Rumor has it* that Dotster may be in financial trouble. If so, it may be wise to move your domains to another registrar. Each registrar likely has its own process for transferring domains from one registrar to another, but I thought I'd document the process of moving domains from Dotster to GoDaddy in case anyone needs to know how to do so.
- Go to Dotster and make sure your administrative email address is valid, and that you can receive email at that address. If not, fix that. Unlock the domains you wish to transfer. (My domains didn't need to be unlocked because they weren't lockable in the first place). Remove any privacy features you may have for the domains. (I didn't have those).
- Go to GoDaddy and click on Transfer Now (look for it on the home page). Let them know the domains to transfer, and pay to do so.
- GoDaddy will send you a couple of emails. The first is a Transfer Acknowledgment, which lets you know that they have sent an request for approval email to the administrative contact currently associated with the domain name(s). The second is a Transfer email that contains the Transaction ID and Security Code for this transfer.
- Go to Dotster, place a check next to all the domains you are transferring, and then choose Retrieve Authorization Code from the dropdown at the bottom. Dotster will send an email with a new Auth Code for the domains you checked.
- Back at Godaddy, do the following. Log in to your Account Manager. From the Domain Names menu, select Manage Domains. Select Pending Transfers. Click the Authorization button and select Begin Transfer Authorization from the list. The Authorization button is located in the right corner of the toolbar. In the Transfer Authorization section, enter your Transaction ID and Security Code from the email that Godaddy sent you. Then, enter the Authorization Code that you received from Dotster.
Now...just wait. It could take up to 5 days for the transfer to take place.
*The above rumor is a RUMOR. Which means it may not be true. But it's worth keeping your ears open, just in case.
Great tutorial, but why Godaddy? They lead the “sucks” SERPs and horror stories pop up every week, if not daily …
Why Godaddy? Because I’ve used them for years (for domain name registrations only) and have never had a problem with them. I love the management interface. I would not use them for hosting however, and I’ve only ever seen “sucks” stories about their hosting. Why else? Because since I use Godaddy, it was easy to create this little tutorial. It would be pretty difficult for me to create one for a registrar I don’t use. 🙂 I would imagine the process would be similar for other registrars however.
Yep. The process is pretty similar with other registrars. And thanks for the heads-up by the way, I’ve a few domains there…
We use Dotster but have been dealing with two cases in the last month with GoDaddy where one of our client’s domain has mysteriously been turned off and they have been extremely unhelpful in working with us to resolve it. Not sure where I’d move all my domains if Dotster closes but I don’t think it will be GoDaddy.
Dotster is not closing or having financial problems and Godaddy? Pleeeze!
Hi, Olivia. Do you work for Dotster? Do you have some sort of inside information on their financial status?
Hi Donna,
I’m not sure how many domains in which spaces you own, but choosing GoDaddy as a “primary domain reg” sounds like a bad idea to me because of their
– reg. fees in general
– weird policies of extra-charges of $30-50 for DMCA request handling
– all those “horror” stories mentioned above
other than that i once again smiled about the fact that it is required to document how to move domains away from a registrar… we are currently having similar headaches to consolidate domains and move away from Networksolutions, Snapnames and other providers that think a clumsy itnerface is a good way to keep clients
best,christoph
It doesn’t mean much, maybe, but here is what Dotster said:
“Hello [Sebastian],
We are not having financial difficulties in fact we’re growing.
Please disregard the rumors.
Thank you”
As a paranoid Webmaster I’m very interested in learning more.
Yes, why godaddy? It’s headed by a Bush supporter who thinks the way to success is through the Marines. I have two domains registered with godaddy. After receiving July 4th emails from the CEO twice now I will be sure to never support his domain again. He didn’t have to make it political but he did.
And you didn’t have to make this post political, and yet you did. I don’t give two sh*ts about the owner’s political stance, even if it differs from my own. Nor was this post ever intended to start a GoDaddy war. People, I don’t care what registrar you use. If you don’t like Godaddy, no big deal. It just happened that I was in the process of transferring domains to them, and thought I’d be kind enough to document the process. You don’t want to use ’em? Don’t. No sweat off my back.