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advice Portfolio Consolidation

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Do you consolidate all your purchases to one registrar? If so how do you do it, as soon as you acquire, when its first renewal comes up? What do you look for in the registrar you consolidate to, just price? Specific features?

I was looking into this and really like the idea of having it all in one place, my biggest issue is the 60 day lock after a transfer. I get registrars do it as a fraud prevention measure bu that means I can;t list on Sedo MLS or Afternic with Fast Transfer for 60 days, should I be concerned with this waiting period as potentially missing out on a sale that could come from one of those venues?
 
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The views expressed on this page by users and staff are their own, not those of NamePros.
Please use the search box to find that all your questions have already been answered.

Epik.com has the most free functionality of any registrar.
 
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Please use the search box to find that all your questions have already been answered.

I am not asking something that has an objective right or wrong answer that has already been established, this is a discussion on what others due which is subject to change over time or other users who have not contributed to those discussions may have something to add to this discussion.

Existing topics are only representative of what those who posted in them did at the time, processes change, and there are different users who may have something worthwhile to share here who have not shared in prior discussions. There are very few unique topics that have not been discussed at all before, that doesn't mean nobody should ask those questions of NP users today.

Secondly, Not everything I asked has necessarily been previously answered anyway, though much of it has been, so that's not an accurate statement. For example searching "60 day lock sale" does not yield any results where it has been discussed if missing out on sales due to the lock is a concern one should have. And for the parts that have been I'd point you back to my first point that things change.
 
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I consolidate at GD, because of

Discount domain club
Afternic
Acceptance among buyers
Gd auctions where I get most of my new names
 
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Lol. I consolidated/consolidating to Epik because:

1) lowest cost, one of in the industry for NP members, no portfoltio requirements (namesilo) or hostage tax (godaddy discount club) to pay.

2) Privacy is free (Godaddy charges more 4 privacy than Epik Namesilo..all who also provide free privacy

3) A CEO who stands behind their product... tagged @Rob Monster (epik CEO) in case, he disagrees. Hey Rob, will there ever be extra cost by consumer 2lower renewal add privacy?

I’ve almost moved all my names out of GD to epik, and Icouldn't have been happier. Making Np blessing

epik is how it’s supposed to be done, imo... Having all or most my names consolidated into registrar you trust..has helped simplify my life, and most efficient
 
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I do (GoDaddy).

It makes it way easier to manage a large portfolio than having domains scattered around.

As someone who sells almost exclusively to end users, GoDaddy works well because most buyers already have an account there.

Brad.
 
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Lol. I consolidated/consolidating to Epik because:

1) lowest cost, one of in the industry for NP members, no portfoltio requirements (namesilo) or hostage tax (godaddy discount club) to pay.

2) Privacy is free (Godaddy charges more privacy, than .com renewals for EPIK, namesilo, etc... whom also provide free privacy

3) A CEO who stands behind their product... not a front man... i tagged @Rob Monster...

I’ve almost moved all my names out of GD to epik

I am still learning Epik. Have under 100 there.

For Gd, if you have 500+ names, even with ddc fee, it is cheaper than anyone.

I already have 3200 with them, so it is negligible

As for privacy, I never use it.
 
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I am still learning Epik. Have under 100 there.

For Gd, if you have 500+ names, even with ddc fee, it is cheaper than anyone.

I already have 3200 with them, so it is negligible

As for privacy, I never use it.

Dam, i didnt know that about GD. You know more than me! Still, i am of the opinion, picking the one best works for you, helps simplify things therefor, get more done... than being all over reg. I picked epik cuz Rob has been a man of his word... he rlly gives Np members, most epik benefits. he makes me feel wanted as customer, safe from random price hikes...
Didnt GD used be $15? Why are they $17.99 now?

Love epik! and Rob. My total portfolio, is under 100. There some ppl, i’d support, no matter my portfolio #
 
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I consolidate at GD, because of

Discount domain club
Afternic
Acceptance among buyers
Gd auctions where I get most of my new names
When I acquire a GD expired domain, if I set its nameservers to ns3.afternic.com and ns4.afternic.com and then list on Afternic with BIN, the domain is often immediately available in Godaddy domain search for potential buyers to acquire. So, listing speed may be GD's advantage. Also, GD is well recognized so buyers have more trust. My question is: is there a difference between Godaddy-Afternic and OtherRegistra-Afternic arrangement in terms of speed and ease of transfer to buyers?
 
