Funny that most the public still isn’t sure what a domain name is, but Godaddy feels showing breast-bait TV commercials will somehow “educate” the public on the value of owning a domain. Think of the good Godaddy could do for the domain industry if they spent the same amount of money on advertising that quickly explained the “appreciable marketing asset” a domain is.  Sad… but seeing this marketing game continue has inspired me to find for my readers an alternative to GoDaddy’s bloated “Mall Food Court” style registrar that I fondly call “GackPappy”.

I set out to find a registrar that I believed had a solid domain purchase system, excellent pricing, topnotch domain management services, and an obsessive desire to be a customer service-oriented registrar would be able to bring in amateur and pro domain buyers in droves.

There are many great domainer registrars out there that fit the above positive features, including Fabulous, Moniker, Name.com, DirectNic and Enom. However, one registrar stands out with a killer brand name, and  sporting a solid focus on providing the simple basics of registering a domain name, especially for the beginner. That registrar is REBEL.COM.  (and no, I don’t have any referral commissions with them).

I love this registrar because of their business model and its simplicity. In a nutshell, Rebel.com’s costs are comparable with GoDaddy, but Rebel doesn’t bog you down with pages of upsell, nor play games with you on transferring or renewing your domains. Hey! All you want to do is register a domain! You don’t need the company to bombard you with other features, items, and services during the process of buying that domain.

Back in 2004, I wrote Bob Parsons to tell him this upsell process on GoDaddy was a problem for domainers, and he answered through his assistant by asking what my solution was. I then created for GoDaddy the checkbox “I’m an expert. Please bypass these great features and send me to checkout”, which allowed domainers to click this box and get to the checkout page without suffering through inane sales pitches on multiple upsell pages. I think this checkbox still exists, but you have to look hard to find it when you’re registering a GoDaddy domain.

My point is this: DOMAIN BUYERS HAVE A BETTER SOLUTION THAN THE CREEPILY ADVERTISED GODADDY

You can register a domain quickly and transfer your domains easily to Rebel.com. They are dedicated to doing one thing: Working to help and protect the first-time domain buyer and professional domainers in purchasing and controlling their domains.

I wanted to do an article on Rebel.com for over a year. I finally had the opportunity to have a quick chat with Dave Chiswell, the CEO of the Momentous.ca Registrar Group, which includes Rebel.com. The photo above shows Dave Chiswell on the right, and the author on the left, attempting to look as cool as possible in front of the Playboy Mansion. Later, here’s what we talked about:

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STEPHEN DOUGLAS: When was Rebel.com started, and what was your business model in light of so many other registrars to compete with?

REBEL.COM CEO – DAVE CHISWELL: In 2005, we knew we wanted to change the game. The big, consumer-based registrar had been done (GoDaddy) but the domain professional market was under-served. Domainers were acquiring names at lightning speed, but their names were registered anywhere and everywhere. A single interface, a single company that could help professionals manage their entire portfolio had yet to exist. That is what we set out to build and I dare say, we have met our goals.

STEPHEN DOUGLAS: I was impressed with Rebel.com’s simple interface and focus on providing a secure and customer-service prominent system. Who was the founder of Rebel.com, and what companies, if any, is it associated with?

DAVE CHISWELL: Rebel.com is part of the Momentous.ca Corporation whose companies include several Canadian and International-based domain name registrars (Domainsatcost.ca; Namescout.com) as well as Domain Marketplace, Pool.com. In addition to its Registrar Group, Momentous.ca operates Canada’s #1 Online DVD rental company, Zip.ca. The President and Founder of Momentous.ca, Rob Hall, is a highly-recognized industry expert. In 1998, Mr. Hall founded the Canadian Internet Registration Authority (CIRA), the governing registry for the .CA domain extension. Prior to Momentous.ca, Hall was the founder and CEO of Echelon Internet Corp. and Internet Access Inc., and highly-successful Ottawa based ISP and was one of the principle founders of the Canadian Association of Internet Providers (CAIP) representing all ISP’s in Canada.

STEPHEN DOUGLAS: There is obviously some expert and respected experience behind Rebel.com’s team. What are the best features of Rebel that makes it the first choice registrar to use?

DAVE CHISWELL: Simply put, our business model is focused on serving the domainer community. As the needs of this community evolve, so will our offerings. Out of the gate we delivered bulk operations, security, and portfolio tools (for example DomainMerge, and multi-tiered access to accounts) together with outstanding customer support, tailored to the customer’s specific need. Recently security continues to be a hot button so look for some new innovative offerings in that area. Also, although not a specific customer offering, the fact that we are headquartered in Ottawa, Canada, has offered our customers an additional layer of protection. We answer to the courts of Canada and have responded that way for many of our customers.

