I've been with godaddy since 2000. They have never let me down but, I hate the new admin panel. Plus it looks like others like 1 and 1 are cheaper.

1)Why do you like your registrar?
2)How much does it cost to transfer in?
3)Do you like the way its set up?
4)How hard is it to transfer out?
5)How much are new domains?

ect. ect.

I like Yahoo's domain service (available through their small business page). It is fairly cheap and has a simple and easy to use control panel.

One negative however, is that is extremely hard to transfer a domain to a new owner through Yahoo (they are actually a reseller, the underlying service is provided by Melbourne IT but there is poor coordination between the two companies), so if you think you will want to sell your domain name later, go somewhere else. But personal use is great.

I tried Go Daddy and had no problems with their service, except for one thing: They have *so much* advertising on their site (even after you log in!) that it drove me nuts.

The best service I ever found was Network Solutions, who helped me recover my work domain name after our registrar vanished. Really amazingly helpful - but not cheap.

Try netfirms.com...they offer a $10 / year /unlimited domains plan...it works for me.

jeffgr

Thanks for your suggestions. I hate to leave godaddy but i am always looking for a better way of doing things.

I use GoDaddy, but I've used 1and1 for domains before and it works just fine. Transfering away from 1and1 was no problem, so I was happy with the service and its cheap.

I'm with one and one, now if everything goes without a problem, then they are excellent and cheap.

but........

When you have a problem, be prepared to bang your head against a brick wall, until you get one of the few helpful staff there, and there are some, just not many.

Now depending on the time of day, they outsource their telephone support out to other countries, which can sometimes become harder to understand and leads to further frustration, as sometimes you can't understand each other.

I'm still with them after a fair few years, so they still have my custom, and I think they've only ballsed up 5 times or so, which as I said was a real pain until you get the right person.

I can highly recommend NOT to use any affiliates of 'itsyourdomain.com' to register domains. From my personal experience if you ever try to transfer elsewhere you will be on a hiding to nothing.

If you try and move a TLD the obstructions begin when you are asked for a security password to unlock the domain. If an affiliate set up the domain it is likely the registrant will never have been asked for this password in the first place. To overcome this, the registrant must send a fax of their driving licence or passport to re-set the password.

Having done this, you can then un-lock the domain and obtain the AUTH code. However, when your own registrar contacts you to confirm the transfer and you enter the code... it will not work, because itsyourdomain.com will not release domains until they receive an official 'transfer request form' (not mentioned anywhere on their website).

This form must include a photo-copy of the registrant's driving licence or passport and... be witnessed by a notary! (not mentioned anywhere on their website).

According to the forum post below, even if you comply with this ludicrous requirement, the form may be rejected for a variety of spurious reasons. Plus of course itsyourdomain.com will re-lock the domain after 5 days to prevent 'unauthorised' transfers.


http://www.dnforum.com/showthread.php?t=53852

http://www.richardsramblings.com/2004/06/28/itsyourdomain-apparently-not/


The transfer-away fee is... (not mentioned anywhere on their website) so I hate to think.

I was determined to wrestle the domain from their clutches, however my client refused to engage a notary so I wound up paying the annual fee charged by itsyourdomain.com for DNS services so the client could actually use 'their' domain.

I remain astonished that domain registrars are the ONLY business in the world that retain absolute power to stop people who were foolish enough to become customers from exercising their freedom of choice. Any registrar who applies these obstructive practices should be ashamed of themselves. However, like most talentless people milking the IT cow I suppose they dont give a ****, so it's up to YOU to ask questions before thinking you've got a good deal with that 'really cheap' domain.

If there's no 'transfer away' guide and no price-list for transfers away then just say no. Also check for charges for nameserver changes and DNS access, because these are the 'hidden' costs of budget domains.

That sounds like a horrific experience.

I've had problems with one and one, but not like this.

All of the domain handling including pointing, dns and mx records can be managed by you from their admin panel, or at least are with my servers.

I have had problems with UK registrar Iomart's hidden £50 domain transfer fee in the past, mentioned in this post (you posted in that thread Tom)

To give Iomart credit they did subsequently publish a price list and reduce the fee to £15.

I don't mind paying a nominal fee for a transfer, after all some work is required, but transfer fees are often undisclosed and can be extortionate.

The itsyourdomain.com fiasco was a real eye-opener.

I use DomainDirect because they are reliable (not cheap though).