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 namecheap.
Founded: 2000
The good:
They used to have some nice promos (like 5 years registrations of some new extensions for $6), maybe that happens again someday.
The bad:
Not cheap at all.
Too often they show a domain as available which is actually not, or show a premium domain at a regular price, but you only learn about the error when you are at the final step of placing order.
Can ‘t see all your domains as a proper one-page list or export them.
The ugly:
Stupid support system. Why do I have to memorize/copy some “PIN code” and then type it, when I am already logged in into my account and that should be more than sufficient to identify me as a customer?
WHOIS privacy, although free, requires to be “ordered” and “renewed”, instead of just being a simple toggle, which results in a tons of unnecessary emails and time waste.
Wow, thoughtful comments. I’m not tempted at all to switch from Dynadot.
They are protecting consumers by filing Reconsideration Requests with ICANN when the wheels go unhinged such as recently happened with .org price increases. That is plenty awesome and puts them at the top of domain registrars for just that alone!
I like using Namecheap because of their live support feature … however I do agree that ….Can ‘t see all your domains as a proper one-page list or export them, should be coded into their system .
i like also, i deal with last 6 years, 90% good customer service and product support, i use namecheap market place for my domains sales under the $100, i got quick response for under the $100 domains, each week i sold more than 3 domains from my drop domains list (under $100 to $5).
NameCheap — the suspicious Ukranian registry you can kind of, sort of rely on… some of the time!
As already noted, NC is more expensive than alternatives. Additionally, I’ve found it to be insecure. After I had built up a portfolio on this registrar, I suddenly started getting constant notifications saying that individual domains were being messed with — contact info changing, nameservers changing, like some evil poltergeist effing with my domains.
With all of the better options out there, the above mischief was enough for me to bid BC a not-so-fond and permanent farewell.