Dear “Valued Customer”

Elliot Silver
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3

This morning, I was cleaning out my email spam filter when I noticed an email from a domain registrar I use. The email started out “Dear Valued Customer.”

Although I appreciate the fact that this company values my business :-), I think it would have been better if they identified me either by name, company name, or by the Whois registrant name to make it more clear that it’s a legitimate email and not spam. I don’t click links in emails as a safety precaution, but I think they could make it more clear that it’s an official communication and not a theft attempt.

In this company’s defense, the subject of the message included my account number, but many people probably don’t know their registrar account numbers so this could easily be faked. I suppose someone could also easily send personalized phishing emails with my name included in the copy, but that would take more time and effort.

I’ve seen this type of thing with other domain registrars so I am not going to identify the registrar that sent this, especially because they did have my account number in the subject. I reached out to the registrar to let them know and they’ve passed along my feedback to the appropriate party. It’s possible that because it’s an ICANN required email, they must adhere to set standards.

Banks and other financial institutions do this as a safety precaution, and I think it’s something that domain industry companies should consider adopting.

What Was the Best Cyber Monday Domain Industry Deal?

Elliot Silver
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5

I didn’t buy anything  extraordinary  for my business as a result of seeing special Cyber Monday deals, but I did see just about every domain registrar, hosting company, and other assorted domain name industry companies promoting special offers.

Did you buy anything as a result of a Cyber Monday deal? What did you think was the best deal in the domain industry this year? What type of deal would you like to have seen that nobody seemed to offer?

Feel free to vote in the poll below and leave a comment if you saw a great deal or wish there were better deals. Maybe someone in a marketing department will take notice and put it on their to do list for next year.


My Ideal Domain Transfer

Elliot Silver
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13

Just about all of us transfer domain names at least every once in while. Whether we are transferring a domain name because of a sale, to consolidate a portfolio, or to take advantage of a better price, domain transfers are an integral part of being a domain investor.

Unfortunately, it seems that many domain registrars make it very difficult to transfer out domain names. From hiding the authorization code request link, to taking a week to send the auth code, to taking several days to approve the transfer and release the name, and every other trick in between, it can be annoying to transfer domain names. It’s especially annoying when you have a huge sale pending the transfer.

In case there’s a company that wants to make it simple to transfer out domain names, here’s my idea of an ideal transfer (there are some companies that come pretty close to this, like eNom):

1) In my domain control panel, there’s a request authorization code link along with an unlock domain box.

2) The authorization code is emailed to me within one minute and the name is concurrently unlocked.

3) Immediately upon receiving a transfer request from the gaining registrar, the losing registrar sends an email with the registrant with a clear explanation of the transfer, letting the owner know they can click the link to immediately approve or cancel the transfer.

4) Within 1 business day, the name is released to the gaining registrar and a confirmation email is sent.

What do you think could be done to make transfers easier?

Your Favorite Domain Registrar Is…

Elliot Silver
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10

There were a couple of surprises when I asked for you to nominate your favorite domain name registrar. I wasn’t surprised that 15 registrars were nominated, but I was surprised that Moniker and eNom were not. Just a few years ago,  Moniker would probably have been a top 3 vote recipient. How times have changed.

After a few days of voting, the favorite domain registrar choice of those who voted was Go Daddy, by a fairly solid margin. The company offers 24/7 phone support, is generous with coupons and discount codes, and it offers dedicated account executives for many people who are active in the domain industry.

Here are the five best domain registrars from the poll I ran:

  • Go Daddy
  • Namecheap
  • Dynadot
  • Name.com
  • Fabulous

One thing to note is that with the exception of Fabulous, all of these companies have cultivated a strong following on Facebook and Twitter. For many people like myself, it does make a difference when dealing with companies that you “know.” These social media accounts take on a company personality, and that could help with brand loyalty.

Choose Your Favorite Domain Registrar

Elliot Silver
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8

Last week I asked you to nominate your favorite domain name registrar, and I appreciate your nominations (15 domain registrars in total).

Now it’s time to see what domain registrar is preferred by people within the domain industry. I suppose this could be gamed by using social media, but I think it will give us a pretty good idea who you guys prefer.

Please vote in the poll below (listed alphabetically). I will reveal the winning company on Friday afternoon after the vote closes (vote closes at 4pm EDT).

Nominate Your Favorite Domain Registrar

Elliot Silver
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44

Namecheap was voted the winner of LifeHacker’s Best Domain Name Registrar poll, which concluded early this morning. A little over 17,000 votes were cast for the five finalists: Dreamhost, Gandi, Hover, Namecheap, and Name.com.

In my opinion, there are many factors that make a domain registrar stand out from others. In no particular order, these factors include customer service, price, user interface, security, ease of transfers and account changes, extra fees, and additional services available. I am sure there are more factors and people would rate the importance of these factors differently.

I am interested to know which company domain investors favor when it comes to their domain name assets. Early next week, I will post a poll with the top ten or so nominees that you choose in the comment section below.

Nominate your favorite domain registrar, and I will post the poll next week with your choices.

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