Having used this 3 times (once for what I wanted and two more times as a way to try to rectify my issues) I can only say bad things about them.
DirectI.com 's interface is by far the worst in the business, their customer service is populated by the same people fired from Dell Customer Service because you can't understand them and they are absolutely clueless.
I've yet to read one positive post from someone having had used them, so I fear my feelings on them are accross the board and wont be fixed until their entire staff is shot and replaced, or they go out of business..which will be very very soon judging by others feedback of them.
Go out of your way to avoid using DirectI.com, truly the worst registrar out there.
I have to disagree with LeeRyder on a couple of parts.
I've been using DirectI for about 2 years now, and I'm very happy with them. I don't use them for my personal domains (I really don't care for their interface), but I do use them for when I register domains for others or when I want to let other people register domains for themselves and make a small profit.
Their interface isn't great but it's easy to use (loads slowly usually though). Customer service is alright, not fast but not super slow (there isn't much of a need for customer service at registrars as far as I'm concerned usually everything goes smoothly).
They are a great low priced registrar as long as you invest the initial $75 and get the reseller account.
I am/Was a Directi Reseller thru their Indian Operation
Email Support Hopeless ,
You Just get AutoResponse
Phone Support Hopeless ,
Put on Hold for 15mins or more 5 times for One Domain Sale
Cost me over $100 ringing India from Aust for $20 Domain.
I don't know if I still am a Reseller because despite calling them a tinpot operation and a bunch of losers the Reseller Login Still works .
I am a Sub-Reseller of two other Directi Resellers and they provide me with excellent service
I have a 6.25 reseller through DirectI, but it's interface just isn't nice. It's slow and often "breaks down" and doesn't complete transactions, spitting out an error message. Not nice, IMHO.
Pricing for reseller may seem attractive at first glance but you don't get all the features you may need for your domain.
Additional features like DNS management or E-mail fowarding are extra, and you then get closer to the $8 threshold.
User interface is slow and often reports errors. Domain names may sometimes be stuck in a queue for 48 hours, sometimes even longer.
API for resellers and test server is available... in theory. Probably other registrars are more reliable and offer competitive pricing too.
I have only got one domain name with Directi - THANK GOD
The name was bought as a drop do I did'nt get a choice of registrar, I first found it hard to navigate and could'nt figure out at first how to change the DNS (that of course could be just my inexperience) so, I thought that I would pay the extra $4.99 to purchase web forwarding.
They took the payment at first, then they sent me an email saying that my credit card was a HIGH RISK and that they would need to see a photo copy of my drivers license - passport - both sides of my credit card and a written statement saying that I was really me !!!!! - YEAH RIGHT I thought, not a chance i am going to fax all that info off for the sake of a $60 name, I replied saying (politely) that I was not prepared to do this and they basically said that they would cancel the order.
I then spoke to my credit card services who also agreed that I should not give out that information and that they had already had problems with Directi Transactions.
My Bank also said that if there is a suspect Credit card being used Direct should be contacting THE BANK CONCERNED and NOT the credit card owner !
I sent an email to them saying this but they were basically still not interested and went ahead and cancelled my web forwarding order.
Thanks to someone at namepros I found out that I could change the DNS without an extra payment - so it is now parked.
I also Payed $30 odd to get out sentinel credit card protection cover immediatly for peace of mind because I DO NOT TRUST THEM WITH MY CREDIT CARD DETAILS ONE LITTLE BIT - LOOK OUT
DirectI's interface is terrible. It took me 10 minutes to figure out how to change the nameservers. They make you pay for basic features such as e-mail forwarding.
Good
Low investment for small resellers (75$), still get same rate as larger resellers.
Low domain registration fee.
buying a whoiscart.net license for just $35 means 24 cent reduction on domain registrations, worth buying it even if you aren't going to use it.
API is actually quite good
Bad
Poor Customer service
Poor / buggy interface
Some features aren't included, but very rarely needed.
API poorly documented
The weird thing about directi is that it is very appealling to the small / first time domain reseller as they aren't punished for their low volume of sales, but because of poor customer service and useless interface they are the very people that should avoid this reseller.
I advise only experienced resellers to touch directi, but then again they will normally be able to get the same pricing with a far more reliable registrar.
So I guess the target is market is Experienced, low volume sellers and I doubt there's too many of those about.
I should also add, directi works quite well if you have a verified paypal account, if you don't and want to pay by credit card avoid them, they want everything barring a pint of your blood and your mothers false teeth to proove who you are.
Last edited by bigturnip : 11-07-2005 at 04:49 PM.
Reason: Added paypal only advice
A little pricey...very strange setup...poor backend system.
Features:
Value:
Interface:
Customer Service:
Overall Rating:
Scince DirectI has now split into Resellerclub, i have found that their support has taken a turn for the worse and their new reseller interface has a simply horrible administration area.
Despite all the bad reviews I have never had a problem with them, I use them for all my domains, I do think that they could start to offer my TLD's, but apart form that, all good!
I have been with them for almost a year now. They have recently changed their interface and it little better now. Although there are certain things which they still need to change.
Pros:
- No limit on sub-resellers or sub-sub-resellers.
- Competitive pricing
- Many TLDs and the list is expanding
- No recurring annual charges. Its more like a pre-paid account.
- Ability to resell Digital Certificates
Cons:
- Customer service at times is clueless, some smart guys keep doing damage control.
- Little un-friendly interface. Sometimes it takes a while to understand things.
- Very poorly documented API
- Too many downtime notices! But they at least come in advance!
I have ALL my domains with DirectI, and have always been pleased. Their Interface isn't THAT bad, click the domain you want, and change the nameservers... It's a little slow, however, but their great prices really compensate.
I have never needed any Customer Service, so no complaints there.
