Complaint Review: Godaddy

I ended up registering with GoDaddy anyway, due to the limited number of domain registrars for the foreign (vanity) TLD I wanted, at an affordable price. Prior to making a final decision on a domain name, I had tried several sites recommended for domain look-ups, noticing that Domize had preferences that didn't seem purely informational & was sponsored by GoDaddy, and their search options drop-down list sets GoDaddy as default registrar ...

I never recorded my exact steps, but remember being suspicious at Domize- I tried a name I didn't care about with a more standard TLD first to see what would happen. I saw this odd behavior of dissappearing the clever name just entered so I assumed they were stealing it away instantly. I didn't care if it was to charge more for registration or to "claim" it was taken ("coincidentally") to charge much higher prices, whatever the motive, it's obviously shady & wrong. I swore never to go back to that site however useful it was otherwise.

Over time I was set on the name I wanted, thought I could only afford it through GoDaddy, so went through their site. ...but realized as I continued the registration process that they worked in bait-n-switch "Deals", extras not mentioned before like for private listing in WhoIS, & other "services" arm twisting I really found to be quite appalling (as if the branding wasn't nauseating enough) that all totaled - amounted to the same cost anyway as say - Network Solutions...

I had planned to just buy the TLD I wanted and then get all my services through Google Apps, who I'd already used to register a different domain for $10 before, they just didn't have more TLD options. So that was my point of comparison.
The jumbled nature of the trip to the basket was indicative of some serious problem, I thought it was my connection screwing up...but then after seeing how they loop you back to enter the info, it appears this gives them the opportunity they need to claim some false reason for the mixup by the time you get back to the site to enter the domain name you want again. I honestly expected it to be gone. This is not a mistake, very sketchy practices. I was sure this was the time they needed to suddenly charge me more than the advertised price when I initiated the registration.

I even wasted all sorts of time looking to register even more domains (regular TLD's) to get bulk discount pricing, to later see there was no discount after all, & all had these BS services attached. I deleted all but the essential services + the goddang privacy listing I felt stuck buying now.

I got the thing done. I think they passed on grabbing the domain name away like a hostage due to the TLD being different. Just my logical deduction. I've seen this at a couple other sites but just as user login names when the name was awesomely clever. Coincidence? The only 2 super-clever usernames I ever came up with suddenly become unavailable before I can hit submit???
Anyway,
As a reputable & ethical business owner, GoDaddy's practices, products, & brand image are all sickening. I say AVOID them if you possibly can.

I made the entries to have Google Apps hosting all the services associated with the domain account. I hope to be able to transfer the domain away from GoDaddy when renewal time comes. It's a seriously time consuming project to be a wary purchaser, and check into every possible angle before getting roped into something that seems like something it is not.

GoDaddy is certainly one of those. Don't be fooled by their pricing gimmicks. They are lying. Google Apps is not perfect & has issues that need to be researched well beofre going forward with them, but at least for a starter site, I had none of the deceptive worries like with GoDaddy. None of these issues and a good value for including the private listing at no extra cost, for example. You can elect through Google Apps to have your domain registered through GoDaddy or eNom, but I gather that is not a wise move for anyone serious about the function of their site.

I wish I was more savvy but that's what consumer protections are supposed to be for. We cant all make the IT learning curve at the same pace as the experts.I'm glad to have found Ripoff Reports today, I hope it lives up to its potential!