Domainmonster.com reviews?

They don't have the best bulk edit tools.
They have, in my experience, got great support.
So if you have bulk request they will do it for you.

A big consideration is whether you want a UK registrar or not. There are some ramifications of this (mostly good, I would imagine) but it depends on your needs.

I wouldn't have a problem recommending them based purely on the fact that they've always answered my phone call and been very polite (funny) and a pleasure to talk to. They aren't pure "script readers". I like them and have nothing bad to say.

I think their prices are really good. Dynadot is cheaper for me - their interface is a 100 times better, they have a serviceable API but their support isn't as good, imho.

They gave me a present recently because of a problem I had (a free domain ) Name.com has done that for me too. I guess I'm polite when I complain !

defaultuser said:

They don't have the best bulk edit tools.
They have, in my experience, got great support.
So if you have bulk request they will do it for you.

A big consideration is whether you want a UK registrar or not. There are some ramifications of this (mostly good, I would imagine) but it depends on your needs.

I wouldn't have a problem recommending them based purely on the fact that they've always answered my phone call and been very polite (funny) and a pleasure to talk to. They aren't pure "script readers". I like them and have nothing bad to say.

I think their prices are really good. Dynadot is cheaper for me - their interface is a 100 times better, they have a serviceable API but their support isn't as good, imho.

They gave me a present recently because of a problem I had (a free domain ) Name.com has done that for me too. I guess I'm polite when I complain !

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Thanks for the info.

How can dynadot be cheaper? Looks like even at "super bulk" (spend $5k/yr), .com is 7.99, but domainmonster is $7.69 and you only need to buy 25 years, not $5k. Yow. Maybe you have other TLDs that are priced different...

pdontthink said:

Maybe you have other TLDs that are priced different...

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Average purchase price across all TLDs. I've bought a number of .TV which are cheaper at DD than domainmonster.

The major reason that I use DD is because I do everything via Paypal and Domainmonster will only take paypal via prepay. (They handle it fairly efficiently, but a bit of a pain).

I am wondering about DomainMonster. Anyone want to share good or bad experiences with them?

I've been with DD for about 6 months now and I have yet to have a complaint with them. I have been treated very nicely and as stated above the support is superb ...which is probably one of the most important factors. The prices may not be the cheapest but they are close enough not to worry too much about them.

Overall I'd say they are an A- registrar

They are very good in my opinion. Been with them for 2 years nothing bad to say.

Had a support issue 1 week ago.

Called them after hours and they responded and took care of it all right there in about 5-10 minutes. I've found their support to be awesome.

I can't find the thread here, but once I had a problem with purchase of one NP user domain wich was registered at Domainmonster.
I couldn't contact this user via PM and emails. Domainmonster guys find this thread at Namperos and contacted this person by themselves on my behalf - I didn't asked them to do it - they have done it by themselves.
This is something I couldn't even dream about.
Their support is the best one I ever saw.
This is not the only one example - cause sometimes I use their support - and always it's great!

10/10

No bad points I have been with them for 3 years

I have never had any major problems with domainmonster.com.


-One time I input my creditcard and it auto charged me for upcoming renewals, which was a suprise because I did not associate that domain with that card...

-I also noticed that when pushing a domain, it seems to push with the original domain ownsers name still intact. I hate having to alter all the contact info every time. I also believe that it presents an opportunity for scammers saying that they never received the domain name since whois still resolves to the original owner...

7.5 out of 10 for me.

Hi Everyone!

Thanks for all the positive contributions to this thread.

I'm Sam, the community manager for Domainmonster.com. I will be the companies representative on NPs.

Glad to hear so many positive words about our support team, who are always working extremely hard to try and give our users the best support possible!

As has been commented on in the thread previously we don't offer many bulk tools in the user control panel, but we can make lots of changes in bulk from our support menu. As domainers I would imagine you often need bulk changes made so don't hesitate to drop a ticket in to support and let them know what needs doing.

@domainacrobat - Sorry you had a few problems! We only hold one set of payment information on your account. This will be used for any transactions that need to be processed. If you turn off auto renew and ensure that you're receiving emails from us, you can just renew the domains as and when they are expiring. When we push a domain away it is up to the new provider to change the registrant details. If a domain is transferred into us we will always apply the new details on completion. Some other registrars may not make this change. Some TLDs do not follow the same process (Mainly .co.uk) but this problem shouldn't occur with the majority of domain names.

Hope that answers the question.

If anyone has any specific queries feel free to drop me a PM.

Thanks All!
Sam

Standard operating procedure?

Domainmonster seem to let you register a domain (milk you for money) and then lock your account (freezing your purchase) and attempt what can only be described as identity theft.

