last 3 I mentioned *are* accredited by ICANN.

Many RSP claim to be ICANN accredited but they are actually not. There is a difference between a registrar and an RSP. For a complete list of ICANN accredited registrar, try here http://www.internic.net/alpha.html

The reason why 000Domains and DirectNIC can afford $13-$15(approx.) is because they are RSP of OpenSRS who change them $10 each. Both RSP are not really cheap, but are reasonable. There are many other RSP out there providing even cheaper.

The ones I just mentioned are resellers who buy bulk domains cheaply from the registrar and resell them at a higher price. But if you do some researches on the ICANN accredited registrar list, there are several registrars where you can register single domain with *and* at prices as low as those bulk sale prices. Some of the webpages may look crappy, but as long as they are ICANN accredited, they should be fine.

Personally I'd prefer to register a domain thru the registrar directly rather than thru an RSP, if the prices don't differ a lot.

A registrar has to be accredited by ICANN before doing business, but you and I can be an RSP. You can see who is more reliable.

Cheers :)

Pippen,

I have to disagree with you there. I would rather deal with 000domains.com or directnic.com than someone like netsol or register.com. Whether or not they are accredited by ICANN makes no difference to me. If their honest, reliable, fast, inexpensive, and have a kick ass control panel, then I don't see your point.

eva2000,

directnic has this feature. You can set up your default nameservers and have all the domains switch to these defaults with the click of a button. Very convenient. Used it recently. They call it "Mass Modify".

This is from Directnic's Control Panel:


The "VIP Options" located at the bottom of the modify domains screen are available only to customers who have registered enough domains that they are no longer considered a "novice" user. VIP customers often require additional expert functionality beyond what is normally available.

The following is a list of the currently available VIP Options:


rolodex mode: This is simply an alternate browsing mode which enables you to view the domains in groups according to the first letter of the domain name, so that if you have a large number of domains you can find the one you wish to edit more quickly.


dump domain list: This option allows you to generate a list of domain names you own, as well as optional additional information about them. The list is generated as a plain text, comma-delimited list, so that you may more easily cut and paste the list (for a "for sale" list, for instance) or import it into your database or spreadsheet software. You can select the pieces of data which you would like to appear as well as which criteria the list will be sorted by.


mass modify: This option allows you to mass modify domain name properties. You may modify either the entire list of domains or only a selected portion of the list. You are able to define nameservers for the list or change the web site hosting properties for the list.


If you need a feature that is not currently available, please send your feature request to programmer@directnic.com. We will do our best to fulfill all reasonable requests.


[Edited by tabernack on 12-30-2000 at 11:22 PM]

tabernack,

I agree NSI and Register.com is pain to deal with, but if you've done some research on other registrars, it's not hard to find some that have kick ass features with low price.

Feature-wise, I think DirectNIC is pretty good, but I don't see anything 000Domains has that somebody else don't. However, no matter how ass-kicking the features an RSP has, they are all provided by the registrar. If the registrar doesn't allow the RSP to do so, they could do nothing.

Actually, if you own a lot of domain like eva2000, why don't you become an RSP yourself? You can then benefit from the wholesale prices. I myself am an RSP of OpenSRS although I don't use it for open business but only for my own company. There's nothing wrong with that. They won't catch you for not register 1000 name per month. There is no limit at all.

Could points pippen. It would be a good idea to become one yourself if you have many domains. Is it difficult? I noticed on their site that they basically offer you all the necessary documentation and scripts to get you going.

tabernack,

They have all neccessary documents on their website. But just for brief, you have to state(not prove:)) how you are gonna bind your customers(you) to their agreements. Do a simple quiz, sign and fax them the forms, pay them, that's it. They have two types of registrations - Quick Start, Full Access. QS is a web interface they provide where all functions are implemented, but you have to handle everything manually. FA is a set of scripts that you can modify and put on your own server. These scripts can do basically everything. I believe 000Domains and DirectNIC are just using nothing more than these scripts plus certain features of their own.

What I was talking about are for OpenSRS. I know DotRegistrar provide similar stuffs at lower price, but I never took time to research. BulkRegister is also a choice but it lacks many important features and the price is relatively higher the other two.

There should be more new registrars that provide bulk domain registration. I can't think of their names right now. But again, you may do a research on the ICANN registrar list.

Great, thanks pippen!

Just to clarify things.

There are a number of resellers for registrars like Opensrs who have claimed to be ICANN acredited.

This is not the case and opensrs has taken action against resellers claiming this or using the ICANN logo.
http://www.opensrs.org/Support_FAQ.shtml#ICANN


However,
Dealing with an opensrs reseller is as good as dealing with an ICANN acreditted registrar because the names are actually supplied by one.

Its a difficult area.
Here's how I explained it when I set up my domain registration site FAQ's, and I think its a fair explanation:

We are a partner of Tucows.com Inc trading as Opensrs.com, an ICANN acredited registrar. Because of this sideways relationship with ICANN we are not allowed to use the ICANN logo, but buying from Name-route.com has the same safeguards as buying from an ICANN registrar. Opensrs does not sell domains to the general public.

The same also applies to 000domains.com, homepagenames.com or any of the Opensrs RSP's

Gordon

That is an excellent explanation, Gordon, and one which highlights all the appropriate areas.

We use opensrs based CPanel on registerzone.net but as you now opensrs charge 10$ so we offer $15 (and a bit less for bulk)for one year registration.
Perhaps that is not the lowest price around but our customers are very happy to use an easy control panel to manage here domain.

000domains is up front about their relationship. This is from their FAQ, "Are you ICANN accredited?
We are a reseller of TUCOWS, Inc. through their OpenSRS program. You will find TUCOWS among the ICANN accredited registrars."

They are also cheap, even if not the cheapest around. Compared to the $35 that NSI still charges, $13.50 is a bargain. I know there are others that are a few dolalrs cheaper, and I like the service at 000domains. To me, the big difference is from $35 to $13.50, not from $13.50 to $10 or whatever the amount is.

FYI, this is a list of OpenSRS RSP who are Tucows approved .ca resellers. Most of them have .com .net .org .co.uk .org.uk as well.

http://www.tucows.ca/calist.html

FYI, here's a quote from one of them,:

Our pricing for a one-year domain name registration starts at $24.95 and with the registration points you earn, can go as low as $11.95.


000domains is only $13.50 The one above is registerforless.com. They must mean for less than NSI, not other Open SRS RSPs.

oh yeah, i know why i choose dotster now. first, they are icann acredited registrar. second, their prices, to me is 13.50 anyhow. everytime i sign up a domain, i go through my referal link and i get 1.50 back. so basically, 15 - 1.50 = 13.50. their website is great and their account manager can't be beat. dotster all the way!

Hi Duster,
no, we go throught opensrs for domain registrations.

I'm a dotster fan too. Just got 3 more domain names from them a couple weeks ago since they had that $12 special. It's just easy to use and the design is fast loading/easy on the eyes (and I know not to choose a registrar based on looks, but it is a plus).

Originally posted by GordonH
Just to clarify things.

Thanks for that post, Gordon. Most helpful!