It seems that the author of the site was so intent on cashing in that they forgot to make sure that the site actually works. None of the links work, but the site is overloaded with Google ad spam.

People, are the few dollars that you might make with Google ads really worth putting your readers through the trouble? I will never visit this site again, and I have added it to my web browser’s block list so I don’t accidentally go there again.

If you overload a site with spam, which makes it difficult for the user to navigate the page and find what they are looking for, guess what? They’ll stop looking.

Update – May 5, 2009

I emailed Stacy Burnette from the ICANN compliance committee.  She personally telephoned GoDaddy to resolve the issue.  She said that GoDaddy would be contacting me, but they never did.  I went ahead and retried the transfer, and it succeeded.  Thank you Stacy, and thank you ICANN for protecting the consumer!

GoDaddy proudly proclaims that they are the largest domain name registrar in the world, with over 28 million domain names registered.  At their sale price of $9.99 per year registration fee, the registration fees alone earn GoDaddy over $750,000 per day.  We’ve all seen it, the larger a company gets, the more they lose sight of their customers in pursuit of the almighty dollar.  GoDaddy is no exception.

Why is GoDaddy the most popular domain registrar?  Originally it was price and service.  Now, it’s mass marketing.  You may be surprised that GoDaddy is higher in cost than many competing registries.  For example, Name.com only charges $8.99 per year for domain registration.  Guess how much renewals cost at Name.com?  $8.99.  At GoDaddy, it costs $9.99 for a new registration, and $10.69 per year for renewal.

Name.com also has free private WHOIS.  GoDaddy charges an outrageous $9.99 per year per domain for this service.  Name.com also provides free DNS management, free domain forwarding, and free web hosting through Google.  I’m not trying to sell you on Name.com because they’re not even my favorite registrar, and the registrar I use is actually cheaper and provides even more free services.  I’m just making a point that GoDaddy is not the number one in value and hasn’t been for quite some time.  They are simply the most popular.

GoDaddy has started a trend of violating ICANN policies.  ICANN policies are created to protect you, the domain registrant.  You, the registrant, should be free to choose your own domain registrar and be able to transfer your domain to the registrar of your choosing unencumbered.  Fair competition keeps things in the consumer’s interest, and anything that obstructs that harms the consumer.

GoDaddy prevents you from transferring a domain to another registrar if you make a change to the registrant contact information.  This includes removing the private WHOIS from your domain or updating your email address.

I stipulate that GoDaddy recognized the fact that when you wish to transfer your domain to a competing registrar, the first thing you do is update the registrant email address so that you can complete the transfer.  In order to modify this information, GoDaddy forces you to “opt-in” to their policy, which prevents you from transferring the domain to another registrar within 60 days of a change to your registration information.  Most likely, this forces you to renew your domain for another year at GoDaddy at their ever increasing prices.

ICANN recently released an advisory against this type of policy, which GoDaddy has ignored.

ICANN policy states the following as the ONLY reasons that a registrar may deny a transfer:

1. Evidence of fraud
2. UDRP action
3. Court order by a court of competent jurisdiction
4. Reasonable dispute over the identity of the Registered Name Holder or Administrative Contact
5. No payment for previous registration period (including credit card charge-backs) if the domain name is past its expiration date or for previous or current registration periods if the domain name has not yet expired. In all such cases, however, the domain name must be put into “Registrar Hold” status by the Registrar of Record prior to the denial of transfer.
6. Express written objection to the transfer from the Transfer Contact. (e.g. – email, fax, paper document or other processes by which the Transfer Contact has expressly and voluntarily objected through opt-in means)
7. A domain name was already in “lock status” provided that the Registrar provides a readily accessible and reasonable means for the Registered Name Holder to remove the lock status.
8. The transfer was requested within 60 days of the creation date as shown in the registry WHOIS  record for the domain name.
9. A domain name is within 60 days (or a lesser period to be determined) after being transferred (apart from being transferred back to the original Registrar in cases where both Registrars so agree and/or where a decision in the dispute resolution process so directs). “Transferred” shall only mean that an inter-registrar transfer has occurred in accordance with the procedures of this policy.

