CAUTION: Stop using Namecheap

[aww]

Haven't posted in awhile but just wanted to drop a tip for those not in the loop:

Namecheap and enom are on very bad speaking terms now.

Enom has locked namecheap out of their transfer system and Namecheap can no longer expedite transfer out of the enom system for any reason (except court order)

Do not fall for the small discount codes or "transfer days" they have, you are going to get sucked into a very bad situation.

Remember, Namecheap is not a real registrar, they are simply a very large reseller of enom and that limits them drastically.

Ask anyone who has to wait a full week for a domain transfer from Namecheap and you'll start to get the picture.

Those with good memory will find having namecheap hold domains hostage is very ironic, considering the fiasco they had with godaddy back in 2011 over the same timeout issue...

 

[enetwork]

Thanks for your feedback and those of others. Just wanted to let you know we’ve listened and while this was instituted for security reasons I agree that it causes a burden on domainers and domain traders due to the time issues. That being said, as of yesterday, the 5 day waiting period has been removed from all transfers away from from Namecheap to 0 days. The best way to approach this is to beef up our already great internal security with even more 2fa options. Thanks again for pushing this issue forward and your feedback.

Richard K.

CEO Namecheap

 

[cdboard]

wow. good response, enetwork!

 

[aww]

UPDATE:

Today (Friday September 25th 2015)

I was finally able to transfer a .com out of namecheap in 30 minutes.

Minutes after I clicked accept on transfer-approval page (enom's) it was at my other registrar.

So what enetwork has said is confirmed.

Hope that helps people. Though we don't know if it will stay this way.

 

[Name Trader]

Thanks for your feedback and those of others. Just wanted to let you know we’ve listened and while this was instituted for security reasons I agree that it causes a burden on domainers and domain traders due to the time issues. That being said, as of yesterday, the 5 day waiting period has been removed from all transfers away from from Namecheap to 0 days. The best way to approach this is to beef up our already great internal security with even more 2fa options. Thanks again for pushing this issue forward and your feedback.

Richard K.

CEO Namecheap

Super. Richard.

 

[bonavee]

Thanks for your feedback and those of others. Just wanted to let you know we’ve listened and while this was instituted for security reasons I agree that it causes a burden on domainers and domain traders due to the time issues. That being said, as of yesterday, the 5 day waiting period has been removed from all transfers away from from Namecheap to 0 days. The best way to approach this is to beef up our already great internal security with even more 2fa options. Thanks again for pushing this issue forward and your feedback.

Richard K.

CEO Namecheap

Hi Richard, we initiated a 'transfer out' of Namecheap, my sold domain to the buyer (=> GoDaddy) on September 21, 2015. So far, nothing has changed even though I unlocked the domain the same day and sent him the Auth. Code! Any thoughts on this?

 

[Name Trader]

@bonavee - Most often this is caused because the buyer has not initiated the transfer at GoDaddy. This is 100% true if you haven't received GoDaddy's Auth Codes. I would suggest going back to the buyer to clarify. If he's a noob, explain to him how to do it, or ask him to ask GoDaddy Support to get the transfer initiated.

 

[forge]

Thanks for your feedback and those of others. Just wanted to let you know we’ve listened and while this was instituted for security reasons I agree that it causes a burden on domainers and domain traders due to the time issues. That being said, as of yesterday, the 5 day waiting period has been removed from all transfers away from from Namecheap to 0 days. The best way to approach this is to beef up our already great internal security with even more 2fa options. Thanks again for pushing this issue forward and your feedback.

Richard K.

CEO Namecheap

This is kind of remarkable in that -- at least on the surface -- it speaks volumes about what NamePros membership appears to represent as far as your customer base, assuming that your policy change is largely in response to comments in this thread. Am I interpreting this incorrectly?

 

[bonavee]

@bonavee - Most often this is caused because the buyer has not initiated the transfer at GoDaddy. This is 100% true if you haven't received GoDaddy's Auth Codes. I would suggest going back to the buyer to clarify. If he's a noob, explain to him how to do it, or ask him to ask GoDaddy Support to get the transfer initiated.

Feedback: As I was about to contact the buyer, this GD message came in. I have since done the needful. Thank you @stub.

"Re: Transfer of xxxxxxxx.com

GoDaddy received a request on September 09, 2015 for us to become the new registrar of record.

You received this message because you're listed as the Registered Name Holder or Administrative contact for this domain name. If you're not the Account Holder, or you're transferring the domain to a new owner, please forward this email to the appropriate Account Holder to complete the transfer process.

When authorizing this transfer, you'll be prompted to provide the following Transfer IDs:

Transaction ID: xxxxxxxxx
Security Code: xxxxxxxxx"

 

[Name Trader]

@bomavee - You need to give those 2 codes to the buyer. Then you should see the transfer begin.

 

[systems]

if you want a reason to move away from namecheap , it should be because they are no longer cheap
i would say they are now amongst the more expensive registrars

.com = 14.23
.net =16.61
.org = 16.61

and this doesnt even include whois privacy (except for the first year)
it doesnt really matter how good or bad they are at this point

 

[Weber]

.com is $10.69 in my browser, right now.
They just can't catch a break this week.

