Problems transferring domain names away from GoDaddy?

A lot of people have posted complaints

[1Lit]

I've been doing quite a bit of research on GoDaddy and virtually every webmaster forum has a couple of postings about people who've had major difficulties in transferring their domain names away from this register. People have complained about GoDaddy putting obstacles in their way, not answering emails or picking up the phone etc. (I just tried ringing them and put the phone down after waiting in their queing system for 20 minutes.)

I'm not sure if these problems are common or not - as GoDaddy seem to be one of the most popular registrars in this forum.

Has anybody tried to transfer a domain name AWAY from GoDaddy? What has your experience been?

It's becoming a real hassle keeping a tab on all my domain names and renewing them every couple of years. Therefore I'm tempted to use GoDaddy's low rate to renew some of my domain names for ten years - only $6.95 a year.

If I have hassles with GoDaddy in that period, do you think I should have no problems transferring to another registrar?

Do GoDaddy still charge for transfers away from them?

Been using Namecheap.com by now, with no problems, but I'd like to spread my risk by using another registrar as well (incidentally what would happen to our domain names in the unlikely case that a registrar like Namecheap or GoDaddy went bust?)

Quite a few questions there! Thank you in advance for any advice you may be able to offer :)

[Lisa]

Ah, I noticed that GoDaddy blocks important information from their standard port 43 whois server if you request too much information. So I am thinking it might be hard to escape GoDaddy if the registrar you want to go to is blocked by GoDaddy. The problem really is that GoDaddy is so small and their customers pay so little other Registrars don't do a lot of transfers away from them.

On one hand they offer great rates but on the other hand it might be hard to escape. I would love to here first hand from someone that has tried to transfer away. The problem is why would you transfer away when no one really offers a lower fee. Sure, there are a few places. I too would be scared of not getting out.

I don't believe GoDaddy is allowed to charge for transfers away. I could be wrong but I believe that is against the rules. Please someone correct me if I am wrong.

To answer your question about a Registrar going out of business, there is an ICANN bylaw that makes them post a bond and insure they have planned a smooth exit plan incases of bankruptcy. In the event of a bankruptcy another Registrar would take over the management of your domains and you would become their customer instead. In general you don't need to worry about this since it is really well planned by ICANN.

[The_Bunny]

Since so many people are transferring TO Go Daddy, why would people want to transfer away? I have all my domains there and can't think of why I would leave. As to the phone problem---I don't agree. Every time I call I get answered very quickly. To prove my point as I write this, I just dialed their number on speakerphone and I'll tell you how long it takes to get a human being on the line... 4 minutes.

Bun

[martinibuster]

Godaddy rocks. Great customer service (Friendly Phone Support), great prices, great domain name management dashboard.

I'm a fan. Two thumbs waaaay up.

[rfgdxm1]

I've read a fair number of complaints about Godaddy customer service. So long as everything goes fine, godaddy is great. It is getting a response when there is a problem that is the difficulty.

[dingman]

great domain name management dashboard.

Do any registrars make a sample version of their management systems available to potential customers? I'm more than happy with the one I use right now, a French company called Gandi. They have a nice system, but I haven't a clue how it compares to others. (It probably says something about the quality of their interface that I'm still a happy customer even though neither phone nor e-mail support is an option.) Being a happy customer myself, I'm not going to go through the hassle of moving any time soon, but it might be nice to have a better idea how the management tools compare when I'm making reccomendations to other people.