Where to register names now a days

[webprofessor]

Sup.. my first post on here in about 7 years I think.

I have been using moniker for ages but they seem to have been going down hill. I can't reach anyone. Ever since Monte left its just gotten awful. Now I'm getting back into being more active on personal projects I need a reliable registrar to move my names to and refer my clients to.

Any suggestions?

[engine]

Welcome back webprofessor.

I guess we've all had different experiences, and mine have been mixed, but i'm not sure i'd recommend any of them. Others may have a different view.

[Kendo]

Get yourself a reseller account at OpenSRS.

[Webwork]

Domain registrars, like burger joints, are on every corner of the interwebs.

Unlike burger joints they all serve the same product, i.e., ICANN certified Grade-A gTLDs. (Okay, maybe there's some Grade D & F domains.)

What's their point(s) of distinction? Not much. Price? Meh, all about the same. Security? Nice if they offer 2 factor authentication. Convenient GUI? Meh, how many domains do you need to mess around with?

Moniker used to be the gold standard in that it had a CEO who wasn't afraid to wander amongst the unwashed masses . . and pick up the phone or personally respond to an email (from more heavily "invested" customers). You won't find that anywhere these days. Okay, maybe if you have 25,000 domains . . or 50,000 . . or is it 100,000?

The days of the domain registrar love affair are over. You will still find fanboys and promoters (spammers and their ilk).

I've been contemplating a move to Frank Schilling's "Uniregistry" however my move in their direction would be best described as . . glacial.

[Kendo]

Domain registrars, like burger joints, are on every corner of the interwebs.

Mine serves steak which is why I stayed with them for 15 years.

[Webwork]

Kendo, just the facts: Every independently verifiable "fact" in support of your assertion that OpenSRS "serves steak". They're not the only reseller platform on the planet and I just checked their wholesale pricing (what I could find) and, at this point, I'm not impressed. So, respectfully, to remove the skepticism from my skeptical brain (occupational hazard / trained "show me" brain), tell me everything that lifts OpenSRS above the rest.

Of course, as a matter of personal choice, you have the right to be a fanboy. I've been there, done that . . until the pain just got to be too great. :-/

[Kendo]

I have been a reseller since the days when a reseller had to pass an examination to prove that they know how the whole domain/dns system worked. Now anyone can be a reseller especially with the mob that you describe.

It's not about personal choice. They have always done things properly and set the standard. Other resellers, and in some cases those whom I expected better from, turned out to be scammers. Mind you, I have not dealt with them all and there are bound to be some good ones that I have not encountered.

If wholesale pricing is most important to you, ignore my comments, because it is service and dependability that are most important to me and that is what I am talking about here.

[webprofessor]

I miss when Monte would answer the phone. :-(

The only reason I have stayed with them since he left is I haven't seen any alternatives that were better.

[System]

The following message was cut out to new thread by webwork. New thread at: domain_names/4761669.htm [webmasterworld.com]
4:46 pm on Aug 10, 2015 (utc -5)

[weeks]

OK, I don't have the depth of experience of others here, but for what it is worth...

I now work for a non-profit economic development outfit which, among the other things they do, is get small enterprises' website working as they should. I'm the web guy. (I'm retired now, so I do a lot of this pro bono. No, I'm not taking bread off your table. These people... you don't want them.) I've gotten to see the "real" prices and services of several (a dozen?) domain registers. They are not all the same.

First, this is for someone who only needs to register a dozen or less domains. If you're buying in bulk, stop reading here.

GoDaddy offers email forwarding, which many registers do not offer. (You have to hunt to find it. They don't like to talk about it. Call support, however, and they'll show you.) Which brings up another plus for GD--phone support. So, if you're registering a domain for someone else, they have someone to call besides you.

That said, I'm now using Google Domains. They have a easier to use interface, they are cheap and they have email forwarding. (And I think they are US only right now. Sorry about that.) And, again, if you are setting up webwork for others, everyone has to have a Google account, so it's one less password, etc., to manage.

Both GD and Google Domains are fast.

Long time ago, I used Network Solutions. I recently had a client who had their domain there and it was not a good experience. Expensive and no features; interface is old internet. Moving the domain to Google Domains was difficult.

[webprofessor]

I stopped using GoDaddy when they started holding domains for ransom and plus their techs didn't understand basic DNS questions. They held about 10 of my domains for ransom saying I was a spammer in 2005 or 2005 and tried to charge me a huge transfer fee to unlock them. If I remember correctly my crime was sending emails notifications to forum users for threads they participated in, which even then could of been turned on/off by the user.

[Kendo]

Like with any job/contract interview one should be able to ask questions and the case of domain resellers..

"How many domain monetizers do you have in your management, employ or association?"

[bill]

It took me many many months, but I finally got all my domains out of Moniker. Monte was the reason I stayed there so long, even after he had gone. I didn't go to another registrar. I went with a big corporate firm where I can call 24/7 and they know my name. You've got to pay for decent service these days.

[RedBar]

I went with a big corporate firm where I can call 24/7 and they know my name.

Dumb question, what do you call them for?

I only ask since in 21+ years I've never had the necessity to call any of my registrars.

[bill]

I have had to talk with them about incoming ccTLD transfers that have odd/arcane rules for registration. They'll also file DMCA take-downs for me, handle trademark issues and things like that. It's a bit more than your standard registrar.

[gamblingdomains]

godaddy are officially one of the worst. If you want to transfer a domain and have privacy protection, you must disable your protection revealing your privacy in the process before a transfer can take place.

[gamblingdomains]

namecheap is a great alternative

[RedBar]

Huh? Why was this bumped up?

[tangor]

Low hanging fruit for a new member to up message count?

The topic remains valid and bubbling up once again is not a bad thing.

[RedBar]

I haven't changed any registrars in the last 10 years, mine all seem fine, a couple of them have got horrible user interfaces but otherwise no problems.