Uniregistry is increasingly competing with GoDaddy, and stronger competition is good for everybody.
His post sparked a lot of comments, including from representatives of the two registrars.
That many of the “which registrar is best?” conversations now mention the relatively young Uniregistry instead of some of the more established registrars is a testament to the company’s aggressive marketing in recent years. It is active at domain conferences and sponsors many domain blogs. (Both Uniregistry and GoDaddy are advertisers on this blog.)
Year after year, the Domain Name Wire survey reveals that security, price and customer service are the most important factors when choosing a registrar. Much of the conversation about which of these registrars is best has focused on this.
I use both GoDaddy and Uniregistry. Here are some of the things I think separate the two platforms from each other:
GoDaddy’s Edge
Afternic integration – This is a biggie for me. Being able to sell my domains across dozens of registrar storefronts is critical.
Brand name – Whenever I sell a domain, I usually ask the person to just send me their GoDaddy account number and email address. Rarely do they say “I won’t accept a transfer at GoDaddy.” This benefit of GoDaddy will be difficult for other registrars to replicate.
Added security for premier – Domain investors at GoDaddy’s Premier Services levels get added security for transfers-out.
Uniregistry’s Edge
International 2-factor authentication – I’ve heard lots of people frustrated with GoDaddy for not offering two-factor authentication worldwide. Uniregistry offers this. Its integration with Google Authenticator also provides a better user experience than a text message system (which can have frustrating network delays).
Simplicity – One of the benefits of being a new registrar is you get to build a great user interface based on the realities of today’s domain name business. Frank Schilling wants Uniregistry to be like the Apple of domain registrars. It’s definitely a good user experience.
Free privacy – This doesn’t matter much to me since I rarely use it. But if you prefer privacy, you can save a lot of money at Uniregistry.
Whether you prefer Uniregistry, GoDaddy or another registrar, it’s great that there are upstarts and increasing competition in the domain business. Competition leads to better service, features and pricing. All domain investors benefit from this.
The best kid on the block is namebright..
Name has the smartest setup to date.
“Being able to sell my domains across dozens of registrar storefronts is critical.”
You only need one store, at Domain Name Sales.
I use Domain Name Sales, and it’s great for people that show up at my domains. I also like to get my domains in front of people at the exact moment they search for them at registrars, and that’s what Afternic provides.
I agree. I like to point my domains at my own landing pages so that a) I can negotiate directly with a buyer and b) I don’t have pay a commission. With that scenario, my Afternic/Godaddy listings generate more sales than any other venue by a wide margin. With DNS, you pretty much have to forward domains to their landers otherwise the odds are slim of getting any sales. There’s no way I’d consider switching to Uniregistry unless they became part of the Afternic premium network.
Everything David said. I list at several aftermarkets, Afternic sells the most domain names for me – 17 to date this year. As Andrew said, you just cannot beat all the storefronts your name displays in.
I’ve done very well at TDNAM these last few weeks.
I also did fairly well with them when they were aligned with Sedo a short while back; that’s why, shortly after their breakup, I listed all my offerings there.
And one of the most annoying problems with the Sedo|GD combine was that there were just too many $101. opening bids (Minimum set at $100.) with the next bid usually coming in at $110. or so.
I personally park my domains mostly at DNS so I can capture leads, then also list the majority of my names on Afternic.
The great thing about DNS are the stats. I run a monthly report to see which domain is making the most money (of course) AND which is getting the most traffic. I have two portfolio lists – those for parking and those that go straight to the sales page – my better names.The traffic to the sales pages tell me there may be interest due to buyer intent, especially if it’s been increasing lately. If that is happening, I’ll re-examine my pricing and look at more compatible sales.
David et al, looks like the answer comes in the form of the new Uniregistry Market. Same concept as Afternic, but not open to the public yet. About 25 registrars have already signed up.
I use DNS to park domains for PPC revenue and self-broker most sales, hence no commission. You can also point the engagement link to your own external web site if you like.
Curious about what is your average sales price at Afternic. I go there when I want to find domains under $1k.
I doubt that those 25 registrars in total get the traffic that Godaddy gets just by itself. Sedo has the same network concept but doesn’t yield as many sales as GD/Afternic and I can’t imagine that Uniregistry will outperform Sedo. The key for me is to be able to list my domain in a network that includes GD. That means that the only way I’d consider moving anything to uniregistry is if they joined the Afternic network. Setting up their own network doesn’t motivate me in the least.
I just checked and my average sale on GD/Afternic is $2.8k.
“You only need one store, at Domain Name Sales.”
Unless they meddle in your negotiations, censor your phrasing, and ban you.
After losing a relatively high value domain that I acquired at GoDaddy and their less than honest response to my complaint, I would never buy a domain that is registered with them. That’s like ever.
I also doubt that I would ever use Frank.
He collects domains doesn’t he?
Probably too much of conflict of interest there for my liking.
And of course comparisons with Apple would also be a real turn off for me.
Just says Overpriced and Half-Baked to me.
Of course there are upstarts and increasing competition in the domain business. Eraliar I have registered also domain name & hosting services from Godaddy. For hosting I’d not recommend Godaddy to anyone. Domain name is quite Ok with any one but Still I’d recommend some good registrar like Bigrock, Bluehost, hostgrator for excellent support.
Re: “– I’ve heard lots of people frustrated with GoDaddy for not offering two-factor authentication worldwide.”
This is no longer the case, as Domain Name Wire has the details on: https://domainnamewire.com/2015/08/27/godaddy-introduces-two-factor-authentication-outside-u-s/