$4.95 Domains - Is there a catch???

maxweb said:

Anyone use these guys?

NICE PRICE - but am I going to have a problem later if I try to transfer out??

Thanks,
Mike

https://secure.netfirms.com/offer-faq

Click to expand...

I just finished live online support chat (very cool) with them and I couldnt find any catch whatsoever. I'm going to reg a name with them and I'll get back if there is a problem. There is a free 2 mo. hosting that goes with the .coms (optional) The support guy said no transfer fees, and I cant find any glue in the TOS
https://secure.netfirms.com/popup/topic/termsofservice

This is the Domain TOS. I couldnt find a catch but I'm no lawyer.
https://secure.netfirms.com/popup/topic/domainterms

4.95 is for com,net,org,biz,info. They dont reg any other ext's

We'll see soon enough.

Thanks Kid,

I may do the same - at $4.95 - what could possibly go wrong

Don't answer that...

TTYsoon,
Mike

so it legit?

Seeing nothing that would be a detriment to anyone who registered through them in their TOS/AGMNT, but that means very little if they are crooked from the word go.

However, the WOM from the call to the company, and the lack of any negative experiences, seems to make it worth a shot. Don't go and give them your "microsot.com" domains any time soon, but giving them a shot at those prices might not be a bad idea.

-Allan

There must be a catch, because no one can offer domain names less than $6, and still make profit. This is because they have to pay at least $6 for the registry for the domains. They will eventually end up making profit by adding some sort of catch such as big renewal fees, and unreasonably high prices for other things. Remember to keep this in mind before choosing your domain registrar next time!

If you forget to delete the hosting they will charge you for it. Even if you don't use it. And you have to take it for the first 2 months so I assume they are planning on people forgeting to delete it.

and it's too bad they don't accept paypal

I think I covered all the bases here.

The transcript from live chat:

Welcome to the Netfirms Live Sales Chat! A Sales Representative will assist you shortly.
You are now chatting with 'Stuart'

Stuart: Hello, thank you for contacting us. How may I help you today?
you: Hello Stuart
Stuart: Hello.
you: I just reg'd some names and I wonder where the management for all is
you: each seems to have a different account
Stuart: Okay, what is your domain name that you are interested in managing right now?
you: [EDIT]
Stuart: Let me take a look at that for you, one second.
you: thank you
Stuart: Yes each of the accounts will have its own Control Panel.
Stuart: At this time I see that the payment is still being authorized for these accounts, when the payments have been finalized you will receive the user names and passwords for the accounts.
you: I understand a control panel for websites, but for name management there is no main account?
you: I have those now
you: also I didnt turn off the free disk on one of the names and I dont want it
Stuart: You will use the OpenSRS login within the Domain Names tab of the Control Panel to administrate the domain names. You will need to e-mail [email protected] or call 1-877-399-9909 between the hours of 9pm to 5pm EST to see if they can stop the CD being sent out.
you: And this will allow me to manage in bulk?
you: or do I have to log into each name to manage it?
Stuart: No, you will manage each domain separately.
you: I can change the nameservers from OpenSRS?
Stuart: Yes you can once the payment authorization is completed.
Stuart: By going into the Members Control Panel and then into the Domain Names tab then into the OpenSRS login you will log direcfly into the place where you an change DNS settings, administrative contact information etc.
you: If I was to sell one of these names, what would the transfer prosess be?
Stuart: That would be up to you, we are not involved in any sale you made to another individual, you would just manage the changes through OpenSRS.
you: Would there be any charges to move the domain to another host and or reg?
Stuart: You would just make the needed changes and give them the passwords to the domain, they then would manage the changes through the Control Panel.
you: *charges*
Stuart: Not unless the new registrar charges you for them. We do not charge you to transfer away from us.
you: and no time restrictions?
Stuart: No, not that I am aware of, you just have to have ownership of the domain at the time the registrar transfer is requested.
you: Yes, thank you.
you: You have answered my questions
Stuart: Excellent. I am glad that I could assist.
you: Is there a way to copy this so I can show it in some forums?
you: relieve some doubts others have about your deal
Stuart: You can request a transcript of the chat be sent to an e-mail address you request or you could just cut and paste it if you wish.
you: Great, please send a trans to my email
Stuart: When you are leaving the chat you will be prompted if you wish to receive a transcript. But I would suggest you cut and paste it first before leaving the chat just to be sure.
you: Ok, thank you Stuart
Stuart: You are very welcome.
you: Good bye
Stuart: Thank you for contacting our Sales and Info chat service. Have a great day!

Click to expand...

So what does everyone think? Anyone else signed up for a name?

i dont' think there is a catch. netfirms is a very established compnay

I signed up for a domain. Not the best control panel. eg I had to request domain locking when I can usually do this myself elsewhere.
Good price though.

yeah ive gone though a company just like this one... with the live chat and all... first of all they take forever to respond...the seccond issue i had was that for about a week they were confirming that i was an owner of a one word dictionary word that i had registered though them. After i got suspicious because i saw it for sale on another website, i questioned them and they admitted thier fault and let me register another one. My point is... this could have caused much more trouble. So make sure if you go with this company... you know you own the domain...check whois and all that good stuff... you really have to be sure!

I NEED NP... i will help anyone with questions theyneed answered... but please... any amount would be GREATLY appriciated!

Stop the presses..... New headline!!!

Received at 6:00am PST from Netfirms.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dear Ken,

Thank you for your recent order. Netfirms is pleased that you have
chosen us as your hosting provider. As you may already know, over the
last few years, the number of fraudulent transactions occurring over the
Internet has been on the rise. Because of this, our credit card
processing bank has requested us to take certain measures to prevent such fraud from occurring.

