GoDaddy.com Attempts a New Domain Name Registration Scam

I had quite an unpleasant domain name registration experience with GoDaddy yesterday. I don't know if this is a new way for Go Daddy to cheat you and "steal" your money but at least it was the first time they attempted to pull this domain scam on me. I have been using GoDaddy.com for registering domain names for years and I haven't been so displeased by them as other people. The registrar usually tries to sell services you most probably do not want but once you've become accustomed to their methods, they are easy to be quickly omitted. So, until yesterday, I didn't mind to register generic top level domains there. Now, after they supported SOPA bill and my recent obnoxious discovery about them, I think it's time to reconsider using GoDaddy's domain registration services.

So, what's the story? Yesterday, I decided to register a .com domain name for a new website which I intended to create with a friend of mine. We liked a name and I incidentally checked if it was available for registration at EuroDNS (the registrar where I had registered some international domain names, mainly European and Asian). The domain look up at EuroDNS showed that this particular name is unoccupied. So, I went to GoDaddy.com and began the steps required for domain name registrations. What was my surprise when immediately upon entering the domain it showed that the name had been already taken but available for purchase at GoDaddy auctions for $499 USD. I repeated the search several times while trying to figure out what was the reason for this "unavailability" and all of my attempts at Go Daddy showed that the domain name was already registered.

I knew that EuroDNS sometimes displays wrong information about domain availability so I decided to check if the domain name is free at a couple of other domain registrars. I did the check and there was nothing wrong with EuroDNS this time, the domain appeared to be available for registration wherever I checked. Then I thought of another test. I went back to GoDaddy and instead of searching for [domain name].com, I made a search for [domain name].info. And as you might guess, now the .com version was listed as available and ready to be registered.

Obviously, GoDaddy's trick is pretty simple. When you make a domain name lookup at GoDaddy.com, sometimes, they decide to show an unregistered domain as already taken and listed for sale at GoDaddy's auctions. If this scam successfully misleads you, there are 2 options. If you really want this domain name, you'll have to pay tens if not hundreds of times bigger amount for it instead of the regular GoDaddy's domain name registration price. If the multiplied price is too high for you or you are not so much into this particular domain, I suppose Go Daddy assumes that you are just going to register another name with them and thus, they will still get (or keep) you as a customer.

The bad thing is, as nasty as GoDaddy's behavior is, the fraud could actually work quite often. In fact, if you haven't accidentally become aware a particular domain name is available for registration, chances are not very huge that you'll figure out Go Daddy is trying to cheat you. I hope this writing creates some awareness about the described GoDaddy scam scheme and if you think it could be helpful to your friends, just share the article with them.

A necessary addition

Because it appears there are a lot of people with a "headache" that have not other job but to accuse others, here are some further clarifications.

1) I did not write the above because GoDaddy "stole" the domain name from me. I successfully registered that name and I own it now. It has been available for registration for all of the time in question so I have not had any problems with its registration. It was available for registration at all other registrars and even at GoDaddy if I searched for the .info version instead of the .com version.

2) Actually, the whole problem described above lies in GoDaddy's implementation of their website and particularly the domain look up. Apparently, if a domain name has been listed for sale through their auctions (and has not been removed) they directly display it as already taken and they offer it to you at the auction price instead of making a check if the name hasn't become available at the time of the check. I don't know the reasons behind this implementation but it's hard to believe it's implemented this way unintentionally. Whether this is a scam depends on your definition of the word but definitely, it is not proper.

Generic Domains Vs. Local Domain Names

Generic domain name or local domain name? It's a question that appears every time you start a new site. Or when you invest in domain names. Or when you want to switch to your own domain when you're using some service like Blogger (thus having a name for your site like yourname.blogspot.com). Here, we list some advantages and disadvantages of both generic domain names (.com, .net, .org, .info) and local domain names (.co.uk, .ca, .de, .fr) also known as domains with ccTLD extensions because as always there is not a universal solution.

Pros of generic domain names

- If you're building a new website that is going to target users all over the world then you better buy a generic domain name. Extensions like .com, .org and .net are recognizable everywhere so you will not make your visitors to wonder if yours is some kind of a spammy site. If you target visitors in the United States then still your better option is to buy a .com domain name since .com domains are more popular in the USA than the "local" .us names.

- If you already have a site of type yourname.blogspot.com or yourname.wordpress.com and you want to switch to your own domain then if your visitors are coming from various countries and continents, you better get a generic domain name. .com or .info domains most probably would be a good choice in this case.

- If you're buying domain names for investment then probably you have better odds for a nice future sale if your purchase generic domain names with extensions like .com, .net, .info, .pro, etc. Since such names have proved to be more universal. The potential market for them is bigger than the one for local domains. Then on the other hand, if somebody targeting a local market is looking to buy a particular domain name and it happens you own exactly that one, chances are you may get a lot of money for it if you play your cards right.