Here is the email that GoDaddy will send when they deny the domain transfer:

The transfer of YOURDOMAIN.COM from GoDaddy.com, Inc. to another registrar could not
be completed for the following reason(s):

Express written objection to the transfer from the Transfer Contact. (e.g. – email,
fax, paper document or other processes by which the Transfer Contact has expressly
and voluntarily objected through opt-in means). 

The express written objection may be the result of a pending or recently completed
Change of Registered Name Holder. This is an opt-in process during which the new
Registered Name Holder agrees not to transfer for 60-days. This domain will be
transferable on MM/DD/YYYY.

GoDaddy tries to comply with reason number six from the list above.  GoDaddy implies that you expressed written consent and opted-in.  However, if you cannot opt-out, it is not an opt-in policy, and it is not voluntary.  GoDaddy will not let you opt-out.  I tested this by trying to transfer a domain within weeks of updating the registration information.  I talked to a GoDaddy supervisor on the telephone.  He not only refused to comply with ICANN policy, he hung up on me after he said, “Do you think that the world’s largest domain registrar isn’t familiar with ICANN policy?”  He contended that I agreed to the 60 day hold period when I clicked on one of the check boxes that  I was required to check in order to make the change to the domain.

So, you’ve been warned. Transfer your domains away from GoDaddy, and don’t wait too long.  Currently, I’ve filed a complaint with the BBB and am starting a major campaign through ICANN’s proper channels until GoDaddy stops violating ICANN’s policies and stops their unethical behavior.

Please join me in sending GoDaddy a message that we, the consumer, still matter, and there is nothing wrong with fair competition.

What can you do to help?

1. Unlock, retrieve your authorization code, and transfer your domains away from GoDaddy today
2. If they refuse to allow you to transfer your domains, file an online complaint to the BBB
3. Ask your new registrar to contact GoDaddy or initiate a Transfer Dispute against GoDaddy
4. File an official complaint against GoDaddy and site “Transfer Problems” as the issue
5. Get involved with ICANN

The only way that you can break the chain of consumer mistreatment is to spend your money elsewhere.  Today, I spent just a couple of minutes to transfer a couple of domains away from GoDaddy. Within the hour, they were in the account at my new registrar.  I don’t have to put up with GoDaddy’s endless service spam, bloated user interface, lack of free features, and ill will.

By the way, GoDaddy is not the world’s largest domain registrar.  In that sense, they are all created equal.  GoDaddy simply has more domain registrations than anyone else, which are just records in a database and are supposed to be free to move elsewhere.

It’s time to get a new computer system.  My current system has reached its limit of upgrade-ability.  I can’t even watch streaming HD video over the Internet.  I need a faster processor and/or a faster graphics card.

My 5 year old motherboard has an AGP slot, whereas, in order to upgrade the video card, I need a PCI Express slot.  This forces me to purchase a new motherboard, and therefore a new CPU and RAM, and even new hard drives (they’re all SATA nowadays, not IDE).  So, rather than put everything in my existing case, and having my old motherboard, CPU, RAM, and hard drives collect dust, I’m buying a new case to build a second system.  The old system will be given to my wife after a clean reinstall of the OS.

The NewEgg debacle

So, I load up my shopping cart at NewEgg.com.  They have tons of rebates, so the price is looking good.  I apply for the finance option (0 percent for 12 months) so I can pay it off over at least a couple months.  I get turned down.  Twice.  Reason: supposedly, they’re “unable to verify” my information.  That answer is so vague and could be used for any reason to deny a person credit.

So, I’m forced to use my credit card, and when I click submit, the order seems to go through.  I log in later, only to find that my order’s status is “void”.  I call NewEgg about this, and in the mean time, they block my account entirely, so I can’t even log in.

Apparently, somebody had fraudulently used my credit card on a different NewEgg account, but this was two years ago.  They caught the fraud and blocked it.  Then, when I tried to use the credit card, it raised a red flag, and my account got blocked.  It took me four days and three phone calls to get this straightened out so that I could use a different credit card to place an order.

