worst registrar?

[DaddyHalbucks]

Who do you think is the worst registrar on the planet?

I say...

#1 WORST REGISTRAR IS.. TotalNIC (holds domains hostage)

#2 WORST REGISTRAR IS.. OnlineNIC (functions like it is being run by a guy in a garage working part-time)
#2 WORST REGISTRAR IS.. eNom (tons of technical errors and malfunctions)
(tie for #2)

#3 WORST REGISTRAR IS.. DotRegistrar (sucky interface)

These are just my opinions.

[Nameable]

I have domains at over 30 registrars (gee thanks pool).

My least favorite changes from week to week.

In general I hate any registrar who stll doesn't have their act together regarding EPP, so I can update .org domains and have the info actually show up in PIR's whois and zone files.

Long term least favorite is Directi and their resellers. Directi didn't have the ability to update .org's won at pool for quite a while (they do now).

Runners up - Galcomm, any registrar whose main site isn't in English.

My luck has been good with enom (knock on wood!), so I'm surprised to see them on your list.

Out of curiosity - who's your favorite?

[Darren06]

Lol is that a marijuana leaf on OnlineNic's flash banner?

[NameTower]

RegFly's the only one I've had much problems with

[Duke]

Who do you think is the worst registrar on the planet?

I say...

#1 WORST REGISTRAR IS.. TotalNIC (holds domains hostage)

#2 WORST REGISTRAR IS.. OnlineNIC (functions like it is being run by a guy in a garage working part-time)
#2 WORST REGISTRAR IS.. eNom (tons of technical errors and malfunctions)
(tie for #2)

#3 WORST REGISTRAR IS.. DotRegistrar (sucky interface)

These are just my opinions.

I have been stuck with some really horrible ones, like the Korean language sites Namewinner can exile you to, but as far as well-known mainstream sites I would concur with you on DotRegistrar. The worst system and interface devised by any mainstream registrar. For some reason they decided it would be a good idea to turn something as simple as domain registration and management into something more complicated than nuclear astrophysics. I have somehow managed to avoid ever having a domain at OnlineNIC orTotalNIC so I can't comment on those. If Totalnic is taking the "domain hostage" approach they surely should be ostracized and avoided like the plague. A couple of other registrars have tried this (charging you a large fee if you want to transfer out). Hopefully all of those will be left on the scrapheap of registrar history.

[Domagon]

Some of the former (do any still exist?) C.O.R.E. registrars were really bad - don't get me wrong, many C.O.R.E. registrars tried to make it work, but operating a registrar two steps removed from the registry was bound to be fraught with problems.

On a related thought, Enom has a similar model, though somewhat different - folks with their own Enom acct will likely have very few problems. However, folks who registrar/obtain domains from Enom resellers (similar is true for other registrars) can run into nasty problems, such inability to perform important domain updates (whois, dns, etc) or worse having their domain "stolen" by the reseller.

Anyways, these days, it's hard for me to say...there are so darn many ICANN accredited registrars. With that said, I've found with some patience and willingness to spend a few extra bucks (sometimes it takes money to gets things moving - ie. registering an extra year, paying a nominal fee, etc) most registrar related problems can eventually be resolved.

Where folks, especially resellers and others speculating, should really watch out is with ccTLDs - they operate under their own rules and can and do many things that makes the worst ICANN accredited registrars for gTLDs look good in comparison.

Ron

[skylight]

Havent met a lousy registrar, hope i dont meet them either.

[Keith]

By far: DotRegistrar.

Could someone come up with a worse interface? I had one domain there, and I never wanted to go back. There is not one good thing I found about it.

[DaddyHalbucks]

I am amending my list, adding another registrar to the top tier, and shuffling slots a bit. I found another registrar that makes it very difficult to transfer out a domain: ItsYourDomain.com

So, here are the winners:

#1 WORST REGISTRAR IS.. TotalNIC (holds domains hostage)
#1 WORST REGISTRAR IS.. ItsYourDomain (makes transfers very difficult)

#2 WORST REGISTRAR IS.. DotRegistrar (user unfriendly interface, makes managing domains a nightmare)

#3 WORST REGISTRAR IS.. OnlineNIC (functions like it is being run by a guy in a garage working part-time)
#3 WORST REGISTRAR IS.. eNom (tons of technical errors and malfunctions, and expensive renewals)
(tie for #3)



These are just my opinions.

