Domain registrar rant
Sum this one up as a rant... pure and simple.
I received my umpteenth email and letter from Domain Registry of Canada. All official and all very formal. These folks inform me on a regular basis that my domain will be expiring shortly... er... relatively shortly... and invite me to head to their web site to renew.... for $43 per year! Did I mention that I have NO domains registered with this registrar?
It starts with the letters and ends with a series of emails from the Domain Registry of Canada (or 'America' for those in the US). The quite-formal letters come a good 4 to 6 months ahead of the expiry date of your domain. They look impressive and are quite serious, aimed at sending an 'official warning'. For the average Joe, an expiry notice for your valued domain can be scary. Odds are, they head to the Domain Registry site and renew (drog.com). Problem is, most of the time, like me, you did NOT register with them in the first place and, in effect, what you end up doing is transfering your domain from your initial provider to this new one. The real issue is the ethical practice of stealing domains like this compounded by their outrageous pricing. The average domain registrar charges around the 20$ mark per domain renewal. They charge 43$ per registry or renewal. That's highway robbery at best!
This is how the Domain Registry of Canada and America makes a living. Hitting up unsuspecting domain owners months before their domains expire and scaring them into a transfer/renewal, NOT just renewal. Where a consumer friendly domain registrar will notify their domain owners a month or so before expiration date, the Domain Registry of Canada and the Domain Registry of America spend time mining for domains and their expiration dates. They then try to highjack them with a good many warnings via letters, then emails, months before the expiration date. Many folks who are not aware that this group are stealing domains will choose to panic and register with them.
The Domain Registry of Canada and America are not government agencies, but communicate like they are. They produce very formal emails and letters with government-ish letterhead etc. They will try to take your domain by transfering it... where they say they are 'renewing', much of the time they are 'transfering and renewing', a big difference, especially in cost. They are not practicing straight up business and are feeding on the unaware... a poor ethical approach to business and one I condemn.
Warnings:
- Be aware of who your registrar really is!
- Keep your account info and your password to yourself
- Watch out for wording in the agreements that implies a 'transfer' as opposed to a 'renewal'
- Keep an eye on pricing... you should be getting fair market price
- When you receive a letter or email from the Domain Registry of Canada or America, immediately check and see if you are registered there. Go to Internic/whois look up sites and confirm your domain's registrar.
Solutions:
- Call your web or internet service provider if you have any questions or concerns about your domain's expiration date.
- If you are registered with the Domain Registry of Canada or America, go to another provider (domainpeople.com, Bluegenesis.com are two good ones) and transfer your domain pronto!!!
- If you receive an email from these folks, reply to it with a complaint. Even better, call the Better Business Bureau...
Stay away from any domain registrar operating like this!!
I received my umpteenth email and letter from Domain Registry of Canada. All official and all very formal. These folks inform me on a regular basis that my domain will be expiring shortly... er... relatively shortly... and invite me to head to their web site to renew.... for $43 per year! Did I mention that I have NO domains registered with this registrar?
It starts with the letters and ends with a series of emails from the Domain Registry of Canada (or 'America' for those in the US). The quite-formal letters come a good 4 to 6 months ahead of the expiry date of your domain. They look impressive and are quite serious, aimed at sending an 'official warning'. For the average Joe, an expiry notice for your valued domain can be scary. Odds are, they head to the Domain Registry site and renew (drog.com). Problem is, most of the time, like me, you did NOT register with them in the first place and, in effect, what you end up doing is transfering your domain from your initial provider to this new one. The real issue is the ethical practice of stealing domains like this compounded by their outrageous pricing. The average domain registrar charges around the 20$ mark per domain renewal. They charge 43$ per registry or renewal. That's highway robbery at best!
This is how the Domain Registry of Canada and America makes a living. Hitting up unsuspecting domain owners months before their domains expire and scaring them into a transfer/renewal, NOT just renewal. Where a consumer friendly domain registrar will notify their domain owners a month or so before expiration date, the Domain Registry of Canada and the Domain Registry of America spend time mining for domains and their expiration dates. They then try to highjack them with a good many warnings via letters, then emails, months before the expiration date. Many folks who are not aware that this group are stealing domains will choose to panic and register with them.
The Domain Registry of Canada and America are not government agencies, but communicate like they are. They produce very formal emails and letters with government-ish letterhead etc. They will try to take your domain by transfering it... where they say they are 'renewing', much of the time they are 'transfering and renewing', a big difference, especially in cost. They are not practicing straight up business and are feeding on the unaware... a poor ethical approach to business and one I condemn.
Warnings:
- Be aware of who your registrar really is!
- Keep your account info and your password to yourself
- Watch out for wording in the agreements that implies a 'transfer' as opposed to a 'renewal'
- Keep an eye on pricing... you should be getting fair market price
- When you receive a letter or email from the Domain Registry of Canada or America, immediately check and see if you are registered there. Go to Internic/whois look up sites and confirm your domain's registrar.
Solutions:
- Call your web or internet service provider if you have any questions or concerns about your domain's expiration date.
- If you are registered with the Domain Registry of Canada or America, go to another provider (domainpeople.com, Bluegenesis.com are two good ones) and transfer your domain pronto!!!
- If you receive an email from these folks, reply to it with a complaint. Even better, call the Better Business Bureau...
Stay away from any domain registrar operating like this!!
posted by James McBeath at 7:15 AM
2 Comments:
James
I've had a similar run-in with these thieves. I sent them a very nasty email followed by similarly toned voice mail messages. I pointed out that having the domain name in plain sight on the envelope is a large breach of privacy. Another way to combat this is to hide your information on the WHOIS registar. Usually involves a $10 fee but at least makes certain that con-artists, spammers and whole host of other such scum cannot mine your contact data. Yeah, Domain Registry of Canada is a very well disguised scam. Beware. Burn the mail if you get it.
ThankTom, James.
I got the same envolpe today and was almost trying to RENEW! Finally I figured out what was wrong and remembered the same kind of warning from somewhere years ago.
Everybody, beware! be smart!
Jeff
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