I've been registering domains for a decade and a half and I've never been asked for the information referred to below (and I have no intention of providing it).

Frankly I am considering reporting the Surrey-based (and presumably registered) arm of the "monster" to the Office of Fair Trading for misinformation and malpractice.

Thanks for choosing Domainmonster.com. As part of our rigorous procedures to ensure your account and custom with us is secure, we have identified your account as needing additional verification.

We appreciate this may be inconvenient, but we would be grateful of your co-operation to ensure both you and our other user accounts at Domainmonster.com remain entirely secure under our control. We only ever verify your account once and appreciate this could be a little onerous in the first instance. However, it will ensure you can trade with us in the safest possible environment for you and your valuable domain names.

To complete the process we need to ask you to provide one document from BOTH list A and B to us to verify you. We need to receive this documentation within 48 hours of this request to ensure your account with us remains open.

>> LIST A (Must have your picture on)
Drivers License
Passport
Government Identification Card
Recognised Student Identity Card

>> LIST B (Must have your name and address on)
Utility Bill
Bank Statement
Credit Card Statement
Drivers License

These documents can either be scanned and emailed to us by return, faxed to us on +44 (0)1483 304031 or sent via post/courier to Fraud Team, Domainmonster.com, The Old Forge, Shackstead Lane, Godalming, Surrey, GU7 1RJ, United Kingdom.

Thanks once again for choosing Domainmonster.com and thanks again for your prompt response to our request.

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Incidentally you cannot log into your account or transfer your domain out after you receive this preposterous request.

PG said:

Domainmonster seem to let you register a domain (milk you for money) and then lock your account (freezing your purchase) and attempt what can only be described as identity theft.

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Jump to wacky conclusions much? They are not the only registrar that has put these types of measure in place. I don't know what triggered it (usually it's if you pay via paypal only but they don't accept paypal so I'm not sure).

I assume you used a legitimate Credit Card and actually tried to resolve this matter BEFORE spitting vitriol?

Their price is a bit::: expensive compared to other sites.
Their tools (interface) is horrible
They don't have promotions for other GTLDs.
They have medium promotion for .com/net.org once in a while

They respond quick.

----------------------------
Overall, you have to register in bulk to receive discounts.
Else they are expensive. When you can use a coupon for 1 or two domain names at GD and elsewhere. AT DM you need like 12 or 15+ names to use bulk deal which sometimes are not cheaper than Godaddy coupon.

Price wise=== ------------
customer support ==++++
Interface === ----
Free privacy=+++++
-------------------------
Neutral

What's so bad about this email? they are being secure with your account? I have had this many times ?? is nothing out of the blue. How hard is it to scan a document and send it? I get this Lots. At least they are checking and being secure with your account. Confused as to what you are moaning about?

Thanks for choosing Domainmonster.com. As part of our rigorous procedures to ensure your account and custom with us is secure, we have identified your account as needing additional verification.

We appreciate this may be inconvenient, but we would be grateful of your co-operation to ensure both you and our other user accounts at Domainmonster.com remain entirely secure under our control. We only ever verify your account once and appreciate this could be a little onerous in the first instance. However, it will ensure you can trade with us in the safest possible environment for you and your valuable domain names.


To complete the process we need to ask you to provide one document from BOTH list A and B to us to verify you. We need to receive this documentation within 48 hours of this request to ensure your account with us remains open.

>> LIST A (Must have your picture on)
Drivers License
Passport
Government Identification Card
Recognised Student Identity Card

>> LIST B (Must have your name and address on)
Utility Bill
Bank Statement
Credit Card Statement
Drivers License

These documents can either be scanned and emailed to us by return, faxed to us on +44 (0)1483 304031 or sent via post/courier to Fraud Team, Domainmonster.com, The Old Forge, Shackstead Lane, Godalming, Surrey, GU7 1RJ, United Kingdom.

Thanks once again for choosing Domainmonster.com and thanks again for your prompt response to our request.

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Hi Everyone.

I have contacted PG via pm regarding this issue.

As some of you have commented, this kind of request is not uncommon in the industry.

We use vigilant fraud and security systems to protect our customers and ourselves. Unfortunately we are operating in an industry where fraud is a big issue. We work hard with lots of partners to ensure that fraudulent accounts or transactions are spotted as early as possible to reduce the damage caused by the fraudulent activity.

I'm hoping that people appreciate that this sort of verification is not an unreasonable request and that it is for the benefit of everyone involved in the industry.

I can tell you that the victims of fraudulent activity support these checks whole-heartedly, as they help massively reduce the damage done by fraudsters who have illegally used another persons payment details.

Hopefully that clarifies our position as a company and eases any fears you may have about this process.