Comparison shopping

In the meantime, while I was waiting for NewEgg to unfoul my account, I had time to price compare the new system at a few competitors, with TigerDirect being one of them.  As it turns out, Mwave.com, TigerDirect.com, and NewEgg.com were all within $10 of each other for total cost after shipping.

I still wanted to use NewEgg for most of my order because they seem to have a more extensive rebate program–there were more mail in rebates if I went through NewEgg.

Ordering from TigerDirect.com

The price was lower at TigerDirect.com for the graphics card, regardless of rebate.  So, I ordered the card from TigerDirect.  There was also a $1.99 shipping sale on that item, so I had it shipped to me for only $1.99 via ground (supposedly 5-7 business days).  As it turns out, TigerDirect has a warehouse in Illinois, and that $1.99 5-7 business day ground shipping got me the graphics card the next day.

I’m still waiting for NewEgg.com to process my order.

I probably haven’t ordered from TigerDirect.com in over 10 years. They’ve been around for a lot longer than NewEgg.com.  I made the switch to NewEgg.com thanks to NewEgg’s often cheaper and speedier shipping methods and decent return policy.  However, as time has gone by, NewEgg.com has tightened their policies.  If you’re a die hard NewEgg.com shopper, and you haven’t done so yet, it’s time to re-evaluate them.

Comparing NewEgg.com and TigerDirect.com

NewEgg.com’s return policies are now very strict, especially regarding video cards and CPUs.  TigerDirect.com’s return policy is still 30 days on everything.

NewEgg.com does NOT do price protection.  TigerDirect.com will give you store credit for the difference if any item you purchase lowers in price within 30 days after the purchase (except for CPUs and RAM, and things that include CPUs and RAM, such as desktops, bundles, etc.).

TigerDirect.com apparently has multiple warehouses, so you’ll very likely get speedy deliveries on most items, even without paying for 2 or 3 day shipping.  NewEgg.com charges for 2 or 3 days shipping on everything, even if the closest warehouse is down the street.

TigerDirect.com is back

It’s been awhile since I ordered from TigerDirect.com, but I think, after this new purchase from them, and this first reimpression, they’ve won me back.

I signed up for a business line of credit last year, and recently paid it off.  I kept the line of credit open, thinking I might need the cash again.  When I signed up, there had been no mention of annual fees.

I paid off the balance two months ago.  A couple days ago, I signed onto my account and saw that the balance was now at $50.  Apparently, I had been charged $50 against my credit line for an annual fee.

I telephoned National City to talk about the fee.  I won’t bore you with the trouble I had finding the person to talk to regarding my account and the trouble they had identifying the type of account.

I finally got on the line with Mr. Bill Kareem, the man that could help me with my account.  I asked him to refund the fee because I wasn’t told that there was a fee, and to close the account if he were going to continue charging a fee.

Mr. Bill Kareem argued that I agreed to the fee when I signed for the account and there was nothing he could do about the fee.  He offered to close the account, but he couldn’t reverse the fee.  I had him close the account.

So, a fee that is buried in the paperwork, and which I am not told about when I open an account, is a hidden fee.  The hidden fee is just the thing that National City is advertising that they don’t have.  Here we are, among National City’s massive marketing campaign to convince you that they have fewer fees, and it’s just simply not true, at least not in my experience.

I also pay a $3 monthly fee for my cash reserve credit line for when my wife bounces a check, and a $3 monthly maintenance fee on my savings account.

I began strategizing how I was going to move all of my banking over to my checking account at a competing bank.  Then, I reread the statement from Nationaly City.  The statement said that the annual fee was for August 2008 to July 2009.  Well, here it is, still July 2008.  Since I’ve closed the account, they can’t charge me an annual fee for next year.

I called back and spoke with Deanna.  I stated that I closed the account today, opened the account in August, it’s still July, and I’d like a refund for the annual fee.  Deanna immediately issued me a refund for the fee.