[Duke]

I had heard that ItsYourDomain started charging a fee if you wanted to move your domains out. Is that true Hal? That is an especially despicable practice that I would like to see nipped in the bud. I have a domain there and wrote them last week for a auth code and they never answered my mail. ICANN needs to crack down on these registrars that withhold auth codes to prevent customers from leaving. In the long run this is going to cost them more customers that they are saving because word is going to get around.

[Ed30]

#3 WORST REGISTRAR IS.. OnlineNIC (functions like it is being run by a guy in a garage working part-time)

Add to that.......who doesn't speak English.

[DaddyHalbucks]

Duke wrote:

I had heard that ItsYourDomain started charging a fee if you wanted to move your domains out. Is that true Hal?
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Yes, in addition to sending a notarized letter.

[DaddyHalbucks]

I want to amend my list again. I forgot to add Register.com. In December, they charged me a $200 fee to transfer 1 domain, [http://sextoys.org], when I bought it from a guy who made the mistake of regging it there.

#1 WORST REGISTRAR IS.. TotalNIC (holds domains hostage)
#1 WORST REGISTRAR IS.. ItsYourDomain (makes transfers very difficult, charges transfer fee)
#1 WORST REGISTRAR IS.. Register.com ($200 transfer fee)

#2 WORST REGISTRAR IS.. DotRegistrar (user unfriendly interface, makes managing domains a nightmare)

#3 WORST REGISTRAR IS.. OnlineNIC (functions like it is being run by a guy in a garage working part-time)
#3 WORST REGISTRAR IS.. eNom (tons of technical errors and malfunctions, and expensive renewals)
(tie for #3)

This is just my opinion.

[seeker]

I have had terrible luck with moniker.
No answers from support.
Apparently when you want to renew a domain, their credit card form doesnt work well for non US based customers, as i couldnt find a country selection in the form.
At some point they asked me to fax the credit card info, which i did, and never received a reply.

I am know at risk of loosing a 3 char domain because of this...

I know their security is great, and that's why I have hope for them, because there are some somains that I have that I was thinking of transfering to them... But...

[Duke]

Duke wrote:

I had heard that ItsYourDomain started charging a fee if you wanted to move your domains out. Is that true Hal?
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Yes, in addition to sending a notarized letter.

Thanks for the warning. I will spread the word and urge others to avoid ItsYourDomain and their resellers like the plague.

[Banned: lopramine45]

any thoughts on GoDaddy?

[Duke]

any thoughts on GoDaddy?

The only constantly annoying problem I have with GoDaddy is that they doublecharge my PayPal debit card every time I use it there. The money is taken out of your account when you make a purchase (and they get the initial authorization from the credit card company), but then they send a different authorization number to PayPal a day or two later and your account is debited again when the transaction is made final! You can't get the original money back until that first authorization number expires in 10-14 days, or you call Paypal to complain about GoDaddy - which I have done many times. I also called GoDaddy and they tried to blame PayPal which is nonsense because this happens ONLY at Godaddy. I had to quit using my PayPal Mastercard there because they do it EVERY time and I am tired of having to call PayPal to get the money back.

Other than that I have had no big problems with them. They have great prices (and as a result I have a lot of domains there or with one of their resellers) but they waste a ton of your time with all of those upsell screens you have to wade through before you can register a domain. So the low prices do come with a tradeoff.

[DaddyHalbucks]

any thoughts on GoDaddy?
+++++++++++++

No major problems.

Inexpensive regs, prompt transfers, OK interface.

I would say they are good. The only thing I don't like are all the pitches for software you have to click-by to actually checkout. But that's minor.

Their backordering success is another matter..

:(

[Temp]

I still believe that eNom is the best registrar over the world.

[DomainNameBroker.com]

dodora