Where to buy .sg & .com.sg domains names?

[aster]

What places would you recommend in terms of price and (more importantly) quality of service? In other words I don't want a dirt-cheap registrar that screws things up, has a lousy online interface and non-existent customer support.

[wazzup]

u can try http://www.nic.net.sg/sub_domain_regist ... ction.html
they have a list of companies that offers .sg domains

[Strong Eagle]

I have used Netsarius for both domain name registration and ISP service and have been very satisfied. Not affiliated, don't make no moola, blah, blah, woof, woof. Good prices on all. Talk to Hong Keong. Tell 'em Wayne sent ya.

http://www.netsarius.com/index.html

[aster]

Thanks for the tips, guys.

Are you able to get some special rates for domains with Netsarius? I checked the site and it's $55/domain, which is quite ok though there are a few that offer them in the $38-40 range.

[umar911]

i usually buy from exabytes.sg

[aster]

u can try http://www.nic.net.sg/sub_domain_regist ... ction.html
they have a list of companies that offers .sg domains

As I'm only after domain names, I'm keen on setting everything up with one of the companies mentioned in the list above as they are able to register .sg domains directly (no intermediaries).

It also seems reasonable to cap the cost at $40 for .sg which leaves just two companies:

www.cybersite.com.sg
www.webvisions.com

Does anyone have any experience dealing with either of them?

[hkloo]

Hi aster,

This is HK from Netsarius.

First thing, do you know you can get free .com.sg / .sg domain if you are getting this under a newly registered company? Singapore government is kind enough to give away the domain as freebie for 2 years.

Let me share with you some useful information about domain registrars

Of the list mentioned here - http://www.nic.net.sg/sub_domain_regist ... ction.html

These 4 are new in the registrar market. Of the 4, newmedia express probably provide the best service. They are a small company, but their service is usually fast. Not sure about their interface for domain management.

- Instra Corporation Pte Ltd
- MarkMonitor Inc.
- NewMedia Express Pte Ltd
- Safenames Ltd

These 2 are ISP. Their customers typically comes from those that signup package deal together with broadband. Domain names is very small business for them. You get limited support (no phone) and email might take 1-2 days for reply.

- Pacnet Internet (S) Pte. Ltd.
- SingNet Pte Ltd

Web Commerce - Web Commerce Communications (Singapore) Pte Ltd. is a B2B domain registrar. That means they only deal with resellers. We are one of their resellers. As intermediaries, our pricing would not be as competitive as them.

These 2 below, we have very bad experience working with them for renewal, domain transfer etc. Very unfriendly.

- Vooju Pte Ltd
- Adicio Pte Ltd

These 3 below are the market leaders.

IP Mirror Pte Ltd - Good domain management interface, but quite pricey at $75/year
Webvisions Pte Ltd - lowest cost in the market, but domain interface is really outdated and hard to use
Cybersite Pte Ltd - lowest cost in the market, not sure about domain interface

Hope these help. Drop and me an email if you need more info. Cheers

[ScoobyDoes]

i usually buy from exabytes.sg

I went through the details of their offers and was quite impressed. I had a few emails back and forward with the sales guys but in the end, it was like watching a bad game for rugby.

All the action in the middle and up front but when it came to scoring, nobody could cross the line. The order process is painful and payment methods to boot. Honestly, if i'm dealing with a .sg domain where the billing is in SGD i don't expect to have to pay an overseas transfer to a bank in Malaysia.

[aster]

These 3 below are the market leaders.

IP Mirror Pte Ltd - Good domain management interface, but quite pricey at $75/year
Webvisions Pte Ltd - lowest cost in the market, but domain interface is really outdated and hard to use
Cybersite Pte Ltd - lowest cost in the market, not sure about domain interface

Hope these help. Drop and me an email if you need more info. Cheers

Hi HK, many thanks for your help!

How bad is the Webvisions interface? I basically only need to update DNS online when needed, nothing else. Will that be a problem?

Does Cybersite even have an online domain interface? I must say their website does not inspire confidence...

[hkloo]

Hi aster,

Don't go with Cybersite. Their website looks like being compromised. This morning I have a customer's email & website went down. Apparently, their domain name which they register with Cybersite expired yesterday. And, Cybersite never inform them for renewal!

I suppose when you choose a registrar, there are a few components to consider

1. Price

2. Service - there isn't much service anyway. Because you are only being served when you initially register your domain & when your domain is up for renewal, they should inform you.

3. Ease of the interface to do self manage

For webvisions interface, to go https://secure.webvisions.com/changedns.cgi

Type in the domain name 'FORTUNEFOOD.COM.SG' (this is one of the domain registered with them)

At the bottom of the page, you will see the function to manage DNS. This interface is not very user friendly. You have to add new DNS and manually type in IP address before you remove your current DNS settings. And, even when you remove your DNS, you have to enter the IP, which is quite redundant because the nameserver, such as NS1.WEBVIS.NET, should auto resolve to IP address.

What worry me most is, their interface only authenticate user at a very late stage by asking the password after all these DNS settings has been entered. It opens the door for hackers to guess the password either using dictionary or brutal force. The username is fixed as the domain name. So if I can crack the password, then i could point the domain away, and setup a site for phishing or defacing purpose.

[aster]

I agree that the web interface is very important. That and the price are the basic things I'm looking at right now.

When it comes to registering, when you fill out the info using the online form then is the domain registered immediately? Or do they then register it manually which can take some time (and technically someone can still jump in and register that domain before you get it)?

[hkloo]

Hi aster,

It depends on how the domain registrar setup their order form. Most registrar like IP Mirror probably register it for you immediately and automatically as soon as your credit card payment is received. This is pretty common for TLDs domain such as .com, .net etc

At Netsarius, we prefer to manually register for our customer. As a service to our client, we usually do a quick check to make sure everything is in place, especially the information supplied.

This is critical for .com.sg domain because the company name and ROC number must be valid. We will do an ACRA check for this matter.

Another reason is domain names in Singapore are governed by SGNIC and there are certain reserved words. For example, domain names with 'Temasek', 'singapore' and names of minister etc are not allowed.

Well, singapore domains are not that competitive. Domain orders can typically be proceed within 10-20 minutes.

[aster]

Yeah, I'd really like if the registrar reserved the domain instantly for .sg (I understand that .com.sg can take longer).

Have you heard of http://8.to/ ? Are they big here?

[booey]

i like bluehost.com if you're buying server space too as they domain will be free as long as your subscription of the server space remains.

and their service is good, there's live chat and so far no prob with them!

[hkloo]

Hi aster,

8.to is not a registrar. They are just a reseller for webnic, which is the same registrar we are using. That explains why our price is the same for .sg domain, at $55/year