In order to fulfill this request, Netfirms is required to check the
authenticity of your order. To complete your order, please provide us
with a faxed copy of the front and back of the credit card used to order
yuyuhakushoscans.com. You may block the middle digits if you wish for
security purposes. We need to be able to see the first and last four
digits of the credit card on both the front and back. Please also
include the domain name along with the fax.

Our fax number is 1-416-661-0700.

We require this fax by 2004-12-02 by 2:00PM EST in order to process
your credit card and complete the order. If this information is not
received, your order will be cancelled.

We apologize for any inconvenience caused. We hope that you comply
with our request so your order can be completed. If you have any
questions, please do not hesitate to call us at 1-877-399-9909.

Thank you,

Netfirms Accounting Team

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Is this a common request?
What if I was snowed in and couldn't reach a fax in time?

Or, I wonder if all my questions made them consider I might be scamming them?

If anyone else gets a similar notice..... hmmm.
I'll never leave Parson's fold again, I have had issue with every other company I've tried outside of GoDaddy, in the quest of saving a few bucks.
Grief.... I hate it.

Everybody see what's happen on me:

I've registed a [x----------x.com] domain name on Netfirms.com on Nov.25 (have receive a confirmation email from Netfirms as "PS-1"), also receive another email from their company regarding my payment (shown as "PS-2")

As I found that Netfirms.com collect the payments from my credit card - but didn't registe the domain name for me. (even this domain name still available on the internet for everybody register till today), so I've wrote at least 4 email to [email protected] & [email protected] to ask them to check for me (also chatting with the Netfirms online - but the guy named "Stuart" told me that he will ask their Billing department's "Ameeta" to contact me, but nothing happend), but nobody answer me !

It's a very small amount, but that is not the normally business way, they are cheating on business, so, don't go to Netfirms.com everybody !

And it seems that Netfirms.com is not support the "real time" registration, so, to protect yourself ~ do not register the domain name on their site !

Allen Lee



=======================================
[PS-1]


Netfirms to me
More options Nov 25 (6 days ago)

Dear Allen

Thank you for choosing Netfirms Web Hosting - the number one hosting
platform on the planet. Please save this e-mail for future reference.

****** ACCOUNT OVERVIEW ******
Hosting Plan: Netfirms Plus Hosting - Special
Domain Name: x----------x.com

Your Membername and Password below can be used to upload your Website
as well as access your Account Manager Control Panel:

Membername: x----------x
Password: j----a
Control Panel: http://www.netfirms.com/members
FTP Address: x----------x.netfirms.com
Base Folder: www

****** WHAT TO DO NEXT ******
Domain Names: Your new Domain Name will take up to 72 hours to
become active on the Internet. In the mean time we
have created an alternate web address so you can
get started right away:

1. http://www.x----------x.com -or-
2. http://x----------x.netfirms.com

Web Publishing: Once you have created your web pages, you will need
to send them to your web space on our servers using
an FTP tool such as FileZilla or Frontpage.
For more information visit:

http://netfirms.com/support?cat_name=FTP/Publishing

E-mail Accounts: You can create E-mail accounts and forwarding
addresses by using the Account Manager Control Panel:

http://www.netfirms.com/members

Once you have created an account you can use any
POP client or Netfirms WebMail to access your E-mail.

Control Panel: The Netfirms Control Panel allows you to create free
Hit Counters, monitor your Website Stats, manage
advanced features and much more:

http://www.netfirms.com/members

****** WE ARE HERE TO HELP ******
Our Customer Service team is here 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to
help you. If you have any questions about what to do next visit our
online Support Center to find answers and contact us:

http://www.netfirms.com/support

Best Regards,

Netfirms E-Services Team
http://www.netfirms.com

=======================================
[PS-2]

Netfirms Billing to me
More options Nov 25 (6 days ago)

Dear Allen

Thank you for choosing Netfirms. Enclosed is your Order Summary.

---------------------------------------------------------------------
INVOICE NUMBER: 1577074 Date of Order: 2004-11-24
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Billed To: Allen Lee
2F, 29, Lane 248, Sec.4
Chung Hsiao East Road, NA 106
TW
Account Name: x----------x
---------------------------------------------------------------------
PRODUCT NAME QTY PRICE
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Domain Name - Special 1 4.95
New Registration - 1 Year 2005-11-24
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Netfirms Plus Hosting - Special 1 0.00
(2 Months) 250MB, 5GB, 10 E-mails 2005-01-24
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Subtotal: 4.95
GST: 0.00
Order Total: 4.95
AMOUNT PAID IN FULL - THANK YOU Total Due: 0.00
---------------------------------------------------------------------
GST Number: 866219272 All Prices in $USD

Questions?: If you have questions regarding this invoice please
E-mail our Billing Dept. at [email protected]

Wehre are they offering 4.95 domain names, all I see is 4.95 a month hosting and 9.95 domain names

CLICK THIS LINK - apparently at your own risk

https://secure.netfirms.com/offer-faq

Not saying it will happen with this loss leader but I just recently had to cancel a credit card because of last years "myvaluehost" $4 deal. The domains will be coming due for renewal soon and I sold them about 8 months ago yet they keep pulling a pre-authorization on my card for $10. My bank advised me to cancel the card and they are sending me a new one. Bottom line - it wasn't worth the hassle.

- delete -

i think its safe to say paying a few bucks more for GOdaddy is worth it!

I looked into this deal and was turned away by their support. It really sucked. I called and waited for like 20 minutes just to hang up because no one answered.

Not worth it..