STEPHEN DOUGLAS: It’s almost becoming accepted, in light of some of the U.S. court decisions on shutting down and controlling domains that our “freedom-based country” has unfortunately “caved-in” on their rulings, which has many domainers very worried, and rightly so. Being outside the jurisdiction of the hysterical inclusion of “Patriot Act” style justice is hurting our industry. Being outside this ridiculousness is a big plus for domainers if they use Rebel.com.

However, GoDaddy uses a juggernaut advertising/marketing campaign that is prevalent everywhere. Many new domainers are using Godaddy to purchase their first domain because of GoDaddy’s under $10 pricing. Is the “new domain buyer” market demographic an important one for Rebel to also consider?  It would seem that Rebel could be a great alternative for first time domainers, and even current pro domainers. Can you explain why that would be?

DAVE CHISWELL: Rebel.com is a great alternative to the first-time domainer as our pricing is below $10 per domain and our customer service staff are extremely knowledgeable and friendly. First time domainers would benefit from working with experienced staff that is ready, willing and able to share their knowledge and experience. We go the extra mile to ensure that our customers receive the very best service and support. We provide a registrar website that is easy to navigate and makes domain registration quick and hassle-free, and our domain management interface is easy to use. This is critical in minimizing the confusion for first-time domainers and streamlining the registration, transfer and renewal process for seasoned domainers.

STEPHEN DOUGLAS: Your answer is what struck me as the biggest selling point for Rebel.com. No distractions, no crap, and excellent customer service that works hard to educate anyone needing help in domain basics, such as DNS setup, transfers, and domain renewals, is a dream for domainers. Does Rebel have bulk domain pricing for bringing in large amounts of domains, and can they be priced over a “term limit” or do they have to be moved all at once to receive the discount pricing?

DAVE CHISWELL: All of our volume customers have special pricing. Prices take into consideration the following:

• Portfolio size
• Portfolio make-up (.COM/.NET vs. more support-intensive TLDs (.EU, .US))
• Trademarks (as UDRPs consume valuable resources)
• Customer responsiveness (e.g. if we have to ask three to four times for a response on an issue, again it is more work for us)
• Method of payment

It is honest and transparent pricing based on a cost plus model. In addition, domains do not need to be moved all at once as we recognize that this would be an extremely costly initiative that not many would be able to undertake. Basically, our goal is to establish a symbiotic relationship with our customers. We initially establish commitment levels with our customers and over time as our customers continue to meet these commitment levels with us, we continue to refine and adjust their pricing. And it’s a system that has proven to work well for us.

STEPHEN DOUGLAS: What I noticed about Rebel.com, with your customer service team, including Jason Lavigne, is that you guys bend over backward to make sure you provide the best help as quickly as anyone can expect from an online service. What are the main secondary market features and services Rebel provides, if any?

DAVE CHISWELL: None right now. We are focused on our Registrar goals. We are looking at additional services to roll out to our customer base….but frankly with PPC and auction revenues declining over the last 6-12 months, we feel lucky that we focused on our core business as we are positioned now to take advantage of the next wave of services. Bottom line is being ahead of the curve rather than behind it.

STEPHEN DOUGLAS: I hope my readers focus on your answer for my “trick” question above. Rebel’s main focus is what domain owners want the most – Rebel.com’s strong domain registration/management support at every level. Now for the killer question that makes most registrar VP’s sweat:  What is Rebel’s policy on domain expiration, and how they would handle it with their customer?  (Detailed by expiry and drop process would be nice to hear, especially for Michael Berken’s Blog TheDomains.com readers.)

DAVE CHISWELL: Rebel.com is one of the only registrars to still honor the natural lifecycle of a domain. When a domain managed by Rebel.com expires, it then goes through the renewal grace period during which the owner can renew at any time for the normal renewal fee. The renewal grace period is 45 days beginning the date the domain expires. If the domain is not renewed during the renewal grace period it is then deleted at the registry and placed into the redemption grace period which last 30 days. During this period the domain can be recovered for a recovery and renewal fee. However, what differentiates Rebel.com is that domains that fail to be renewed are not taken into internal inventory nor listed for resale via auction houses or marketplaces. Domains that are not renewed and are not recovered from the redemption grace period are deleted by the registry and first made available through the registry drop process and then made available to the general public if not acquired through the drop process.

