Suggestions for a great .name registrar?

April 1, 2011 8:41 AM

I've got a client who owns several .name domains, registered with GoDaddy. She would like to move them off GoDaddy, so she's having me look for a replacement registrar. Any suggestions?

The ideal candidate would offer free WHOIS privacy. A small extra charge for the service could also be OK, but it would be best if the total price per domain remained within $10/year, or as close to it as possible.

I've looked around on the search engines and forums, but I seem to be having an unusually hard time finding a .name registrar that fits the above description while also being well-liked by its customers. None of my favorite registrars even offer this TLD, unfortunately.

The closest I could find is Dotster, but at something like $22/year for a .name domain with WHOIS privacy, it's out of range.

Do you have any experience with a registrar that might fit the bill? If so, I would be grateful for any pointers. Thanks very much in advance :)

posted by mindwarp to computers & internet (9 answers total)

Namecheap.com
posted by bitdamaged at 8:45 AM on April 1, 2011

Namecheap does not offer .name.
posted by kindall at 8:46 AM on April 1, 2011

I use 1&1 and am satisfied with them. They have .name domains for $12.99 per year currently.
posted by burnmp3s at 8:53 AM on April 1, 2011

Vidahost offer .name domains for £6.49/per year, privacy is £0.99/year (roughly $12/year total) and I'm hugely happy with the service and support there.
posted by humph at 9:13 AM on April 1, 2011

I've had nothing but good experiences with Gandi. A bit pricier at $15 a year but that does include private domain registration and your registration data is protected by French data privacy laws.
posted by reptile at 9:54 AM on April 1, 2011 [1 favorite]

Thanks all for your suggestions so far.

Vidahost sounds great, except that having to deal with currency conversion may not be the best. It wouldn't be a deal breaker in itself, but it becomes one when added to the fact that privacy is actually marked at £4.99 (on this page) instead of £0.99; not to mention the fact that the same page seems to imply that privacy is in fact not available for .name domains.

As for 1&1, I was aware of them and the price is more or less right, but they do seem to get an unusually large amount of negative reviews...
posted by mindwarp at 9:54 AM on April 1, 2011

Ah, thanks reptile. I had thought that Gandi (about whom I've heard nothing but good things) did not offer .name because they don't show it on the homepage. I've clicked through now, and it turns out they do. Hmm.
posted by mindwarp at 9:58 AM on April 1, 2011

Update: went with Gandi and I'm impressed already. Thanks again to reptile for helping me find the right solution, and thanks to MeFi for being a great resource as always. Marking this solved.
posted by mindwarp at 11:57 AM on April 1, 2011

Seconding Gandi for any future "godaddy alternative" googlers.
posted by Brian Puccio at 7:42 PM on April 1, 2011