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I have heard alot of good things about Epik and Namesilo too, interesting nobody has really mentioned Namesilo yet. I really like the idea of Namesilo's reseller program for payment plan domains or even completed purchases where the buyer doesn't have an account at a registrar I could let them manage it right from my website.

I am also concerned about the 60 day lock if I consolidate over as I would have to delist from Sedo MLS and Afternic Fast Transfer for those 60 days and am worried I could loose a sale if someone would happen to search one of my domains at a registrar during that period. FWIW I contacted Epik support to ask about the 60 day lock, and unlike most registrars that would give a canned response about its our policy and there is no way around it they did at least check with management.

I basically offered to prefund my Epik account 60 days prior to initiating the transfer so that the funds would be aged 60 days, so they can see they get no chargebacks, ect. After consulting with management their response was they could review a request to unlock a specific domain early if I find a buyer who wants a transfer to another registrar which is better than any other. Unfortunately I was hoping to have them all transferred over unlocked so I could list them with Sedo MLS/Afternic Fast Transfer. I understand they need to prevent fraud which is why I suggested I let the funds age in my Epik account before the transfer but I guess that's not good enough from their point of view. Though at least they would consider a one off request which is more than you can say about almost any other registrar.

I am really curious if anyone has some insight as to if the 60 day lock could really cost me sales for not being listed on Sedo/Afternic for that period or if I am just being overly concerned for nothing.
 
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When I acquire a GD expired domain, if I set its nameservers to ns3.afternic.com and ns4.afternic.com and then list on Afternic with BIN, the domain is often immediately available in Godaddy domain search for potential buyers to acquire. So, listing speed may be GD's advantage. Also, GD is well recognized so buyers have more trust. My question is: is there a difference between Godaddy-Afternic and OtherRegistra-Afternic arrangement in terms of speed and ease of transfer to buyers?

I don't even change the ns and list. Yes, gd allows listing on afternic right away with fast transfer possible after 60 days. For other registrars, you have to wait 60 days to list.

Empirically, with almost 400 names at dynadot for a year, the sell through was lower than gd names. Could be coincidental, could be that buyers prefer gd names. But for me it was enough to start moving names to gd from them

Will try Epik too and decide accordingly
 
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I have heard alot of good things about Epik and Namesilo too, interesting nobody has really mentioned Namesilo yet. I really like the idea of Namesilo's reseller program for payment plan domains or even completed purchases where the buyer doesn't have an account at a registrar I could let them manage it right from my website.

I am also concerned about the 60 day lock if I consolidate over as I would have to delist from Sedo MLS and Afternic Fast Transfer for those 60 days and am worried I could loose a sale if someone would happen to search one of my domains at a registrar during that period. FWIW I contacted Epik support to ask about the 60 day lock, and unlike most registrars that would give a canned response about its our policy and there is no way around it they did at least check with management.

I basically offered to prefund my Epik account 60 days prior to initiating the transfer so that the funds would be aged 60 days, so they can see they get no chargebacks, ect. After consulting with management their response was they could review a request to unlock a specific domain early if I find a buyer who wants a transfer to another registrar which is better than any other. Unfortunately I was hoping to have them all transferred over unlocked so I could list them with Sedo MLS/Afternic Fast Transfer. I understand they need to prevent fraud which is why I suggested I let the funds age in my Epik account before the transfer but I guess that's not good enough from their point of view. Though at least they would consider a one off request which is more than you can say about almost any other registrar.

I am really curious if anyone has some insight as to if the 60 day lock could really cost me sales for not being listed on Sedo/Afternic for that period or if I am just being overly concerned for nothing.

How many names do you have?

If you are normally selling 1% a year and half of sales are via afternic fast transfer, then 2 month off will result in one time loss of around 0.08%. Meaning, if you have 1000 names, you might lose 1 sale. In bigger perspective, this should not be a deal breaker.
 
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For other registrars, you have to wait 60 days to list.
That's not my experience. Yesterday I registered two domains at Epik, set the ns to ns3.afternic.com and ns4.afternic.com, then listed on Afternic. It took several hours before I could see it available in Godaddy search. So, I'm very interested in knowing whether keeping domains at Godaddy and then listing on Godaddy-owned Afternic give you the best in speed and ease of transfer to end users.
 
