All of these are fairly large honest companies.
What am I gaining by <going with a more expensive registrar?>
Thanks.
[edited by: Webwork at 1:26 pm (utc) on Feb. 6, 2006]
[edit reason] Charter [webmasterworld.com] [/edit]
Some will not allow transfers away without written confirmation,
Some will warn repatedly if your name will expire, some will not.
Some can only be contacted by email.
Some have virtually no customer support.
Domain management panels vary considerably
The addon services vary
The ways you set up DNS
Your hosting options
You need to find one that meets what you are personally looking for from them. It isn't just about price.
absolutely, but i would add that a higher price does not mean a higher level of service.
for instance i use one of the 'cheaper' uk based domain name companies and they have a great control panel, easy to change dns records, timely reminders and so on.
(NO stickies, thanks!)
2. In business, if you don't pay you don't get.
3. In business, if you get something cheap the business gets you in some other way. Cheap domains get no customer service, cannot be transferred away without a charge, come with expensive hosting charges, etc.
4. If the price of the domain is less than the central registry cost ($6.+) then read the small print closely, all of it.
Sub-registry pricing is not to be trusted "on its face". What company prices to lose money? Look deeper. Chances are it's not a deal once you study the details.
Let me put it this way: IF it was a deal everyone would be moving their domains and I haven't read any stories about mass domain migrations.*
Forum spamming, by whisper campaigns, buzz marketing or otherwise, is another sign of a company whose business practices are suspect.
Though I've read some stories about mass undersea sponge migrations.*
Ghostbusters
The reason for the switch wasn't just the price. Service is MUCH better. Online management of domains is MUCH better.
However, before moving all our domains over, we tried registering a few domains and saw how things went for awhile. After it became apparent that low price did not necessarily mean inferior service with them, we quickly moved the rest of our domains and have been extremely happy ever since.
[edited by: Webwork at 7:10 pm (utc) on Feb. 6, 2006]
[edit reason] Facts and/or rationale, not endorsements (even cleverly semi-masked ones) :0) [/edit]
That is an excellent approach, just keep in mind that sometimes the love fades in time (but not always). I've known companies that cater to new clients and cater to new clients and cater to new clients - and once you ain't that new you find you are somewhat taken for granted and must decide if it's time to go.
Folks, let's keep the dialogue focused on good ideas - like LIA's "testing" - and keep away from any form of voting or commenting about specific registrars.
[edited by: Webwork at 2:41 am (utc) on Feb. 7, 2006]
Posts that focus on price are, in very large measure, not educational. Anyone can shop price, any time and easily. Just type in "domain names" in any search engine and all the deals pop right up, every day. It's what goes along with the pricing where people need to understand there's more to domain registration than just a price.
These days domains are not leading revenue sources for registrars. Indeed, they may be loss leaders depending on pricing and the real money is made on hosting and other services. Therefore pricing is becoming increasingly irrelevant. Everyone who can cut the price (who makes money otherwise) is doing it and there will be more to come, but "cheap" isn't the final answer since below market deals - which have been cropping up lately - tend to come with other issues: lock ups, fees for early transfers out, mandatory hosting, etc. Nothing dishonest, since there's usually disclosure, but such disclosures are often buried in page after page of legalese that most consumers never read.
Posts in this forum that focus on price as an issue will, for the most part, either be removed or heavily edited. The forum will not serve as a place for the promotion of the latest domain deals, intentionally or otherwise.
Why so? Well, if allowed, posts discussing domain prices would soon overwhelm the forum and degrade the "educational signal" to "promotional noise" ratio considerably.
Sorry about the edits and removals but this just isn't the place to dialogue about the domain deal of the day or the week or the month.
Now, if anyone cares to post up - in another thread - some of the "gotchas" that they've come across in deals that might be educational.
Thanks for understanding.
Effectively tying you in for life.. that can't be right...
