Best registrar for bulk transfer from Epik...

[NicTraders]

I've had my domains at Epik for around 5 years. They worked well for me. And while the hack last year was very worrying, and there have been other concerning events, the current situation is the last straw. Unless you've been living under a rock, you'll likely know that the writing is on the wall for them, and it seems likely that they could fail at some point in the near future (132 pages of the gory details here). Regardless of whether they pull off some miracle to get themselves out of this mess, I think my time with them is done.

So, I am left with the decision of choosing a new registrar. Yes, I realize people will tell me to check the poll for your favorite registrar of 2022, but I'd like some info that for the most part, the poll doesn't offer. Reasons. Why should I choose your favorite registrar?

Things I'll be looking for:
- Competitive pricing
- Bulk management (and generally an easy-to-use interface)
- Good support (24hr live chat preferred as I'm not US-based)
- Bonus points for a registrar who will give me a special deal for bulk transfer or if you can put me in touch with a helpful account manager

Probably top of the list for me to investigate (given past dealings) are Dynadot, Porkbun, Sav, NameSilo, so I'm keen to hear good and bad experiences about those.
There are numerous names I won't consider, and that includes GoDaddy. The others are pretty much all the usual suspects which would probably be pretty obvious for anyone who has been in the industry for a while.

Looking forward to your feedback.

 

[LoveCatchyDomains]

I only have a few domains at Epik that I’ve picked up from the marketplace, but I’m moving ALL of my domains over to DynaDot in the coming weeks. It seems to me that many people have excellent things to say about them, and the few times I’ve interacted with their support has been awesome.

I have domains at all the major registrars and by far, Dynadot has impressed me the most with tools available, ease of use, clean UI, and excellent support.

With @Bob Hawkes posting on the Fast Transfer Sales Networks, Dynadot was mentioned at the top of the list for being accepted on both Sedo Premium MLS and Afternic Fast Transfer. Name Silo and Sav were also mentioned, along with a few others.

 

[NicTraders]

The NC interface could use some work. Unlike GoDaddy and Hover, you cannot see in tabular form the DNS settings of each domain. Also, the alphabetized list was having issues, where some domains up front were not alphabetical. And, still, you cannot get up front the domain count---which is one of the quickest ways of checking to make certain none of your domains hasn't unexpectedly disappeared.
They have been the best for being allowed to turn off privacy for the domains selected. With the other registrars, despite numerous requests to remove privacy, the Icann lookup still had contact information blocked. Namecheap was the best for customer service in this realm and several other issues, such as resolving transfers.
If there is any possibility that you will be developing some of the domains, that would also be important in factor into the equation. The added value of certain domain services may sway you toward some higher price options--at least for a select group of your domains.

Thanks for the detailed response. I probably won't be developing any that I move as those already live in a different account. Handy to know though.

i am checking namesilo, and the price for .com is $9.95 but i guess they might have bulk discounts

Yeah, from memory NameSilo have bulk discounts so long as you pre-fund your account. I do that anyway, so that would be fine. I just had a look, as $9.95 seems very cheap - worth noting, that $9.95 is only the transfer price, and they may not discount that further. Reg and Renew are $10.95. But it looks like that can come down to the same price (or less) for their bulk discount program.

 

[GoKaizen]

I use Dynadot as my main registrar these days.

Some reasons;

• Simple UI
• Great support
• Good pricing
• Afternic Fast Transfer can be approved from dashboard
• Well known domain registrar

If you spend over $500 a year you will get Bulk discount pricing. That brings .com renewals/regs/transfers to $9.83.

Super Bulk is $5,000 a year. Would make .com pricing $9.57.

Being able to approve Afternic Fast Transfer via the dashboard with 1-click is very convenient. I've had issues with not receiving emails from registrars and the links breaking.

Overall happy with @Dynadot and will be sticking with them.

 

[alcy]

best prices and ui is sav. u will never find one place to.fit all u want. never forever

 

[lock]

My feedback is you have no real issues which is great and searching for value elsewhere. I clicked as wanted to see if Epik had really created a problem. I will say the best value isn't about price for a domainer but about what services you are gaining from registrar. Do you go with the biggest for reseller market or cheapest renewal?

 

[NicTraders]

Super Bulk is $5,000 a year. Would make .com pricing $9.57.

Good to see we can get renewals down around the $9.50 mark. I did a heap of forward renewals before the price increase this year so I actually had renewed everything that had an expiry within 12 months, so the bulk of my portfolio doesn't expire until 2024. Adding another year to this was not high on my agenda at this time, but the current situation necessitates it. Having to come up with the funds in bulk means pricing does end up being pretty important.

