Results 1 to 9 of 9
  1. #1

    Thumbs down Godaddy's $1.95/yr deal for private registration - not for renewal!

    I encountered the following issue with GoDaddy's "DomainByProxy" service. They are promoting private domain registration for $1.95/yr. But this rate only seems to apply to the initial purchase or transfer of a domain, or purchase of new privacy service at the time of domain renewal.

    If I try to renew one domain I own that currently has private registration set up, the shopping cart indicates a price of $8.95/yr for the private registration (on top of the $8.95 domain registration itself.)

    They do not explain this policy ANYWHERE that I have looked. So the $1.95 deal sounds like a "lock in scam". As in - once you are committed to private domain registration, they raise the price to the (previous across the board) higher price on renewals.

    I supposed I could cancel private registration right before I renew my domain's registration, and then add privacy back to it. Leaving a short window of exposure as the real person behind the domain.

    It's just irritating - more of the corporate unexplained "the price is not really the price" bait and switch BS.

    I expected better from GoDaddy.

    Anyone else know of a better way around this?

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Jan 2003
    Location
    2 Miles High
    Posts
    1,085
    welcome to wht

    initial purchase or transfer only evidently

    so, you signup for a new name and get the privacy for $2
    ok
    you want to save $7?
    ok
    consider generic names to satisfy the tos
    like maple street cafe
    yahoo contact email
    phone number to voicemail
    etc...
    now, you've saved $9
    you give me back $2
    right?
    With more success comes more expense!

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Mar 2002
    Location
    UK
    Posts
    1,265
    How is a special offer like this a "scam"?
    Don't you ever shop in an ordinary shop or supermarket?
    Never heard of "loss-leaders" and seen price reductions to encourage buyers?
    Never been to a sale?

  4. #4
    Zoobie, thanks, I'll take that under advisement (including your commission ).

    Grandad, it's scammy because they don't explain the policy ANYWHERE. And because once you're set up as private, the renewal comes up at the usual high price.

    On Godaddy one has to wade through a bunch of "buy this add on" crap which is par for the course, but I have never seen a deceptive unstated pricing policy like this in use before this.

  5. #5

    Found a workaround

    Re: the topic of this thread, I figured out a workaround that results in being charged the discounted rate for private registration when you renew.

    This procedure works best for domains that are up for renewal imminently.

    How to do it:

    1) Cancel your private registration (temporarily) for the domain that you wish to renew. This will cause you to lose any remaining private registration service for the balance of the current term of the domain registration. (that is why it's best to do this when a domain is about to expire.)

    2) Your domain should now say "public" in the Godaddy domain window.

    3) Now go through the renewal process, and choose "private registration". You can select as many years as you want. The fee added for private registration will be $1.95/year.

    4) Renew.

    The disadvantages are:

    1) It requires timing the transaction close to the expiration of the domain, unless you don't mind losing a large balance paid for private registration.

    2) It leaves a short window of time in which you are listed publicly. I went through this last night for one expiring domain and the time between canceling private reg. and renewing with new private reg. was about 10 minutes, but it let me do it. (I have no idea if anything on the web is likely to capture this info.)

    The bottom line is that if you renew a (current) private domain through GoDaddy, the per year charge for private registration is $8.95 (more than the domain.) If you ADD private registration to a now public domain, the charge per year for private reg is $1.95.

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Oct 2005
    Posts
    270
    This is not a scam. This is a special promotion. They are offering a low price to purchase with a standard renewal. Most companies do this

  7. #7
    I expect GoDaddy to explain it better than they do, which is now "not at all". They lead you to believe that privacy is now a $1.95/yr option. The lack of forthrightness is why I posted.

  8. #8
    Thanks for the tip anyway.

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Mar 2006
    Location
    Bronx NY
    Posts
    190
    Other GOOD icann registrars gives its for free (not resellers)

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •