Which Registrar is Currently Best for BULK

[EffectiveNames.com]

My portfolio has roughly 2000 domains and growing rapidly but I am unhappy with my current registrar, ResellOne.net - they've gone to Hell since ThePlanet.com purchased them.

What registrars should I be looking at as an alternative?

My main concern is price, at this scale every cent counts.

I would also like to avoid nickel and diming nonsense such as surcharges when funding my account, I prefer clear pricing.

Their system needs to be suited to bulk changes - I'm don't want to have to change stuff, such as contact details or name servers, one domain at a time. The dashboard/interface needs to be usable, not overwhelmed by the number of domains. Also, they need to have a sane system for handling a huge amount of initial transfers.

I only do .COMs, so, the pricing and availability of other TLDs is not a factor for me.

I don't need much support or hand-holding but it would be good to know that the company are competent behind the scenes.

I understand that this is an extremely broad question but I would greatly appreciate any advice and opinions you'd be willing to share - I want to find a registrar that I can stick with for good.

[dmyre]

Have you checked out Dynadot?

http://www.dynadot.com/company/prices_bulk2.html

[EffectiveNames.com]

Hi Dmyre, thanks for the link.

One strange thing I notice about Dynadot is that they charge MORE for transfers in than they do for new registrations and renewals - very odd, most companies are anxious to win new business, if there is a difference in price between transfers and renewals, it is usually the transfers that are slightly cheaper.

Even at Super Bulk level ($5000 initial deposit by wire), transfers in are $7.99 each, whereas registrations and renewals are $7.75, slightly more expensive than ResellOne.

Do you use these guys yourself? Is their system suited to managing large portfolios?

[katherine]

Fabulous ?
You should be able to apply for a wholesale account with that many domains.

[Acro]

With 2k domains you get Tier 1 pricing which is really great. Contact mike @ fabulous.

[EffectiveNames.com]

Fabulous ?
You should be able to apply for a wholesale account with that many domains.

With 2k domains you get Tier 1 pricing which is really great. Contact mike @ fabulous.

Thanks Katherine and Acro - I did look at Fabulous earlier, but the website seemed to suggest that I would need 5000+ domains to get the $7.99 Tier 1 pricing and, frankly, the prices at other tiers just aren't competitive. If, however, they have been known to lower the barrier a bit, well, that brings them back into consideration.

What I've learnt so far from my research today is:

1. Many reputable registrars will charge less for your initial transfer in, in one case as low as $4.99 per .COM inc. all ICANN fees, but you lose on later years, only worthwhile if you have the time and patience to transfer back out again before the first year is through.

2. "Real" prices seem to start at $7.65 but a couple at around $7.99 seem to offer enough extra functionality to warrant the extra cash - Fabulous would certainly be very interesting at that price, as is NetEarth One's reseller scheme for different reasons. Anything above $8, however, seems hard to justify if you are paying for thousands of domains, but please do correct me if I am missing something.

3. A lot of previously highly-regarded registrars seem to have collectively used the recent Verisign price rise as an excuse to cash in and increase their charges way more than the 7% that was actually added to their actual cost for .COMs. The across the board disproportionate jump in prices seems to suggest that some sort of cosy consensus was reached across the registration business. It will be interesting to see what will happen if GoDaddy does actually manage to sell itself for a billion - will the sudden prospect of a big payout spark competition once again and persuade the registrars to chase market share rather than immediate profits?

If anyone else has any registrar suggestions, please do share them.

[katherine]

Personally I have many domains at Dynadot too, if you spend $5000 right away or within a 365-day period you have super bulk pricing which means .com at $7.75/year for example.
Fabulous is my favorite but Dynadot has a better control panel imo.

I know there are cheaper alternatives around but I sleep better at night knowing my registrar is still making a profit (albeit a small one) and running a sustainable business.

PS: the registry charges $7.34 for .com domains.