Thanks
Sam

Thank you for your typically facetious response, defaultuser. I'm not using monopoly money, sorry.

The point of my post was to ensure others that bother to search before they use a registrar know what to expect. This is a reviews thread, is it not? That is a genuine user experience.

I shall of course update this to indicate whether their course of action is to de-register, refund or just infinitely lock. The only person likely to be defrauded here is me.

Re. sending that personal information to a domain registrar, which could easily be two kids in a basement, see LinkedIn for how information is securely stored by large companies!

PG said:

The point of my post was to ensure others that bother to search before they use a registrar know what to expect. This is a reviews thread, is it not? That is a genuine user experience.

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It is a valid user experience and it would be far more valuable if you provided the reasons for events which can usually be determined after you've worked with the support.

You basically described the user experience as:

I registered a name and now they want me to be a victim of "identity theft" and are holding my domain ransom!

Identity theft is a potential business ending accusation and shouldn't be thrown around. To me it reads like you are holding their reputation hostage to try and get some resolution. This is just my reading/opinion.

PG said:

I shall of course update this to indicate whether their course of action is to de-register, refund or just infinitely lock. The only person likely to be defrauded here is me.

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Again. What fraud? Please give more detail what this fraud potentially is. It's a serious allegation - but, I see, it's future tense..

I could say that in every single business transaction I'm the only person likely to be defrauded because I'm honest too.

Perhaps you can sit on the other side of the fence for a moment and think of this as a business.. how many times do you think that DM has been defrauded? I'm guessing a lot more than you.

Why not work with them first - discuss opinion after. It is ugly, it is a consideration but they aren't the only company doing this. You are right to be concerned about your privacy/identity etc. but they don't want to be a victim as much as you. Work with monster_sam who reached out to you here.

If you still hate them. That's fine but let's make it based on more than just being randomly pissed off and throwing accusations around which , frankly, renders your opinion a waste of time. imho.

PG said:

Re. sending that personal information to a domain registrar, which could easily be two kids in a basement, see LinkedIn for how information is securely stored by large companies!

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You think LinkedIn is an example of how your information is securely stored?

Change your password.

Last week, news broke that a major security breach had occurred at LinkedIn – a popular social network for professionals, with some 160 million members. The passwords of 6.5 million users were stolen and published on various public websites. LinkedIn confirmed the breach in a press note Tuesday. I checked at LeakedIn.com –and my extremely complex password was among those published.

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Src: http://blogs.wsj.com/indiarealtime/...ep-your-accounts-secure/?mod=google_news_blog

My PROs and Cons about DM

1. Awesome Support!!
2. Free Privacy Protection
3. Good Backorder Service
4. Prices are fair
5. Good Domain lookup

Cons:

1. No AAAA Records (IPv6)
2. No real Promos (they have promos, but always the same, no big thing like a 1euro deal or 2 euro deal etc..)

I can't believe you didn't grasp the gist of my reference to LinkedIn, defaultuser - but thank you for explaining it to any readers.

You might want to look up the definitions of sarcasm and fraud. I have explained my situation already.

1. Payment made for domain, transaction went through fine.
2. Registrar provided access to domain via standard control panel.
3. After 48h, domain access revoked and demand for paperwork was received and account locked.

There is no way that my passport or driver's licence can assist them. I do not send Amazon these details when I purchase items from them.

The reason for the use of future tense is that they may de-register and/or refund. I do not expect the latter, but the former would be acceptable.

My posts here serve as a warning to others that this registrar may charge them, but not provide the anticipated service and effectively take their purchased domain away from the owner.

---------- Post added at 06:51 PM ---------- Previous post was at 06:46 PM ----------

Re. hate - I think you read too much into it. I have a valid axe to grind.

In the case of Domainmonster's actual services, the only issue I noticed that was problematic when using their nameservers was the lack of wildcard DNS. Their interface is functionally sound.

PG said:

I can't believe you didn't grasp the gist of my reference to LinkedIn, defaultuser - but thank you for explaining it to any readers.

You might want to look up the definitions of sarcasm and fraud.

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You might want to use sarcasm better. You lost the sarcasm context when you compared "2 kids in a basement" to "large corporation" without an appropriate joiner.

I can see now what you were trying to say. If nothing else - people will protect their LI account.

PG said:

1. Payment made for domain, transaction went through fine.
2. Registrar provided access to domain via standard control panel.
3. After 48h, domain access revoked and demand for paperwork was received and account locked.

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Noticeably absent - any failed/successful attempts to resolve.

PG said:

There is no way that my passport or driver's licence can assist them. I do not send Amazon these details when I purchase items from them.