STEPHEN DOUGLAS: This is a huge selling point for many domainers. The loyalty of their registrars and how they assist them with domains that have accidentally been overlooked during the renewal process. How hard is it for a naive business owner to recover their domain that they didn’t renew because they hired some web design firm that controlled that process, and dropped the ball? A small company can be devastated when they lose the domain/s they’ve worked hard for years to build as their brand. Having a registrar like Rebel.com to cover their brand assets through their domains’ security is extremely important. This very “strength” that Rebel.com promotes can push Rebel.com to the forefront of being the best registrar because this loyalty and help for domain owners who may have been tricked by developers, and misled about the renewal process, seem to have a better chance with Rebel.com in getting justice in saving their domain. This is what we should all be about – fair play and justice for the little guy. This fact alone is enough for anyone wanting to register their domains to use Rebel.com. Your attention to the needs of the little guy, and your advanced services for the professional are topnotch.

Does Rebel plan on adding any new features or services for their customers in the future?

DAVE CHISWELL: We are constantly developing new tools for our interface and new products and services that will benefit our customers. Unfortunately I cannot discuss any current development plans at this time as we are not yet ready to announce to the domainer community what we’ve been hard at work on. But as mentioned earlier, security issues continue to be a hot topic so be on the lookout for some new, innovative offerings in that area.

STEPHEN DOUGLAS: Knowing your domain investments are secure give Rebel.com a big plus to new buyers. Where ultimately do you believe Rebel’s strengths lie?

DAVE CHISWELL: Without a doubt, the following is what REBEL.COM has to offer domain buyers:

• Our customer service team (domain name experienced and dedicated to help)
• Our product and its strength (brand new code base; leading edge; fast to adapt)
• Our commitment to the industry (we give our small account customers the same excellent service as we do for our big domain professionals)
  

STEPHEN DOUGLAS: Thanks, Dave, for enlightening my readers. I’m sure that by using Rebel.com, they’ll be able to sleep comfortably at night, knowing they are in great hands!!

DAVE CHISWELL: My pleasure, Stephen. Our dedicated team at Rebel.com is knowledgeable and ready to handle any domain registrations and transfers quickly and easily, from one to 100,000+. I look forward to helping your readers with any questions or concerns about registering and controlling their domains.

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As a final note, Successclick readers, this post isn’t just about my support of Rebel.com. I also have to represent for “whuhhhht?!!” experiences  To that affect, my hilarious run-in with Dave Chiswell while we all were exploring the Playboy Mansion on the last night of the Domainfest 09 is a great anecdote. This is my quick Playboy Mansion wrap-up report for those who weren’t there. Ouch! Check my Facebook pages in the coming weeks and this blog for more detailed, and intelligently-written article on this insightful adventure.

My wife Denise (whose inner/outer beauty blew away every single Playboy bunny and the 100+ cattle-call model/actress wannabees who flooded the event), was one of the official Domainfest photographers. She was taking photos, and after I bought an $80 Cuban cigar from the table of some very “clandestine” folks who didn’t want their photos taken (oops, we got a few, heh heh), we decided to roam around the Playboy Mansion to see what it had to offer while my wife and I puffed on this sweet handrolled ceeeegar.

We soon ran into Adam Strong and Dan Kimball, who were up to no-good, (can’t determine what that was, but just think about Dan Kimball with a couple of blonde bimbos who seemed to love his cave-man appearance, and Adam roaming around with a buddy, his high IQ, X-Man leadership abilities noticing all the “offbeat” opportunities at the Mansion one could partake if one was dumb enough).  So we were easily bamboozled by Adam, who quickly directed us to an off-the-beaten-path leading to the utility area of the Playboy Mansion “jungle”. There  were huge piles of bird cages housing some bizarre lonely-looking birds. We tried to take some photos of the weird birds, but it was too dark. I walked further to see what was around this one corner, and I spied something I can never speak of. IT WAS AMAZING, but I can’t reveal what it was. Nobody may even now, I will take this incredible vision to my grave. I’m sorry for mentioning it. I’m trying to see if those photos came out okay. If so, check out my Facebook page in a week or so.

At Adam’s direction, Denise and I walked down another path and found ourselves in front of the Playboy Mansion. There were several other domainers posing for photos, and I wasn’t immune to the lure of taking corny pics in front of the door that Hef walks out with a bevy of blonde Harvard grad students who decided that high-level education doesn’t trump a great boob job.

There were a group of domainers there, but I grabbed Dave Chiswell and we posed like weird tourists in front of the Mansion. Dave is grinning ear-to-ear, which isn’t his normal countenance, so I asked what had him so giddy. He tells me a jaw-dropping story that made me jealous. (I produced two Playboy pictorials in the 1980′s, but never met Hef, which was a goal of mine I still haven’t reached.) Well, Dave simply peered into one of the windows of the Mansion and as he was checking out the room’s decor, Hugh Hefner’s face suddenly appears in the window, staring straight into Chiswell’s face. They both jumped, Dave’s eyes met Hef’s, and Hef jumped back into the loving arms of his twin blonde bunnies. Dave quickly vacated the area, and a few minutes later, he saw Hugh and the twins pop out the front door of the Mansion into a black limousine. They drove off, and Dave was left with the story of a lifetime!  (Thanks for letting me tell it, Dave!)