[EffectiveNames.com]

Personally I have many domains at Dynadot too, if you spend $5000 right away or within a 365-day period you have super bulk pricing which means .com at $7.75/year for example.

The thing that irks me about Dynadot is the ridiculous decision to charge more, not less, for transfers in, that is completely insane in competitive terms. Honestly, having dived deep into what the different registrars offer, I am stunned at the unusual decisions I keep coming across. In most industries, there tends to be a continual drift towards best practises but in domain registration it is almost as if every registrar exists in their own bubble, pioneering their own wildly unique quirks, with complete disregard for what might actually be empirically better, oblivious to how many potential customers they are losing.

I have, however, used their control panel and I agree, it is very good.

Fabulous is my favorite but Dynadot has a better control panel imo.

Well, I have emailed Mike @ Fabulous but haven't heard anything back yet. I think they would be my favorite, but only if they agree to let me in on Tier 1, $7.99 is definitely at the high end for me.

[katherine]

The thing that irks me about Dynadot is the ridiculous decision to charge more, not less, for transfers in, that is completely insane in competitive terms.

Hmm that is strange indeed.

[Nathan King]

.com's are $7.69/year with the GoDaddy discount domain club. Membership costs $90/year. More info -> here.

[tekz999]

I like goatdaddy

[snicksnack]

with 2000+ you should be able to negotiate with most of the registrars a decent deal for your .com domains. However you should make sure that the registrar still makes a profit, otherwise you might end up with more headaches then the savings are worth.

[ThinkTankGroup]

I am currently offering a "discount domain club". Sign up and then email or PM me that you have created an account. Once that is done, I can go into my back-office and ADD your name to the DISCOUNT CLUB.

Computing Discount Purchasing Rates

Discount Price Rates are computed as follows:
(Standard Buy Rate) + (ICANN Fee if applicable) + ((Buy Rate + ICANN Fee) * Order Processing Fee)) + (Transaction Fee)
where the Order Processing Fee is 2.5% of the order line cost and one Transaction Fee of $.25 is applied per order.
EXAMPLE 1: Order for a single 1 Year .COM Domain
$7.29 + $0.18 + (( $7.29 + $0.18) * .025) + $0.25 = $7.91
Example 2: Order for five 1 Year .COM Domains
($7.29*5) + ($0.18*5) + ((($7.29*5) + ($0.18*5)) * .025) + $0.25 = $38.53

* NOTE: Sales made under Discounted Purchasing Rates are not eligible for commission and will not be reflected on your commission statement. The Discount Shopper will be charged the transaction fee for these Discounted Rate purchases at the time of purchase.


---------- Post added at 11:56 AM ---------- Previous post was at 11:48 AM ----------

And I won't even charge you a annual membership fee. Most registrars charge annual fees of almost $100 per year for this discount and you don't even have to buy in BULK. Just paying-it-forward.

I am currently offering a "discount domain club". Sign up and then email or PM me that you have created an account. Once that is done, I can go into my back-office and ADD your name to the DISCOUNT CLUB.

Computing Discount Purchasing Rates

Discount Price Rates are computed as follows:
(Standard Buy Rate) + (ICANN Fee if applicable) + ((Buy Rate + ICANN Fee) * Order Processing Fee)) + (Transaction Fee)
where the Order Processing Fee is 2.5% of the order line cost and one Transaction Fee of $.25 is applied per order.
EXAMPLE 1: Order for a single 1 Year .COM Domain
$7.29 + $0.18 + (( $7.29 + $0.18) * .025) + $0.25 = $7.91
Example 2: Order for five 1 Year .COM Domains
($7.29*5) + ($0.18*5) + ((($7.29*5) + ($0.18*5)) * .025) + $0.25 = $38.53

* NOTE: Sales made under Discounted Purchasing Rates are not eligible for commission and will not be reflected on your commission statement. The Discount Shopper will be charged the transaction fee for these Discounted Rate purchases at the time of purchase.