Back in 2016 we started a series here that looked at the best and worst about companies in the domain industry. Over the last 30 months a lot has changed at many companies so we are revisiting the good, the bad and the ugly.
Each post will deal with just one company, readers are encouraged to share their positive and negative experiences. Suggestions for improvement are also encouraged.
One of the goals of the column is that company representatives will see how their customers think of them. This can lead to a conversation on fixing problems.
What is not allowed:
- Personal attacks on individuals at the chosen company
- Promoting a competitor
- Posting domains for sale
The company in the spotlight today is Dynadot Headquarters: San Mateo
Founded: 2002
I like dynadot. I only use 3 registrars : Godaddy, Uniregistry and Dynadot. Dynadot is good in price and quality, the problem is dynadot does not have a wide range of products like email, email marketing, powerful website builder. But for buying domains in order to be sold again, it is the most competitive place with its Afternic Network and Sedo MLS connections. The prices is also very competitive.
Dynadot must be the worst domain registrar based on the fact they do NOT register domains when the domain registration order is placed (paid).
The time gap between ‘registering’ a domain name and the domain name actually getting registered by Dynadot is anywhere from 1 hour to more than 24 hours!
So I ‘registered’ and paid for domain registrations and 24hrs later the domains are still not registered and free for anyone else to register!
Unbelievable! In 2019 that a domain registrar does NOT register the domain the instant the order is paid for.
Dynadot response was that they do not have the ability to register domain names straight away.
THAT IS REALLY BAD FOR DOMAINERS!
This is why Dynadot is the WORST DOMAIN REGISTRAR!
Dynadot is just great.
+ Their domain search tool with the quick check of whois is certainly the best out there
+ Good pricing for many extensions (especially when they have first year .coms at 6.99)
+ The ability to undo registration (although I haven’t had to use it yet)
+ Connection with Afternic and Sedo for fast transfers
+ Own marketplace for quick sales just in case
+ Modern, easy to use interface
– Don’t know and hopefully won’t.
To improve:
Would be good to have preset nameservers configuration for all new registrations, without having to choose your servers every time.
And bundled with that, if you use forwarding, their lander etc., to change TXT record (so the Sedo verification could be added).
Great registrar, which is now my favorite once again.
Pricing is really good, but more importantly the domain management tools are excellent, and visually the site is more appealing than NameSilo’s.
The only thing I miss is a bit more security features like NameSilo’s Domain Defender. Sure, they have the birthday security feature, but I set up that many years ago with my actual birthday as the answer, and it seems it cannot be changed later on…
Good: Low prices, a simple and transparent discount program, and a prepayment service that enables expedited registrations. Easy inbound-transfer service. I have yet to need to use their customer support services.
Bad: Limited inventory, especially ccTLDs.
They need to figure out how to display information about ongoing promotions in a less annoying manner.
More bad: Somebody in this industry needs to come up with a modern data-management system for tracking, displaying and archiving the sources of inbound traffic. It could be Dynadot, but it’s certainly not Dynadot now. Data is important for setting prices, pitching domains for sale, and deciding on renewals.
Ugly: Aggressive timing on their timeout-logouts, especially during protracted registration sessions. Afternic is bad on timeout-logouts. Dynadot is worse. After timeouts, Dynadot’s discount prices disappear, making it difficult to view the total cost of a shopping cart, before moving to checkout, so I underspend whenever I go shopping with a budget.
Fuller integration with Sedo and Afternic would be good, beginning with the ability to list on those markets from within a Dynadot account. Inside Dynadot, I wouldn’t mind being able to buy on Sedo and Afternic and to have my purchases seamlessly land up in my Dynadot account. Even better would be the ability to set a floor price, whereby if a domain falls below a certain price on Afternic and Sedo, then it would automatically be snapped up by my Dynadot account.
Fat Anon, they do allow preset nameservers:
https://www.dynadot.com/account/domain/setting/defaults.html
teri
Thank you, sir/madame!
All of the above “Good” for me also.
With them several years – 100 Domains registered – mostly .com; good pricing, excellent customer service, easy transers to new buyers.
No Bad or Ugly experiences!
Dynadot, like most registrars, preys on it’s registrants, mining the soon to expire, valuable domains.
Extrication from the Dynadot was not without it’s losses, for me. They scammed a few names from me, before
I could get them all out.
Dynadot is not unlike most predatory, crooked registrars. Liars and cheats, consistent with the overall culture of the domain name business, by and large.
I have copious documentation as to proof of my claims.
You see, I have kept precise records of each and every registrar theft and transgression from my 15 years of being bashed in the head by the old guard domainers and registrars.
Dynadot is great.
Things to improve:
1. Make unlocking expired names fully automated.
2. Remove $10 fee for domain renewals within last 10 days.
Dynadot has been my registrar of choice for approx. 10 years. Simple, competitive pricing, and solid support.