Domainmonster.com reviews?

[pdontthink]

Maybe I didn't search good enough, but I don't see any domainmonster.com reviews. Their prices seem about as good as it gets (aside from sale prices here and there (like right now GoDaddy has better transfer prices but only for the first year) but for ongoing prices, I can't find anything better right now).

But what about their service? Do they have bulk edit tools? Free whois privacy, right? Anyone have any experience with them?

 

[DU]

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 !

 

[pdontthink]

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 !

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...

 

[DU]

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

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).

 

[GoKaizen]

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

 

[Blake]

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

 

[richface]

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

 

[DU]

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.

 

[twomoon]

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!

 

[jagdotme]

10/10

No bad points I have been with them for 3 years

 

[domainacrobat]

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.

 

[monster_sam]

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

 

[PG]

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.

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

 

[DU]

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.

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?

 

[tech4]

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

 

[richface]

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.

 

[monster_sam]

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

 

[PG]

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!

 

[DU]

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.

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.

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.

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.

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!

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.

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

 

[Pryda]

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..)