The rest of our tour of the Mansion property was hosted by the magnanimous John Stiles and Evan Horowitz, who showed us secret light switch boxes, nice romantic spots, and the best camera locations for shooting the Mansion (unfortunately only applicable in the daytime). Forcing corporately-dressed domain pros like Derek Newman, Esq. to pose with affable John Stiles and myself on Hef’s tennis courts was enjoyable, because I could see on Derek’s face a touch of “wow, I feel like I’m 17 again”. Later, Evan showed me what I like best in a friend: patience and loyalty. When I forgot my expensive cigar back on the tennis courts, he asked the rest of the group to wait for me as I ran back to retrieve it. Who does that? This showed me that Evan is a guy with a good heart, and now I look forward to working with him. That was GREAT!

MORAL OF THE STORY: Take chances, and you might see Hef close up!

Stay tuned for more inside stories about DomainFest09.

This is the way it works when a registrar gets an expired domain falling into their lap after a customer stupidly forgets to renew it:

1) On Expiration Date: Registrar disconnects expired domain from owner’s website DNS (previous owner’s use of the domain ceases, and the registrar now can play with it any way they want)

2) Registrar Testing: Registrar parks the expired domain with their selected parking services (PS’s), or their own ad link syndication system to test the domain during the expiry period.

3) Length of Time for Registrar to Test Expired Domain: For 28 days (approx), the registrar can watch the traffic/rev stats on the domain and determine the approximate value of the domain from these stats.

4) Registrar Profit Upgrade On Expired Domain: At the end of the 28 day expiry period, the registrar (if it likes the traffic stats on the domain) sets up the first step for obtaining significant profit on the expired domain if the previous owner hasn’t renewed it. The registrar’s first step for quick high profit — attempt to sell the previous owner a chance to repurchase their lost domain by asking for about $150 or more to “regain” the domain. This process lasts for a minimum of 15 days during the required RGP period, (RGP=Renewal Grace Period).  The expired domain is probably now being promoted by the Registrar’s chosen “auction site”.  Registrar keeps the domain name in “RGP pricing” mode if the domain name doesn’t get any auction interest. This is where the registrar has an dream advantage!

5) Registrar Acquisition of Expired Domain: If the previous owner doesn’t recover their expired domain within 28 days, including paying the registrar’s “enhanced pricing” during the RGP period, then the registrar analyzes the traffic/rev stats they have been following for the last 43 days (*minimum), and then they  estimate the value of the domain to be worthy of “registrar acquisition”.

6) Registrar Acquired Domain: If the expired domain name, not renewed within 45 days by the previous owner, makes at least $.75 a month in PPC, the registrar will usually grab the domain and place it in their separate company’s holding account, different from their main corporate filing. This account can then do what they want with the domain. (Officially, we’d expect the domain has dropped, but it isn’t in the ‘wild’ because they’ve nabbed it already).

Andrew just found the proof of the largest registrar in the world, GoDaddy, doing this. However, many of the top registrars will also do this, except for those registrars who specifically work with domainers, such as Rebel.com, Moniker.com, and Fabulous.com. These three companies (and there may be more), will work hard with domainers and domain investors to recover their domains, even if the domainers are stupid enough to let their domains expire and drop. All of these registrars send email after email to warn you of your domain expiring, so if you get to the point that it has gone 45 days past its expiration date, then you’re the idiot, and it’s GAME ON for the registrar. If you fail to renew your domain after 60 days, then the domain is open season for anyone, including the registrar, to nab.

The tricky, unethical procedures of non-notification or late notifications of expiring domains by certain registrars (ItsYourDomain.com, Tucows.com, and other hideous resellers), is my main complaint.  The worst culprits are most likely a reseller of GoDaddy (Wildwestdomains.com), Enom, or Tucows.  Many of these resellers use the Directi Logicboxes domain management system.  It seems that Directi is cracking down on these resellers lately… so I’ve heard. This may be a good sign for Directi’s attempt to do the right thing. This remains to be seen.