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My Doctor checked though.. and my bank, and loan processor. Funny how totally different businesses do totally different things, isn't it
Even netfirms did which is a more similar industry comparable. To be fair - they got similar nastygrams - most cases the initial payment was via Paypal. I called them up via the phone listed in my whois and that was good enough - they didn't request all the other junk they had asked for.

PG said:

The reason for the use of future tense is that they may de-register and/or refund. I do not expect the latter, but the former would be acceptable.

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Or they may resolve this in an amicable and agreeable manner.

PG said:

My posts here serve as a warning to others that this registrar may charge them, but not provide the anticipated service and effectively take their purchased domain away from the owner.

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I could say that (in future tense, of course) about EVERY registrar. I don't register anything at BigRock/Register/Moniker etc. because they might not live up to my expectations.

PG said:

hate - I think you read too much into it. I have a valid axe to grind.

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If they defrauded me or stole something from me, I'd hate them. You are more forgiving than me or it's just a small axe.

PG said:

In the case of Domainmonster's actual services, the only issue I noticed that was problematic when using their nameservers was the lack of wildcard DNS. Their interface is functionally sound.

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I think their interface is atrocious

By the way, Sam. Rather than sending me private messages in an attempt to justify your company's ultimatum-style request (with which I refuse to comply) via mild rhetoric, you're welcome to explain what your company's next step is - i.e. answer my implicit questions, which I shall now state explicitly.

In the event of your anti-fraud lockout not resulting in personal documents being sent to you (you state no other recourse as an option):

Do you de-register the domain(s) attached to the freshly-registered-but-suddenly-locked account?

Do you refund the transaction fee(s) or effectively embezzle the funds?

I await your response in order to benefit those who may avoid following in my poorly-chosen footsteps.

@Pryda - Thanks for the feedback! In response to one of your negatives you can get bulk changes made via support. You can just send a ticket to [email protected] and let us know what changes need to be made. We can go ahead and action them on your behalf!

@PG - Hi PG.

For obvious reasons it would be impossible for me to discuss any general security policy on an open and public forum. The information you are requesting is extremely sensitive and would not be shared in public. Any information that could potentially give an insight into our security systems will never be shared publicly.

I will reiterate my PM and say that there are no accusations against you at all. This is a security verification check that cannot be avoided in certain circumstances.

We urge you to contact us to get a resolution to the issue. We have contacted you via Email requesting the documents, PM'd you on this forum when we came across this thread, tried to phone you on the number listed on your account and received no response to any of our attempts to contact you.

I want to make clear that we never have and never will embezzle funds from our customers. We are an ICANN accredited registrar and PCI DSS Compliant. We are an established company with thousands of customers. We are not involved in any shady or immoral business practices and never will be. We work hard to provide an ethical service and ensure that our customers get the support they need.

We are happy to help you resolve this issue but some form of contact with us privately would be required to resolve the problem. We have tried to contact you via a number of different channels and we have still not had a response. I hope you understand this makes it impossible for us to help you resolve this issue.

I hope you will get in touch so that we can work with you in regards to this matter. If you would like a member of our team to give you a call just PM us a valid contact telephone number and we will be happy to discuss this problem with you.

Thank you,
Sam

On another note, people asking about Wildcard DNS:

We now support Wildcard DNS records for both A and CNAME records.

To add a wildcard record please follow these steps:

1) Log in to your Domainmonster.com account here: http://www.domainmonster.com/login.
2) Select the domain that you wish to add the record to from the list on the right hand side, then press the "Manage" button below the list.
3) Select the "Manage DNS" option from the central menu that appears.
4) Specify whether you would like to create an "A" or "CNAME" record under the heading "Add Record", using the drop down menu.
5) In the hostname (A record) or Alias (CNAME) box, use an asterix (*) to specify a wildcard record.
6) Enter the IP Address (A record) or Address (CNAME) in the relevant field underneath.
7) Click the "Add Record" button.

And there you have it, your very own Wildcard DNS record!

Thanks everyone.
Sam

I wasn't looking for an insight into your security, Sam, only some transparency as to your handling of my purchase and my payment.

Thank you for your response. The conclusion is that you keep the domain and the money (or you'd state otherwise), which was my original assumption. I shall not be surprised when you automatically bill my card in a year via my locked-out account.

These findings will now gradually be reposted across every forum with a decent search rank in relation to terms representing your registrar to indicate your modus operandi.

---------- Post added at 04:19 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:48 PM ----------

defaultuser: I realise that GoDaddy and others may challenge for this information when using PayPal, but in the event of their request being denied they de-register and refund which is an acceptable business practice.

Forum admin: (NB) your regular expression check for links picks up on "[at]anything" in the body of posts (presumably thinking it's an email), it matches too widely.