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That's not my experience. Yesterday I registered two domains at Epik, set the ns to ns3.afternic.com and ns4.afternic.com, then listed on Afternic. It took several hours before I could see it available in Godaddy search. So, I'm very interested in knowing whether keeping domains at Godaddy and then listing on Godaddy-owned Afternic give you the best in speed and ease of transfer to end users.

If it is fast transfer, should not make difference.

Did not know about Epik. What happens when someone buys it at afternic during the lock?
 
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If it is fast transfer, should not make difference.

Did not know about Epik. What happens when someone buys it at afternic during the lock?
I thought Fast Transfer at Afternic kicks in only after 60 days, even if you list with BIN. But, good point on the lock issue which I have not thought about. If that is true, then it gives more reason to consolidate all domains at Godaddy -- and even more so if domains are acquired from GD expired auctions.
 
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As someone who sells almost exclusively to end users, GoDaddy works well because most buyers already have an account there.
Excellent point on buyers already having an account at GD! As Afternic MLS is my focus, does it make any difference if I keep GD's default nameservers or use Afternic's ns3.afternic.com/ns4.afternic.com nameservers? I'm working to forward all GD domains to my own site instead of using Afternic's sales lander.
 
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Epik is best considering all things. They will unlock a domain as needed (just as described above) as it would be foolish for them to do otherwise as fraud is rampant. I am glad they are diligent as the more fraud that occurs, the higher domain prices go.

60 day locks are reasonable...if a domainer can't wait for the lock to fall off or he/she does not/can not build a relationship with the registrar, that domainer should probably invest in the stock market rather than domains.
 
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Epik is best considering all things. They will unlock a domain as needed (just as described above) as it would be foolish for them to do otherwise as fraud is rampant. I am glad they are diligent as the more fraud that occurs, the higher domain prices go.

60 day locks are reasonable...if a domainer can't wait for the lock to fall off or he/she does not/can not build a relationship with the registrar, that domainer should probably invest in the stock market rather than domains.

I have ran many online businesses where I collected credit card payments. I understand concerns about fraud/chargebacks which is why when I discussed this with them I offered to preload the funds to my account 60 days before initiating the transfer, the same amount of time they would lock the domains for normally.
 
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I understand...I prefund my account as well to get the best pricing they offer...and I have been an epik customer for a few years now. To date, I have not had to ask for an unlock as no customer has requested it, but I've got no doubt they would do it on an 'as needed' basis (many hundreds of names are registered there).

For my protection, I tell customers I prefer they purchase through the epik platform (I tell them to get a free account if needed) or they can wait until the lock is off and I will move where they want. It is surprising how many people don't know that where a name is registered is not that big of an issue considering they can point it anywhere they wish.
 
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It is surprising how many people don't know that where a name is registered is not that big of an issue considering they can point it anywhere they wish.

I don't disagree. My only problem with the lock is it prevents listing with Sedo MLS and Afternic with Fast Transfers which are more common of a sales venue than a buyer coming directly to me in the first place.
 
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Thanks for the thread @Ryan217. Interestingly I am working on an article, probably for NameTalent, on the pros and cons of just this. It won't be done for awhile, and I will try to remember to post a link in this thread when it is up.

OK my personal answer.... I do not consolidate for the following main reasons...
  1. I am cheap :xf.grin: To get the best deals I find it advantageous to use multiple registrars. This is particularly true if you have many different TLDs, which I do. I have all of the big 3 legacy, 2 other legacy extensions, .ca, a number of general purpose country code TLDs, and a few dozen different new gTLDs.
  2. I buy and sell (a little) here and it is handy to have multiple active registrar accounts for transfers. Even from the few transactions I have done, partly as buyer and partly as seller, I have been involved in 5 different registrars.
  3. The 60 day lock is something to think about seriously. For me transferring must give me enough to make up for that, as well as hassle of transfer.
  4. I don't like the interruption of Sedo and Afternic fast transfer when you move registrars. I mean I accept it should happen, but it is one reason not to transfer.
  5. As a writer and analyst, I think it is important to be familiar from first hand experience with many of the main options domainers use. I have 25+ domains registered at all of the following: Epik, GoDaddy, Dynadot, Domain Cost Club, NameSilo, Namecheap, Name(.)com, Moniker, Rebel (for .ca), Gandi and nearly that number at Porkbun. I plan to soon try out Hexonet and Uniregistry as well, and possibly others.
I think this is a question that each of us may have a different right answer. If you are very time-pressed, or mainly buy and hold, I think it may make sense to use either GD Cost Club or Domain Cost Club to consolidate your domains at good prices, or a registrar like Epik or NameSilo that offer domainers good prices and tools. It also depends on what fraction of your sales are at Gd/Afternic and how many of your acquisitions come from GD auctions.