As far as GoDaddy is concerned, I think the amount of money they make while disregarding the general domain industry community, and the blatant practices they use to suck every cent from noobie domain buyers is what creeps me out. That and their clearly comfortable selling of TM domains on the GoDaddy aftermarket auction site, TDNAM. (TDNAM, which stands for “The Domain Name After Market”, and is actually a domain name, is the lamest, most counter-productive website domain name in our industry.) If any of GoDaddy domain buyers “thought about it”, they’d see the irony of a company making money off their buyers using an ill-thought, longtailed, and bloated domain name starting with “The”.  However, this means nothing to a registrar that has enough money to promote this lame domain brand, and has enough cash left over for sleazy Super Bowl commercials and pay for endorsements from attractive celebrities (Danica Patrick) who have absolutely NO idea what a domain name is, and the intricacies of domain name investing.

Bottom Line: The position that domain owners give to their registrars by not registering their domains in time is something all registrars relish. Best way to protect yourself?  RENEW YOUR DOMAINS ON TIME, AND IF POSSIBLE, RENEW THE DOMAIN FOR FIVE YEARS AHEAD.

If you’re a domainer, buy your domains from a domainer industry “friendly” registrar:

Fabulous.com
Moniker.com
Rebel.com

If there are other great domainer friendly registrars, let me know their names, and why you think they’re great. I’ll gladly post them here.

Credit for indepth reporting on Godaddy goes to Andrew Allemann of Domainnamewire.com

Now this domain, “MICROSOFTINTERVIEWS.COM” is amazingly similar to the… ummmm… “microsoft” trademark. So I did a search on Godaddy TDNAM to see how many Microsoft TM problematic cybersquatting, domain-pirating, huge-legal-issue-causing-domains there might be. I found about 160 domains for sale on GoDaddy Auctions with the trademark “Microsoft” in the domain. My favorite?

MICROSOFTONLINESUPPORT.COM  (Microsoft Online Support dot com)

I’m just curious, but am I hallucinating? Did someone drop some “windowpane” *ahem* into my veggie juice (euphemism for scotch)? I really had to stop and think about this, look deeper, and see if I was missing something or misreading something that would make me think that these domains fit the media reports of blatant “trademark-infringing, cybersquatting, every-hateful-comment-about-domainer-is-true” type of domain owner/business.

I’m going to go out on a limb here and say “Yes, you are really seeing nightmarish domain sales representation from the biggest domain company in the world.”

It’s so blatant and obvious that I’m actually doubting my own sanity seeing it. Does GoDaddy feel that it is so far above the domain industry’s efforts to bring legitimacy to our community that they don’t even police the most basic of TM-infringing domains they’re auctioning on their own “#1 domain registrar” website?

And this behavior is supposed to endear the business sector to the domain industry? Please someone, point out what I’m missing. Maybe I didn’t get enough sleep last night, because this is truly bizarre for me to see.

I’ll tell you what I didn’t see in GoDaddy’s “domain purchase agreement”:

“You, the buyer, promise to remove all liability from GoDaddy and to suffer all the consequences of the legal Trademark lawsuit disaster you’ll find yourself in if you buy this domain.”

Nope, didn’t see that disclaimer in there. However, I’m not an attorney, so I can’t say this will give the buyer an “out” once the MS legal team (Aaron, are you reading this?) unleashes their talons to claim these domains. Don’t take my word for it, search up “microsoft” on TDNAM yourself to see what domains they have coming up for auction that unquestionably infringe on Microsoft’s TM. Look, I could care less about Microsoft because I’m a staunch Mac user, and have been since 1985.  However, I care about domainers, and “respectable” companies such as GoDaddy offering up domains that are piranha-based feeding frenzy-inducing for TM attorneys against owners of TM domains is crazy.

It seems to me that GoDaddy has gone “Go Maddy” which will put some domain buyers on TDNAM into “Go Saddy” moods. They’ll be saying “I’ve been “Go Haddied”. (Sorry about that, folks. My middle school teachers encouraged me to learn how to blow out puns in order to keep me quiet during class).

More damaging, I checked a “follow up” link on one of the MS domains so I could get updates on it from GoDaddy. Below is an email I received from GoDaddy.

This activity by GoDaddy just proves to me that they don’t seem to care about the domain industry image. This blatant and outrageous “in your face” auctioning off of TM-infringing domains is small potatoes they can mash up to mix in to the cash cow they’re milking right now, and their customers are just rats in the cage. And guess what, domainers who buy these domains and get hit with a Microsoft TM lawsuit will be singing “Despite all my rage I’m still just a rat in a cage.” (apologies to Smashing Pumpkins “Bullet With Butterfly Wings”).

(NOTE: I haven’t checked any infringements on any other auction websites, but if you find any, gather up the evidence and send it to me and I’ll post it.  We need to police our industry in order to move forward legitimately)