Hi, Im Greg.

Im looking to buy a domain, today is my first time buying a domain, Now who should I use as my provider?

GoDaddy.com or NameCheap.com are most recommended around here. Good deals, full featured control panels for domain control.

Sorry, I re-read your post and it looks like you meant hosting provider, not domain provider.

What type of site are you creating? How big do you think your site will be? Such as how much disk space you will require? Do you expect a lot of visitors to the site in the beginning?

I think he meant domain provider (not hosting provider). Anyways, I would actually stay away from GoDaddy, just check out this site about them; nodaddy.com.

Also, stay away from 1and1 and yahoo as well (though yahoo is not as bad as the previous two). Though just know personally people who just keep having problems with those three.

NameCheap.com seems to be good.

I' going to check out NameCheap Now.

google around for cupon codes for domains, you might find some nice discounts sometimes :-)

so far I've used GoDaddy, Namecheap, Mydomain, and Moniker and I can recommend any one of them - all pretty good (and I listed them from favorite to least favorite) - and I'll also tell you to stay away from 1&1 and Yahoo - had domains with both and had problems with both - yahoo gave me a lot more problems than 1&1 because they were a reseller of Melbourne IT back then (not sure if it's the same now) and they wouldn't let me transfer it out, etc.

But any one of the others is good.

Godaddy is pretty good for buying domains.

Try Name.com as well.
NameCheap.com is also great.

You can also get discount coupons to register your domain : RetailMeNot.com

Good luck!

I bought it from NameCheap, I like there features and the control panel is easy to use. Thanks.

1and1 treated me terribly, I would never use them again, and I'd tell anyone who asks to stay away from them.

I had a domain registered with them, and with their standard policy (I don't think you get a choice) they renewed it

automatically every year. When my credit card info changed, the automatic $8.99 renewal charge did not go through.

They did send one notice and a reminder, but then instead of just dropping my renewal they turned me over to a

collection agency and tacked on an extra $18.95 charge!!

I complained to 1and1 but they aren't budging and did not respond to my follow-up email. I tried to pay the

collection agency to put this behind me, but found they will charge me another $8.00 if I pay by credit card! I think

that is very sleazy, and I'll mail a check to avoid paying them one extra dime.

I looked 1and1 up at the Better Business Bureau and found they have an 'F' rating - I'm not surprised!!!

I'll never use 1 and 1 again.

Hi Tim,

can you tell us:

- Explain how 1and1 trated you "terribly" ?
- If you failed to renew/update your CC info, why is it 1and1's fault?
- send us the link on the BBB website, with the F rating you mentioned?

I think to add charges that more than triple my cost and to sick a collection agency on me in this situation is treating my terribly. They set up the automatic renewal because it obvously benefits them. I'd rather agree again each year and have to opt-in. But okay there are worse things. But when my cc doesn't go through to more than triple the cost and send me to a collection agency is terrible. If I actively asked for a year of service and didn't pay that would be one thing, but their policy triggered the renewal. If they are going to be aggressive with the renewal they should a least just drop the account if a CC doesn't go through, not triple the charges and send the collection agency.

I am not saying this came out of the blue with no warning - I mentioned the notice they sent to give the full picture. But if I fail to update my CC it's perfectly reasonable to not renew me, it's not okay to triple the charge and go with the collection agency. And the sleezy collection agency wants to charge $8 to process a credit card order.

That's not a respectful way to treat a customer. That's looking to make a buck however you can.

I've tried with both posts to add the URL from the BBB, the form SW seems to reject it (says I need 5 posts before use of vB code features). It's easy to find: Go to www-dot-bbb-dot-org and search for '1 and 1 internet'

Please stop hijacking the thread. if you are having problems with a registrar, you can create your own thread on the Domain Name forum.

anyway, to answer the OP's question:

Godaddy is a great place if you want to get your first year registration CHEAP. they have lots of Coupons that you can use on your purchases. recently I had bought a domain from them for only #3.17 for the first year. although the interface is a bit disorganized and sucky, its still one of the greatest registrars in the business.

Namecheap
the top 3 TLDs costs 9.69 to register but it's worth it because you will get a free WhoIs guard Privacy protection plus a SSL Certificate. Its really great if you want to start your own e-commerce site. but beware, their support is a bit horrible. It takes them days to reply to support tickets.

Dynadot
What I like in this registrar is the simplicity of its panel, NO BS whatsoever. but they are a bit expensive compared to other registrars.

The OP asked who he should use as a registrar. I and others advised him to stay away from some. That's not hijacking, but let's move on.

People's opinion varies based on the experience they have with their registrars. Not all are perfect as they all have some shortcomings. So, any established registrars like Godaddy, Moniker would do good if you wanna buy domains!