I've managed thousands of domains over dozens of countries. This is NOT standard practice and should never be accepted to be so. After using many, many registrars there are only a few to recommend..
- Namecheap (my favourite, all my domains are here, excellent customer service - the Zappos of domains - instant support, live chat 24/7, friendly/educated staff, and just a real pleasure to use)
- Domain Monster - UK/European based domains. Good services, good response times
- Europe Registry / Instra - used this commercially, more expensive, not the greatest of control panels, but more than likely you will be appointed an account manager (hence good for businesses) and pretty much have the largest database of domain extensions to register against. If you are interested in moving to them, I can also put you in touch with a very friendly chap who can help you make the move.
I hope this information helps - reply me up on @o6uoq if you'd like to chat about anything else :)
Does anyone know if http://domize.com is a front runner? They claim on their website they are not, but would like to hear users experience if this is not the case.
..based on the assumption they have a list of every company in the US to call, it's a bit far fetched to think they will call every company - do you think Bang Bros are going to offer a Groupon voucher? ;)
Maybe Warner Bros will offer 50% for Two and a Half Men..
I agree - in a day and age where financial stability is akin to walking a tight rope, companies are not going to spend money unnecessarily - especially in the early days.
Yes, this money sometimes goes off shore - but if you compare it to the prices/quality that you may receive in cities such as London, sometimes the price does not fit the convenience. With a little creativity and perseverance, a startup can implement the building blocks (design/deployment/admin/software/etc) of a company for next to nothing, leaving them to focus on one thing - generating further business, which will help their country of residence (even if some is out sourced).
..also links to all their other offerings, can sometimes make the ordeal of having to get something coded/designed much easier. That link is for WordPress themes, but the family of sites like codecanyon etc have a wonderful selection of templates, videos, flash code, snippets, etc - something for everyone!
- Namecheap (my favourite, all my domains are here, excellent customer service - the Zappos of domains - instant support, live chat 24/7, friendly/educated staff, and just a real pleasure to use)
- Domain Monster - UK/European based domains. Good services, good response times
- Europe Registry / Instra - used this commercially, more expensive, not the greatest of control panels, but more than likely you will be appointed an account manager (hence good for businesses) and pretty much have the largest database of domain extensions to register against. If you are interested in moving to them, I can also put you in touch with a very friendly chap who can help you make the move.
I hope this information helps - reply me up on @o6uoq if you'd like to chat about anything else :)