Pros of local domain names

- Most naturally, if you target visitors from a specific country then country code top level domain (ccTLD) extension would be more appropriate for your website compared to a generic top level domain name. If you want people from Germany to find and use your site when they search for something in search engines then if it ends with .de they are more likely to visit it since the site would seem to be German judging by its extension.

- Apart from users' behavior, using a local domain name sends are signal to search engines that your site is related to a specific country so it may perform better in results listed for a particular search made by a user in that specific country.

- Various local online guides, references and directories will accept your site more easily for listing if it ends with a particular local domain name extension.

- You may also want to buy a local domain name ending with some interesting extension like .me or .co, for example. Domain names like love.me or find.us have some appeal due to nice phrases they form. And you might want to buy .co domain name as a typo of a particular .com domain name. E.g., cars.co may get some of the type-in traffic intended for cars.com when people make a mistake while typing.

If you want to buy generic domain names like .com, .net, .org, .info., etc. and you're not very experienced domain buyer, our advice would be to visit GoDaddy.com. It's probably the best place for a novice domain player. If you're looking for a local domain name (ccTLD) like .co.uk, .de, .fr, .co, .me, etc. you may visit EuroDNS. It's a nice destination for registration of various international domain names.

Look for other domain registration reviews in the Review Maze.

Montenegro .ME Domain Names Landrush Has Started

This is just a short notification message that .ME Domain Landrush has started on the 6th June. You may submit your applications for Montenegro domains until the 26th of June. In order to apply 2 of the good options are to use either EuroDNS or GoDaddy.

The price of the .me domain names at GoDaddy is $49.99 per year and the minimum registration period is 2 years.

The price of the Montenegro domain names at EuroDNS is 48 Euro per year and the minimum registration period is also 2 years. There is a promo code that you may use to receive a 10% discount on the price at EuroDNS. The .me voucher code is 7ME10 and it is valid till the end of the landrush period.

Have in mind that domain names that get more than 1 application are going into an auction and domains with just one application automatically will be assigned to the sole applicant after the 26th of June, 2008. There is also a .ME Auction FAQ available at the registry for more information about Montenegro domain names auctions.

The .ME registry provides in addition 2 lists of names that are not possible to be registered:

Premium names (www.domen.me/cms/site_files/dotME_Premium_Names.txt)

and

Reserved names (www.domen.me/cms/site_files/dotME_Reserved_Names.txt).

Explore the Review Maze for another domain registration review.

GoDaddy Hints for Cheap Domain Name Registration and Renewal Prices

In the last couple of years I have found two very convenient ways to achieve lower prices of .com domain names at GoDaddy. Over the time they are saving me quite a lot of money. Some people probably already know them but I suppose there are many others that are not familiar with these hints so here they are.

How to register cheaper .com domain names?

While you may use some promo codes to lower your .com registration prices there is a way that has been working for years (although I cannot guarantee that it will be working forever) and enables you to buy .com names for $6.95 (+$0.20 ICANN fee). In order to achieve this, you simply have to open Google and enter GoDaddy in the search bar. You will get an adsense advertisement that offers you .com domains for the above mentioned price. Just click on the ad and you'll be sent to GoDaddy site where you will receive the discount in your shopping cart at the time of checkout. I don't know if this option will stay available forever but it has been for quite some time. So, if you cannot find a promo voucher when trying to register some new .com names just try this method.

How to renew .com domain names cheaper?

Another cool possibility is to renew your .com domains for a lower than regular price. It changes over the time but generally it is another big saver. The current price I'm talking about is $7.50 (+$0.20 ICANN fee) and it could be changed in the future. Again, you may use some discount voucher code and get a good price on a renewal but here is another method that works and I have used a lot. When the expiration date of your domain name approaches you will receive notification(s) from GoDaddy to renew your domain. You should just ignore them until you get a notification email with a GoDaddy link inside that allows you to renew the name for just $7.50 (+$0.20). Usually this email will come 5 days before the expiration date. I am renewing all of my .com domain names at GoDaddy this way and it's quite a good saving. This hint is also valid for .net domain names usually.

While for the first hint the obvious reason for its existence is a promotion I am not quite sure what is the reason behind the second one. My guess for it is that GoDaddy makes an assumption that if you have not renewed your domain name until 5 days before the expiration date, your intention is to drop it and that's why they are trying to bait you with this final big renewal price discount so you keep the name registered.

The above two hints practically means that you may permanently register and renew .com domain names for very decent prices without being dependable on the current availability of promo codes. It's a good constant discount and it should save you a good amount of money if you are an owner of a big domain portfolio at GoDaddy.

P.S. Currently you may get the $6.95 (+$0.20 ICANN fee) promotion by going directly to GoDaddy and entering the promo code OYH3 at the time of checkout.

Follow the link for a list of very nice EuroDNS domain registration discount codes and for other service reviews search the Review Maze.