Is paying the price for Whois privacy worth it?

[HiQ]

________________________________________
Ha all

Just really wanted to know what the cons are to not protecting your registrant details on whois look ups. I did some research and it seems most users on here really dont care that their addresses and numbers are so openly displayed, does this mean it is totally safe?

Im just getting into this domain name game so i went and paid for privacy, and it cost me. One particular registrant on here has his whois lookup say that he has chosen not to display his details, does this mean there is a way to prevent them from displaying address details without paying additional squid.

Thanks in advance

HiQ

 

[Systreg]

Hi HiQ,

there is an option to opt of of showing your Who-Is details, you can tick the box for a non trading UK individual, the Who-Is will then only show your name and hide the address.

I suppose it depends on which registrar you use, the 123-reg.co.uk control panel has an opt out button for each domain, there is also an opt out button when initially registering your domain, I assume most other UK registrars have the same options.

 

[retired_member6]

If the domain you reg is for business purposes, you won't be hidden on whois long, if you earn or wish to make money from the domain, you cannot use whois privacy, best you could so is po box.

 

[HiQ]

Thanks

Ok, just keep in mind this is all new territory for me, but i need to understand this.

Lee, does what you mentioned about it not being safe from businesses then imply that even when youve paid for it (priv), they can still somehow get access to those details? I intend to just basically buy and sell domains, not necessarily monetizing them initially, how will a privacy setting impair me from monetizing it then.
I suppose im more worried about the rouge individuals who could probably mess things up quite seriously for you with just what shown in there.

Systreg: Being a noob, i suppose the opt out option if available would then be with whomever your hosting and not some official registrar somewhere...(if you laughing right now thats ok...) Have you had any monetization problems whilst being on a priv setting?



Cheers

 

[Skinner]

You have paid for Whois Privacy on .com/net/org/etc by the sound of it, which is ok for business to use, however on .uk there is a free system in place to opt-out.

However this opt out is only for individuals not busienss use, and nomiment are slowly removing people with parked domains and stuff from this.

Lee is right, buy a po box or a mailbox etc box, its a couple of hundred a year but gives you a solid address

 

[HiQ]

Yes, that right, bought .com from justhost with privacy for something like £7 squid excluding the domain cost which was also £7 squid . Being a noob, i just realised how much more i could have got on a bulk package from someplace like godaddy for less even. But hey i cant ask questions about every little thing...lesson learnt!..I figure that is just to much of an additional cost in terms of getting into reselling domains.

Long term, I think i might just do the PO Box thing, sounds like a plan, short term plan being the opt in or out option as Systreg mentioned.

It just surpised me how many folks on here have their details (home addresses) on full display, i figured maybe i was just paranoid about privacy after seeing all that, so i asked.

Thanks again folks

 

[Skinner]

Live Godaddy Promo Codes

I get all my codes for godaddy from there.

 

[purg]

dont forget if you have 10+ domains ~£62 for a PO box might be cheaper.
Royal mail PO box info

 

[HiQ]

Yea, that makes sense, i think ive made my mind up, i might just do that actually, and cheers for the codes Skinner , and for the Mail link purg

Next thing: how to transfer domain ownership once they’ve been bought from me, any good threads come to mind?..

Thanks again all.

 

[Systreg]

@ HiQ,

Transfering ownership is a doddle.

Basically, all you need to do is go to the Nominet site and login to your Nominet online services here:

https://secure.nominet.org.uk/auth/login.html

Once logged in, click the Your Domains tab on the top menu, then click Registrant Transfer, on the next page click next, on the next page choose the domain name/s to be transferred from the list of your domains and click add, then click use selected name, that takes you to the next page where you click confirm, next page you enter the buyers email address, and tick one of the boxes for either you to pay the transfer fee, or the buyer to pay it, then it's just a couple more clicks to check it and confirm it and off goes the transfer email to the buyer.

They receive the email, which contains a link for them to accept the transfer, and if you chose for them to pay the transfer fee it will take them through the payment process, at the end, you will get a nominet email saying transfer completed, or if the buyer doesn't transfer within 5 days of sending, you will get a transfer failed email and will have to start the transfer process again.

Just a note on housekeeping, depending on which registrar you are with, once the domain has been transferred, it will either be removed from your account in you registrars control panel, or you will need to send a support ticket to ask them to remove it, otherwise, your registrar might automatically renew it when the time comes and charge you for the renewal, even though you have sold it, if it's still listed in your account.

If the buyer is with the same registrar as you, most of them allow you to push the domain to another users account for free.

 

[HiQ]

Thanks very much for that Systreg, i was dreading the possibility that when someone buys one of my domains one day that id get a bad name just because i didnt know how to transfer, so thanks.

Just one more question on nominet. Ive heard of them a few times now in relation to UK domains here on this forum. Can i, and is it wise to use them for .com transfers as well, or just for uk domains?

 

[Systreg]

Can i, and is it wise to use them for .com transfers as well, or just for uk domains?

No mate, Nominet is the internet registry for .uk domain names, they don't deal with .com's or anything else.

 

[aceweb]

I'm using namecheap at the moment - they're including free privacy in the price

 

[HiQ]

Well it seems Nominet quite liked on here, so i might use them at some point when i get into co.uk. (seeing as this is a UK forum) Dont know much about co.uk (or any of the others) domain structure strategies as yet. But thanks again for that.

Namecheap certainly seem to say they do what im looking for. Only problem ive got is that they look expensive for individual name buys (yes, no?), and i cant find a bulk price guide on their site?

Cheers

 

[doodlebug]

Tip : as you collect more and more uk domain names make sure you do what is called merging accounts

eg, all names registered through Domain monster can be kept together
All names registered through 123-reg can be kept together, each registrar has their own tag eg, Domian monsters tag is simply DOMAIN MONSTER
Note all letters in upper case as all tags are and must be.

For every uk domain registered you will get an account number about 10 digits long, it can be and is a nightmare finding individual names if you don't merge.

Merge accounts option is on the first page when you log into Nominet.

Seriously keep on top of this from day one, plus if someone buys more than 1 domain off you which you registered with the same registrar, then you can transfer upto 20 names in 1 single transfer.

Good luck

 

[HiQ]

Thanks for the headz up on that one mate. I think i might actually just go and setup a nominet account so it's ready just in case i start doing co.uk's sooner than i thought.

 

[dw1973]

As soon as you reg a .uk domain you'll get a nominet account anyway so no need to reg one.

 

[retired_member12]

Well it seems Nominet quite liked on here, so i might use them at some point when i get into co.uk. ...

I think you're a bit confused there. Yes, you can register directly with Nominet, but that's not the way you usually do it. You use a registrar instead, of which there are plenty to choose. And it's over £70 cheaper to do that too, per name.

 

[doodlebug]

I think you're a bit confused there. Yes, you can register directly with Nominet, but that's not the way you usually do it. You use a registrar instead, of which there are plenty to choose. And it's over £70 cheaper to do that too, per name.

Yes £80 plus vat so £92 each, no good for resellers, stick with a registrar
As for saying you might use Nominet some day ?
When it comes to UK names you have to use Nominet just as when you have vehicle documentation you have to use the DVLA.

 

[HiQ]

Well, thank g.d, one less place to register... Yea, i didnt realise that. I gotta say im quite impressed with this forums users so far...top notch you all are....cheers