Help Please - Transfer Yahoo Domains!

[SarahMcHarry]

Can anyone help me before I go crazy with grief ?

I have several domains that I registered with Yahoo, all with private domain registration. Because they are going to autorenew these for $30+ I want to transfer them to Godaddy.

I have followed the exact instructions on Yahoo - unlocked the domains, notified Godaddy, supplied the authorisation code etc. Godaddy emails me to say that they are emailing the admin contact on my domains for permission to transfer. Because I have private domain registration that email isn't me and I can't find out who it is.

Yahoo are totally useless and can't/won't help.

If anyone has been down this exact same path I would be grateful for your advice.

BTW, I have successfully transferred Yahoo domains that were not private - it's the private registration part that's the big road-block.

Someone please show me the way...

Sarah

[DavidTheMavin]

This will be a total pain as I've done it before, but you'll have to find out the Private reg company (should be able to do through whois on netsol: http://www.networksolutions.com/whois/index.jsp) and then you'll have a login/pass there I think where you can get the emails. Or something along those lines.

It's a total pain. I had over 30 domains with them that I sold and had to transfer, or had to transfer to Godaddy which really wastes a lot of time.

Let me know how you make out!

[SarahMcHarry]

Thanks David, that's given me something to pursue. Do you think it would be easier if I canceled the private registration temporarily while I did the transfer and then reinstated it when the domains were on Godaddy? Or wouldn't it make any difference?

I really appreciate your advice...

Sarah

[DavidTheMavin]

Originally Posted by SarahMcHarry

Thanks David, that's given me something to pursue. Do you think it would be easier if I canceled the private registration temporarily while I did the transfer and then reinstated it when the domains were on Godaddy? Or wouldn't it make any difference?

I really appreciate your advice...

Sarah

Hmm, I may have done that in the past as well, but can't remember if it was even with Yahoo or not?

[davezan]

Originally Posted by SarahMcHarry

Do you think it would be easier if I canceled the private registration temporarily while I did the transfer and then reinstated it when the domains were on Godaddy? Or wouldn't it make any difference?

Unfortunately the WHOIS privacy service has to be removed before initiating
the transfer process. There's enough documented cases online of these things
failing because of that.

Of course, the drawback to that is it shows your actual information. There is
no way around that unless you input another set of name and contact data
just before turning off the WHOIS privacy service, yet one where you will still
get the confirmation email from the gaining registrar.

Hope it works out. And ask Yahoo if need be for removing the service.

(Not the David who replied to your posts here earlier. )

[DavidTheMavin]

DON'T CHANGE YOUR INFO! With the new ICANN laws you then won't be able to transfer your name for another 60 days!

I think the only thing you can change without triggering this is the email addy.

Originally Posted by davezan

Unfortunately the WHOIS privacy service has to be removed before initiating
the transfer process. There's enough documented cases online of these things
failing because of that.

Of course, the drawback to that is it shows your actual information. There is
no way around that unless you input another set of name and contact data
just before turning off the WHOIS privacy service, yet one where you will still
get the confirmation email from the gaining registrar.

Hope it works out. And ask Yahoo if need be for removing the service.

(Not the David who replied to your posts here earlier. )

[davezan]

Originally Posted by DavidTheMavin

DON'T CHANGE YOUR INFO! With the new ICANN laws you then won't be able to transfer your name for another 60 days!

That's not a so-called ICANN law, other than their only 60-day transfer rule
for new registrations. That's Go Daddy's own law, and that's been a bone of
contention between them and other users.

[SarahMcHarry]

So, what do I do? I am willing to remove the privacy setting temporarily to enable this to happen. So, is this the sequence of events?

1. Remove privacy setting from Yahoo domain
2. Change admin/tech emails to my email address
3. Unlock the domain
4. Retrieve the authorization code
5. Request transfer of domain to Godaddy
6. Receive Godaddy request at designated email (above)
7. Agree to request
8. Wait for Godaddy to confirm that domain has been transferred
9. Reinstate privacy at Godaddy
10. Cancel Yahoo account

Thanks to two Daves!