 

[AbdulBasit.com]

I moved some 7,000 domains from Uniregistry to Dynadot this year. Both Afternic DLS and Sedo MLS there. Although I like Uniregistry more but since they'll be shutting it down soon, I had no option but to move out of Uni.

Overall, Dynadot is good.

 

[Nametree]

Dynadot has been great for me, and so has Godaddy. I’ve taken advantage of Namecheap’s bulk transfer deals in the past so I have a bunch of names there, but their interface isn’t great for bulk management, and bulk transfer-out is a pain.

They all have quirks though. I find Dynadot internal account pushes annoying, and getting an auth code requires an extra step or two than at other registrars, but ultimately it’s all minor stuff.

 

[lock]

My feedback is you have no real issues which is great and searching for value elsewhere. I clicked as wanted to see if Epik had really created a problem. I will say the best value isn't about price for a domainer but about what services you are gaining from registrar. Do you go with the biggest for reseller market or cheapest renewal?

Yea negative rank it. From now on when i see someone write off a business i will let it slide and watch knowing result. I also realize that if no-one listens to advice i won't offer it for anything.

 

[88.88]

I suppose that when you move a dot com from a registrar to a new one you loose the time you still have (paid) before expiring date.
with any new registrar ?

 

[pb]

I suppose that when you move a dot com from a registrar to a new one you loose the time you still have (paid) before expiring date.
with any new registrar ?

If you transfer the renewed domain within 45 days of the original expiration date, the losing registrar is refunded the renewal fee (and usually keep it to themselves), that's why the transfer doesn't add 1 year. After that it should normally extend the registration by one year.

https://www.icann.org/fr/announceme...ithin-the-auto-renew-grace-period-6-6-2002-en
"Registrants who transfer names within the 45-day Auto-Renew Grace Period should check with the registrar from which they are transferring regarding a possible refund. Even though losing registrars receive refunds of auto-renewal fees they have paid to the registry in these circumstances, not all registrars make refunds to customers. The effect of failure of the losing registrar to refund is that the registrant pays registration fees to both the losing registrar (for the auto-renew) and to the gaining registrar (for the transfer), but only receives a one-year extension of term."

 

[Bob Hawkes]

"Dynadot does NOT let you unlock/push/transfer expired domains (it is not possible to get the authcode for them immediately). You either have to renew them in order to do any of these things, or you can submit an Unlock Request which takes 5 days to action. After 5 days you can then unlock your domain."

Agree that from a domainer perspective this is unfortunate. They are by no means the only registrar who do this, however.

In defence of policy, once you let a name expire the registrar have to submit payment to the registry, so in a sense they are now invested in 'your' domain name. Yes they get refund if you never do renew, but in meantime they are forced to have money tied up. This can be substantial when there are many domain names involved, and now that the cost of money is rising, it is not inconsequential.

Bob

 

[Bob Hawkes]

I suppose that when you move a dot com from a registrar to a new one you loose the time you still have (paid) before expiring date.
with any new registrar ?

No you do not lose that time, it transfers with the name (possible exception when you recently renew after a name expired).

 

[Bob Hawkes]

With @Bob Hawkes posting on the Fast Transfer Sales Networks, Dynadot was mentioned at the top of the list for being accepted on both Sedo Premium MLS and Afternic Fast Transfer. Name Silo and Sav were also mentioned, along with a few others.

Just to be totally clear, the ordering on the list was on the basis of votes received, up to time of writing at least, in the 2022 NamePros best registrar poll. It was not my personal view on registrar quality of fast transfer network aspects. Perhaps everyone interpreted it that way, but wanted to make sure.

If you are transferring a name that you think has a reasonable probability of selling in the next 60 days, which registrars apply a registrar transfer lock, and which allow you to opt out, is an important consideration.

The registry does not apply a 60 day transfer lock for .com and .net, but some registrars do. For .org, there is a registry transfer 60 day lock that as far as I know can't be avoided. Also the backend for the XYZ registry apply a 60 day transfer lock that seems unavoidable. A few deals have been lost because of that.

Bob

 

[LoveCatchyDomains]

Just to be totally clear, the ordering on the list was on the basis of votes received, up to time of writing at least, in the 2022 NamePros best registrar poll. It was not my personal view on registrar quality of fast transfer network aspects. Perhaps everyone interpreted it that way, but wanted to make sure.

If you are transferring a name that you think has a reasonable probability of selling in the next 60 days, which registrars apply a registrar transfer lock, and which allow you to opt out, is an important consideration.