 

[systems]

.com is $10.69 in my browser, right now.
They just can't catch a break this week.

my bad, the prices above are in canadian dollars
didnt notice that

again my bad

 

[enetwork]

This is kind of remarkable in that -- at least on the surface -- it speaks volumes about what NamePros membership appears to represent as far as your customer base, assuming that your policy change is largely in response to comments in this thread. Am I interpreting this incorrectly?

Considering we manage close to 5 million domains for 1.5 million customers, I would say no, Namepros does not make up the bulk of our customers. That being said, we made the changes because we do listen to our customers' feedback and implement changes based on that feedback when it makes sense.

We aren't unreasonable or looking to somehow screw our customers as was implied by the OP. It was originally instituted as a security policy to give our customers more time if their accounts were somehow hacked or domains hijacked. I realize now that it was also impeding business transactions even more so it made sense to make this move. The best approach again is to focus on and beef up our customer's 2fa options instead.

 

[RU]

DO NOT use Namecheap URL forwarding or masking for your domains. NC "disable" it for no reason!

 

[Bean]

Considering we manage close to 5 million domains for 1.5 million customers, I would say no, Namepros does not make up the bulk of our customers. That being said, we made the changes because we do listen to our customers' feedback and implement changes based on that feedback when it makes sense.

We aren't unreasonable or looking to somehow screw our customers as was implied by the OP. It was originally instituted as a security policy to give our customers more time if their accounts were somehow hacked or domains hijacked. I realize now that it was also impeding business transactions even more so it made sense to make this move. The best approach again is to focus on and beef up our customer's 2fa options instead.

Well I for one am very happy with the service you guys provide. I haven't been in domaining long but I've registered names at a few different registrars and I gotta say Namecheap is by far my favorite and it's not just because you have competitive prices. Your live chat support is awesome, I've contacted them 3 or 4 times about different things and every time it's been a great experience. You guys accept Bitcoin, I mean c'mon how cool is that ?
If there is anything I would like to see evolve further it is the marketplace, I think there is huge potential there. I know there is a lot of competition in that area and by no means should you focus your resources there but if over time you're able to refine little details and keep improving, I think you can turn it into a thriving hub in it's own right.
Anyways keep up the great work!

 

[ulterios]

Well I for one am very happy with the service you guys provide.

I've used o couple dozen or so registrars over the years and Namecheap service is BY FAR the best I have ever dealt with. Not just for domains, but their hosting support is incredible!

There prices are good, not always the cheapest (always good though) but their support has always been more than worth it. I have used their support in one form or another more times then I can count, and have never gotten bad service.

 

[Name Trader]

I actually preferred the old control panel to the new one. Maybe it's just taste. It takes me about twice as long, or longer when I'm in the new control panel as before. I do appreciate very much the attempts to improve the service as well as the much more minimalist approach. I'm sure I'll get used to it, eventually

 

[kkckkc]

Hmmmm .... Namecheap CEO states zero days to transfer out... so how come I am being told to wait 5 days for my domain to transfer out of namecheap... duh...

 

[Weber]

My recent experience is that it's down to minutes, as long as you choose approve in the approval email that Namecheap sends to the registrant email address and then click to submit that form.

 

[kkckkc]

definitely not the case with me and I have transferred enough domains in the past to understand the process with domain unlock, whois secrecy disable, auth codes etc.

 

[DNVantage]

Hmmmm .... Namecheap CEO states zero days to transfer out... so how come I am being told to wait 5 days for my domain to transfer out of namecheap... duh...

down to minutes

Agreed, quite better now.

@kkckkc, There must be some other issue. Why not ask their chat support? They are quite helpful. Only if their new control panel and their market place was as good!

 

[Name Trader]

The last NameCheap transfer away I did was less than a month ago. If you approve the transfer away. They release the domain within minutes. Unless something has changes very recently.

 

[mitch007]

All is well with Namecheap EXCEPT these two issues:

The instant very easy internal transfer "push" arrangement between Enom To Namecheap using NCTRANSFER no longer works. You used to be able to move a a domain easily from your enom account to your namecheap account this way , but no more.

Please, namecheap (sarcastically) telephones have been invented. Many issues can be straightened out quickly if you allow members to talk to you rather than have to type out all issues in a live chat or support ticket. Consider doing this NOW.

 

[ulterios]

I've been transferring domains out of Namecheap for sales and other reasons (no negative reasons) over the last few months it takes less than an hour as long as you do the process correctly.

When you get the email that says:

"Namecheap.com received notification on Mar XX 2016 XX:XXAM that a request to transfer a domain name to another registrar has been initiated. If you want to proceed with this transfer, you do not need to respond to this message. If you wish to cancel the transfer, please respond to this message before Mar XX 2016 XX:XXAM by using the following URL:

http:/transfer-approval.com/t.asp?id=xxxxxx-xxxxxx-xxxxx-xx-ETC..."

Go to that link, EVEN THOUGH IT SAYS IT"S TO CANCEL THE TRANSFER, and click the "Approve" option and submit it. Then the whole process takes less than an hour on average. Unless the receiving registrar or the person getting the domain drag their feet.

I have done over 100 in the last few months and the longest it took was an hour and ten minutes. They average in the mid 40's (mins).

 

[joethrows]

interesting thread. i've had hundreds of domains at namecheap for years and haven't noticed these transfer delays.