Sarah

[DavidTheMavin]

Originally Posted by davezan

That's not a so-called ICANN law, other than their only 60-day transfer rule
for new registrations. That's Go Daddy's own law, and that's been a bone of
contention between them and other users.

Seriously? I thought that was across the board?

[DavidTheMavin]

Originally Posted by SarahMcHarry

So, what do I do? I am willing to remove the privacy setting temporarily to enable this to happen. So, is this the sequence of events?

1. Remove privacy setting from Yahoo domain
2. Change admin/tech emails to my email address
3. Unlock the domain
4. Retrieve the authorization code
5. Request transfer of domain to Godaddy
6. Receive Godaddy request at designated email (above)
7. Agree to request
8. Wait for Godaddy to confirm that domain has been transferred
9. Reinstate privacy at Godaddy
10. Cancel Yahoo account

Thanks to two Daves!

Sarah

This looks like it should work. Good luck and let us know if it does.

[davezan]

Originally Posted by DavidTheMavin

This looks like it should work. Good luck and let us know if it does.

Second that. Except I'd check the domain's WHOIS record first after removing
the WHOIS privacy service to ensure it shows the actual details, especially its
email address.

[SarahMcHarry]

Thanks Daves!

I want to transfer two domains across from Yahoo - one gets traffic and the other doesn't.

I'll try my routine with the non-traffic domain first and if it doesn't work then it won't be a disaster.

I'll let y'all know how it goes...

Thanks for all your help, guys

Sarah

[SarahMcHarry]

This is an update for all those who want to escape the extortion that is Yahoo domain registration/renewal.

1. If you have your domain registered as private, you need to make it public in Yahoo before starting the transfer process. If you do it right it will only be for a few days.
2. In Yahoo, change the admin and tech contact emails to your own email address.
3. Wait two or three days for these changes to percolate through the system. THIS STEP IS IMPORTANT. It won't work if you go immediately to step 5.
4. In Yahoo, make a note of your authorization code.
5. Go into Godaddy and request a transfer of the domain to your Godaddy account. If you want it to be private, make sure you select this option before you pay the fee.
6. In the email address you specified as your admin and tech contact in Yahoo you'll get a series of emails from Godaddy asking you to confirm that you want to transfer the domain. Follow the instructions exactly. It isn't difficult.
7. In 1 - 3 days you should get a confirmation email from Godaddy that the transfer is in progress.
8. Some days after that, Yahoo will confirm that the domain has been transferred. You can then change the DNS (if necessary) and the private registration will be in effect.
9. THEN CANCEL YOUR YAHOO PLAN. If you don't, Yahoo will still bill you, even thought they are not the domain registrar and even though they are not providing any service at all. It is in their TOS that you must cancel the service, not them, otherwise the charge will pop up on your credit card and you won't be able to get a refund.

If you have a number of Yahoo domains (as I do) it is worth just biting the bullet and transferring them all together. Godaddy will add on the months you have left to the registration period. But DO NOT forget to cancel your Yahoo plan.

I have one domain where I tranferred at the last minute and Yahoo billed me for its renewal, even though I had already (just) transferred it to Godaddy. I tried querying this by email but they don't respond to billing enquiries by email. They want you to phone them, but they have a system where, if you request a call back, they will phone you. This doesn't work if you are outside the USA (as I am). If you phone them (and from outside the USA this isn't free) they will keep you waiting for at least half an hour. By which time you have spent a lot of dollars listening to inane messages and you hang up. This is a total swindle and you need to avoid this at all costs.

I hope this helps other Yahoo victims.

Sarah

[Istvan Horvath]

And some general rules to keep in mind:
1. Never register and host with the same company.
2. Don't trust "big" names - they are never helpful... and if they are in too many businesses, they are not good at any: search engine, hosting, registration etc. They should do one thing and that very well.
3. Find IM friendly registrars - namecheap.com and name.com are often mentioned here... (GD is not IM-friendly!)