The registry does not apply a 60 day transfer lock for .com and .net, but some registrars do. For .org, there is a registry transfer 60 day lock that as far as I know can't be avoided. Also the backend for the XYZ registry apply a 60 day transfer lock that seems unavoidable. A few deals have been lost because of that.

Bob

Thank you for the clarification about the registry vs. registrar .com, .net, and .org transfer locks. When comparing options for transfer, that may be useful to add to the equation.

 

[GoKaizen]

Yes Dynadot has good pricing for portfolio owners.

Good to see we can get renewals down around the $9.50 mark. I did a heap of forward renewals before the price increase this year so I actually had renewed everything that had an expiry within 12 months, so the bulk of my portfolio doesn't expire until 2024. Adding another year to this was not high on my agenda at this time, but the current situation necessitates it. Having to come up with the funds in bulk means pricing does end up being pretty important.

Did you get a bulk transfer discount?

I moved some 7,000 domains from Uniregistry to Dynadot this year. Both Afternic DLS and Sedo MLS there. Although I like Uniregistry more but since they'll be shutting it down soon, I had no option but to move out of Uni.

Overall, Dynadot is good.

 

[Name Trader]

Another vote for Dynadot. I've been with them since about 2 years after they came on the scene. Transferred from GoDaddy. I rate them very highly in about every category. Best registrar ever. Seems like they are preferred by most domainers, at least according to the polls. If you haven't tried them... you should. You won't be disappointed. Have approx 3K domains there. Best Registrar ever.

 

[AbdulBasit.com]

Yes Dynadot has good pricing for portfolio owners.



Did you get a bulk transfer discount?

Yes, Dynadot offer "Super Bulk" pricing.

 

[NicTraders]

Agree that from a domainer perspective this is unfortunate. They are by no means the only registrar who do this, however.

Thanks for the various comments Bob (and others). Unfortunately the Like, Thanks, Agree buttons have disappeared from this thread at present (at least on my end), so I can't give Thanks at the moment...

...Oh, I see they have moved it to the Requests section. I guess those buttons don't exist here. That's a shame. I don't imagine it will get much attention here. nevermind.

 

[franka46]

I have/had the same experience as you with Epik .
I was part of the big family there ,working hard with other good people to make Epik no 1 .
But others were working hard to destroy Epik ,even that they were closer with Epik then I was/am
Mixing your personal beliefs and delusional mindset into your business is a recepe for disaster
I have warned then many times ,but they continued hoping that ''god is willing '' and not to worry because ''god is on the throne."
Sad


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[unmark]

I had so many stupid moves done by Namecheap in the few years I was with them that I lost count.
Sometimes they would do stuff without thinking and then it would take days to resolve. Simply hated that.
I gave up and left them for Epik and Dynadot (never liked to keep everything in one basket). It was a few years ago though.
Now am thinking to start using NameBright again. They were very good before and I hope nothing has changed. Good price, especially for .coms, only $9.15 for anything and that sounds to be a great deal to me these days.
Anyone has used them lately?

 

[NicTraders]

I had so many stupid moves done by Namecheap in the few years I was with them that I lost count.
Sometimes they would do stuff without thinking and then it would take days to resolve. Simply hated that.
I gave up and left them for Epik and Dynadot (never liked to keep everything in one basket). It was a few years ago though.
Now am thinking to start using NameBright again. They were very good before and I hope nothing has changed. Good price, especially for .coms, only $9.15 for anything and that sounds to be a great deal to me these days.
Anyone has used them lately?

Haven't used them lately. I've done a few hand reg's there at times due to the pricing, and that went fine, but it's hardly a significant test. It always worried me a bit that hardly anyone else I know of uses them at all. Of course that doesn't mean anything much, but it gives a lot more confidence if there are a bunch of people using them happily. Usually news travels pretty fast in this industry when there is great pricing somewhere, so it always made me wonder why not many people have moved their domains there. They couldn't even manage 1% of votes in the Poll. That's only my thoughts, and not meant to be critical of them at all - just me wondering out loud...

 

[LoveCatchyDomains]

I had so many stupid moves done by Namecheap in the few years I was with them that I lost count.
Sometimes they would do stuff without thinking and then it would take days to resolve. Simply hated that.

What were the bad moves that happened? Your experience is important, because their transfer deals have been very competitive. No doubt, some Epik customers are migrating at least some of their domains there.

 

[AlexGreen]

do you know if it's possible to wire money from Dan sale proceeds directly into one of these registrars? I am also trying to decide between dynadot, namesilo, porkbun, sav

 

[Reallybigidea.com]

The most trusted for me
Sav
Porkbun
Godaddy
Name.com

But currently i don't have domains with them.