| Dotster Prices | Pros | Cons | |
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| .com: $14.95 .net: $14.95 .org: $14.95 .biz: $14.95 .info: $2.99 .us: 14.95 $14.95: .mobi Transfers: $8.95 |
Register one domain name and get another for free Dotster has our favorite domain name control panel with respect to functionality and design Dotster will offer a deal for bulk registrations, if you call customer support and inquire about bulk registration pricing Dotster offers "DomainSync," a free tool that will sync .com and .net expiration dates across your entire domain name portfolio |
Dotster's prices were not set with domain resellers in mind $22.50 email forwarding, domain name forwarding and domain name management/security tools package (OUCH!) $4.99 WHOIS privacy You can only bulk manage settings for 100 domains at a time |
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Name Dotster, Inc. Web Site www.dotster.com Founded Washington, Vancouver 1999 Country USA Phone Support 360-253-2210 Visit Dotster |
Summary By bundling value-added services around its core domain registration product and through several prominent advertising campaigns, Dotster has successfully grown and enjoyed increased loyalty of its customer base. Dotster charges twice as much for most generic TLDs as other discount domain registrars. Management justifies this price discrepancy by saying that its higher gross margins are recycled into better customer service, stronger domain security tools and so forth. This may have been true five years ago; today, you can find superior customer service, security, reliability and so forth at other cheaper registrars. Services Through Dotster, you can register all of the primary TLDs, including .com, .net, .org, .biz, .info and .us, all of which cost $14.95 (with the exception of the .info TLD that costs $2.99). If you call Dotster and express a willingness to register a large number of domains at once, then they will reduce this price (to $8.95, if you are willing to order 50+ domains). Bottom line: this is price gouging, particularly given the fact that Dotster charges additional fees for domain forwarding, email forwarding, WHOIS privacy and top security features, all of which you can receive for free with domains purchased at cheaper registrars. Dotster also offers a variety of additional services beyond domain registration, including web hosting, web design, SEO and online, PR services. Size Dotster is one of the five largest domain name registrars in the world with just over three million domains under management. Customer Support Customer support via toll call, web chat or email is 365/24/7. Support at Dotster used to be lightening fast and extremely knowledgeable. However, over the past few years, during which Dotster has grown dramatically in size, we have noticed a steady deteriorating in response rates and helpfulness. Room for Improvement (1) Dotster needs to lower its prices and offer more value-added services, such as domain name forwarding and WHOIS privacy, for free. Its prices and package of services are simply not competitive anymore; similar to Network Solutions, domain buyers still use Dotster, because they do not know any better. (2) Dotster needs to find the quality personnel to support its huge size. If Dotster is going to continue to charge prices that are substantially higher than the rest of the domain registration market, then it needs to be able justify its customer's extra expense with superior service (on a side note, we think that Moniker has found this balance). |
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