Do you use private registration?

[sundance]

I like private registration because I'm not crazy about my home address being out there. I've also gotten a lot of junk mail because of domains I've registered in the past. I'm thinking if I get into this for real it would be best to make an LLC (it costs $50 in my state) and get a mail box. Paying 3.99 for private reg is a rip.

 

[N-A]

Find a new registrar. I'd rather have tiered discounts or pay $12.88 than put up with GoDaddy shenanigans.

 

[gilescoley]

That's fine provided you aren't trying to sell your domains

 

[sundance]

Find a new registrar. I'd rather have tiered discounts or pay $12.88 than put up with GoDaddy shenanigans.

Agreed. I hate GoDaddy, but I've gotten a few domains at auctions there.

 

[N-A]

Yes, I will use TDNAM and as soon as the transfer lock is up, they're out to Uniregistry.

 

[sundance]

That's fine provided you aren't trying to sell your domains

I can still put them up for sale all over the internet.

 

[solarix]

You could also get a PO Box and use that.

 

[gilescoley]

I can still put them up for sale all over the internet.

Yes you could, but a lot of people buy names from the WHOIS info, its just limiting your options

 

[The New Guy]

Yes you could, but a lot of people buy names from the WHOIS info, its just limiting your options

There are registrars that offer free whois privacy but include email forwarding / contact capabilities with their whois records.

If you park with a place like voodoo you can have a contact form link on the landing page.

It's incredibly easy to have privacy and make it possible for anybody who wants to buy a domain to contact you.

 

[gilescoley]

There are registrars that offer free whois privacy but include email forwarding / contact capabilities with their whois records.

If you park with a place like voodoo you can have a contact form link on the landing page.

It's incredibly easy to have privacy and make it possible for anybody who wants to buy a domain to contact you.

That's true, but some people dont go to the landing page at all ,they just go to the WHOIS, and if that doesn't have an email address, you could potentially lose a sale, rather just stick a PO Box or something in the address field and leave your email address there

 

[N-A]

That's true, but some people dont go to the landing page at all ,they just go to the WHOIS, and if that doesn't have an email address, you could potentially lose a sale, rather just stick a PO Box or something in the address field and leave your email address there

How does it not have an email address? A large sum of my domains have an email address. It's [email protected]. Guess who gets the email? Me.

 

[The New Guy]

That's true, but some people dont go to the landing page at all ,they just go to the WHOIS, and if that doesn't have an email address, you could potentially lose a sale, rather just stick a PO Box or something in the address field and leave your email address there

Either they have an email address that you can set up forwarding or information on how to contact the owner via a web interface (usually with a captcha to prevent spam).

This topic has come up several times recently and I've seen people saying that because they were contacted via whois information it proves that it should be left public.

That's a false argument: It doesn't mean that if whois was private but there were other contact methods available that the buyer would have given up- it just means that the buyer chose to go that route first. I can't see someone who wants to purchase a domain being so lazy as to not go to the actual parking page and clicking on the obvious contact link.

 

[gilescoley]

Either they have an email address that you can set up forwarding or information on how to contact the owner via a web interface (usually with a captcha to prevent spam).

This topic has come up several times recently and I've seen people saying that because they were contacted via whois information it proves that it should be left public.

That's a false argument: It doesn't mean that if whois was private but there were other contact methods available that the buyer would have given up- it just means that the buyer chose to go that route first. I can't see someone who wants to purchase a domain being so lazy as to not go to the actual parking page and clicking on the obvious contact link.

Okey Dokey

 

[inforg]

I can see privacy on adult or political domains and maybe in a few other circumstances, but I just think privacy comes across as "shady". I don't see any reason to hide behind it, and people being able to google me and see that I am a real person without any complaints or negatives on the web seems to help me close deals. The additional spam emails and registration letters to the house are pretty minimal and less of a hassle than managing privacy. Just my .02

 

[The New Guy]

I can see privacy on adult or political domains and maybe in a few other circumstances, but I just think privacy comes across as "shady".

AKA the old "If you're not doing anything wrong you shouldn't have anything to hide" line.

I started registering domains before privacy was an option and they wanted all the information. Even put the fax number in there because the hosting company I registered through said it should be included for some reason.

All I got out of it was junk faxes, telemarketing calls, and those fake "your domain is about to expire! renew now (and transfer your domain to us in small print)" junk mail. I get enough junk mail just by being a human being with a mailing address. I don't need any more.

With 500 or so domains I have now I'd hate to think what it would be like if all the information on them was public. I do have a few left over without privacy on them, and they're the only ones I get junk on - from the same old 'renew your domain' notices to the new 'a domain just like yours is about to expire!!!! do you want it!?!?!?' spam.

 

[Kate]

You are completely right, set up an LLC and ditch those lousy whois privacy services. And you have a 100% kosher whois, no fake name, no fake address.
Incorporating has possible tax benefits for you, along with asset protection.

 

[DU]

Incorporating has possible tax benefits for you, along with asset protection.

If he gets into it for real. I believe incorporating when you're not actually incorporating is just asking for a big pain in the ass.

 

[AEProgram]

All this incorporating talk reminds me of

 

[TheBlueprint]

If you are going to build a business (flipping names or building them and earning affiliate income) setting up a LLC makes sense. I have used private reg when it was cheap/free/included in the cost (namecheap, namebright among others) but wouldnt pay "reg price" for it

 

[alien51]

Some domainers will insist that you should not use WHOIS Privacy, so that they can run their bot crawler software to get your whois email address, then send you solicitation emails like "I have a domain similar to yours, would you like to buy it ?"