If you are actively involved in selling domain names, ICANN’s ‘gift’ for the new year, 2014, is an increase of your workload.
As of January 1st, 2014, all changes to a contact’s email must be verified and the process is enforced by the domain registrars.
The problem: there is no uniformity in exactly how this is enforced, and here are a couple of examples.
At GoDaddy, registering a new domain with an email address that has not been verified, requires verification. However, changing the email of existing domains to an unverified one, did not produce any prompts to verify it, surprisingly.
The same process occurred at eNom: New registrations require verifications, but updating existing domains with an unverified email address generated no further action.
However, at Fabulous, any update to existing domains requires the verification of the email address used, prior to applying it as a contact to the domain.
Typically, when I sell a domain registered with Fabulous, I create a new “retail” account with the buyer’s credentials, and push the domain there, once instructed by Escrow.com.
Until now, that part required no intervention on behalf of the buyer, who would simply receive the login/pass of the new account as part of the exchange.
At this point, due to the approach Fabulous has taken, the buyer will have to be instructed to confirm the email address, by clicking on an email link and logging into the account, using the credentials that I might not be ready to provide yet.
This generates a Catch-22 loop and further communication – and confirmations thereof – between seller and buyer. It might lead to opting for transferring the domain to another registrar instead, where the buyer has already established a confirmed email address.
ICANN has clearly complicated the domain transfer process and many domain investors, myself included, won’t be happy with the extra layer of complexity added – all in the name of supposed transparency.
Perhaps, at Fabulous, the best choice would be to create an email for that retail account, verify it, and then push the domain as usual.
The issues I’ve noticed, so far, at Name.com involve intermittent requirements to verify existing emails or email changes or when registering a new name where the email information is not the same as the information in the account.
What I want to know is who the hell’s verifying the ICANN idiots that are not answering to anybody? Are they actually from THIS PLANET?
DNabc – The problem, aside from creating additional work, is that Fabulous accounts are tied to the initial email that the account was created under.
Danny – I fully agree. Thank you for posting your findings about Name.com, that I’ve yet to test.
AFAIK this is the result of law enforcement demands, more than icann policy.
Of course the verification process is pointless for a lot of reasons.
at Publicdomainregistry: “all changes to a contact’s email must be verified ” but I just moved the domains from one Reseller account to another Reseller account, all the Contact details & Emails were same of registrant still the icann policy is idiotic where there is no change in registrants Contact & had made lot of messup with my Clients domains & hope it will affect all the Services within 15 Days if the Verification is Not Done..
Hope Millions of Domains will be Affected by this Month End …