Now, if only Mr. Bill Kareem had done the same thing, I might not even be writing this blog entry.

You cannot believe advertisements, period.  They can tell you to your face that they have lower fees while you sign away your money on the dotted line.  Read the fine print.

Also, if one person tells you no, call again and speak to someone else.

Interestingly, National City reported a $1.76 billion loss for the second quarter of 2008, with non-interest revenue (derived from fees) falling to $431 million from $764 million last year.  So, perhaps National City is doing something about lowering fees.  Perhaps they’re having to face stiffer competition during this recession, where people are simply refusing to pay lower fees, and customers are willing to move elsewhere to lower their fees.  It’s exactly the trend that National City is trying to capitalize on with their advertising.  People are tired of paying the fees.

Anyway, a bank that is losing money is less likely to issue refunds out of fairness and courtesy.

Today, I found out that FBM Software’s website incorrectly lists my NetBrute software as a Trojan.  Though, they may actually think that NetBrute is a Trojan, what’s more likely is that they don’t have a category for “Useful programs that hackers might use”, so they simply listed it as a Trojan, which is completely false.

So, anyway, I went to their website to look for an email address.  When I saw a “Live Support” link, I thought, wow, I’ll get to chat with a live person and get this matter taken care of today, rather than trying to have a conversation through email.

Well, here’s what happened when I clicked on the link:

I waited for over an hour as I continued other work.  Nobody ever came online.  The screen didn’t change.  I’m still waiting…

Maybe I would have gotten help if I clicked that I owned their software instead of the “General Information” link.  I don’t know.  In my eyes, the customer that I don’t have is at least as important as the one I do have.

If you’re going to offer online support options, make it clear before the user even clicks the button whether there is anyone available.

On the live support options on the yProxy website, if I’m not available, the buttons are grayed out or they provide a message saying that they’re offline.  Not simply, please wait… infinitely.

I ordered some electronic components from Mouser Electronics through their online order process.  I only bought about $3 in components, but the total was $6.51 cents.  So, you get the picture–most of the charge was in shipping.  Realizing this, I had even ordered extra parts, just in case I needed them in the future.

Immediately after I placed the order, I decided that I should have ordered 4 of one of the parts instead of 2 because there were 2 of them on the circuit board, and if I ended up replacing both, I wouldn’t have any spares.

Well, on the email order confirmation that I received from Mouser Electronics, it stated:

Thank you for placing your order with Mouser Electronics! Your order has been entered as listed below. Please contact us immediately if you would like any changes to this order. As soon as your order ships, we will e-mail a shipment confirmation that includes final shipping charges and your shipment tracking number.

So, I called them up.

“Hi, this is Amanda, how may I help you?”

I said, “Hello, I placed an order online about 15 minutes ago.  I’d like to increase the quantity of one of the items on the order.”

Amanda went into a long tirade of how I could not change the order because the credit card transaction had already gone through, and I placed the order online, yada yada yada.

I interrupted and said, “Don’t worry.  Just keep the order as it is.  The only reason that I thought I could change the order was because your email said I could.”

To that, her response was, “You can’t.”

Why not be more clear in emails that are sent out to customers?  Assuming that there is a case that I could actually change my order, like if I had a net 30 account with them instead of paying by credit card, then why isn’t their software smart enough to know the difference?  If the software isn’t smart enough, then why not be more descriptive in the email?

Mouser Electronics, you gave me false hope because when I called upon you to do something that you offered to do, you let me down!  That was bad customer service, period.

I try to make all emails that I send out as clear as possible.  Clear and concise is best, but don’t be afraid to make the email longer, if needed, to ensure that it’s clear.  A concise email that provides more information is going to be longer.

You can keep long emails readable and less intimidating by included plenty of white space and using section headings.

Put the most important and most significant stuff up front,  and put the less important and less significant stuff at the end.  Most of your readers might only read the first paragraph or two, whereas most of your special cases will still be handled with further reading.

It’s best to answer the customers’ questions before they come up, and definitely be clear.