In my early days in domaining I did use only one registrar. I got to know their system well, used their marketplace to buy and sell, and was resistant to learning a new system. Eventually a promotion enticed me to add another registrar (I had always used a .ca registrar for a few) and I was surprised how easy and intuitive it was, so my resistance to use different registrars was gone. Soon I was distributed across 4 main registrars, and now even more.

Bob
 
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I do not consolidate for the following main reasons...
  1. I am cheap :xf.grin: To get the best deals I find it advantageous to use multiple registrars. This is particularly true if you have many different TLDs, which I do. I have all of the big 3 legacy, 2 other legacy extensions, .ca, a number of general purpose country code TLDs, and a few dozen different new gTLDs.
  2. I buy and sell (a little) here and it is handy to have multiple active registrar accounts for transfers. Even from the few transactions I have done, partly as buyer and partly as seller, I have been involved in 5 different registrars.
  3. The 60 day lock is something to think about seriously. For me transferring must give me enough to make up for that, as well as hassle of transfer.
  4. I don't like the interruption of Sedo and Afternic fast transfer when you move registrars. I mean I accept it should happen, but it is one reason not to transfer.
  5. As a writer and analyst, I think it is important to be familiar from first hand experience with many of the main options domainers use. I have 25+ domains registered at all of the following: Epik, GoDaddy, Dynadot, Domain Cost Club, NameSilo, Namecheap, Name(.)com, Moniker, Rebel (for .ca), Gandi and nearly that number at Porkbun. I plan to soon try out Hexonet and Uniregistry as well, and possibly others.

Thanks for the thoughtful reply. Personally I am not a fan of the newer extensions. I hold mostly .com's with a small handful of .net, .org, .co, or .io.
And even though I am just starting I too already have many accounts and different registrars for accepting pushes but I almost suspect once my portfolio starts to grow some more that the extra effort of actively managing domains at many different registrars would be a pain. But I agree that the 60 day lock is my biggest point of contention, especially for domains I get from GD Auctions, as I already have to wait 60 days on those, then another 60 on top after a transfer just seems like a lot, but at the same time I really don't like keeping domains in GD. IMO their interface is garbage, and I had a bad experience with them, albeit about 10+ years ago now but honestly I get the sense their customer service has gotten worse over the years not better. Plus I like having private WHOIS to stop spam but that's not an option at GD, at least not for a price I'd be willing to pay. Can't I just have my cake and eat it too...lol.
 
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the 60 day lock is my biggest point of contention, especially for domains I get from GD Auctions, as I already have to wait 60 days on those, then another 60 on top after a transfer just seems like a lot
For sure.

When I am considering whether to transfer or not to save money, I actually take into account the lock period since it influences my probability of selling the domain name. Let's say at my current registrar renewal is $12 per year. I could transfer, and pay $10 per year. But the 60 day lock means my probability of selling probably goes down by about 1/6 (or that year) so the savings are not quite worthwhile. Of course if I am planning to hold for a long period of many years, it is worthwhile to move once and then achieve all those savings.

I love the registrar marketplaces that allow me to buy a domain name, get it instantly and then right away place it for sale on the same marketplace, and link to that transfer option from my website, so there is no down time at all. I bought a couple of domains this way a few weeks ago, and had them in active sales listings within an hour from when I first decided to buy the domain name.

I almost suspect once my portfolio starts to grow some more that the extra effort of actively managing domains at many different registrars would be a pain.
I would say it is a little bit of a pain, but really after the initial learning period I am not sure it would be much simpler if all of mine were at one registrar. I keep a spreadsheet with each domain name with a variety of data including registrar and expiry, as well as where I have it for sale, so it is relatively easy to stay on top of them.

Bob
 
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Sure I consolidate my domain names as well. It depends on the price mostly ... if there is some good transfer promo, I do not hesitate to change registrar in a minute :)
 
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