Network Solutions is the original domain registrar, and although the days of $35 dollar /year .com registrations are gone, it retains a large number of domains under management.
When I registered my first domain in February 1997 with them, I actually had to fork out $100 for two years; the extra $15 per year went to some obscure Internet tax that was subsequently canceled.
As part of the Web.com group of companies, NetSol has improved both its underlying technology and image, which is a good thing to witness.
These days, Network Solutions is the sister company of SnapNames, which has expanded its ability to grab domains on the drop, making it a strong competitor in the field.
One such domain caught by SnapNames ended up on a secondary registrar owned by Network Solutions, and I received an email informing me of the acquisition.
The user account at Network Solutions wasn’t the one I use primarily; such fragmentation of accounts can lead to a lot of frustration and even loss of domain assets if one is negligent with their renewals.
Luckily, there is now an option to merge user accounts at Network Solutions, and it’s quite simple.
To merge Account A with Account B, one first logs into Account A – assuming you want to eliminate Account B altogether.
Navigate to Account Manager > Account Settings, and click on the Merge User Ids. As long as you’re already logged in, the direct link is here.
Once there, the following option appears:
“You can merge two User IDs at a time. To merge more than two User IDs, you must first merge two then repeat the process.”
At that point, you enter the user id and password of the account you want to eliminate. Any domains existing on that account will be moved to Account A, the one you’re logged in with.
It’s a simple and instant solution to the long-existing problem of pushing domains between accounts you own while eliminating these extra accounts, and I definitely appreciate this improvement by Network Solutions.
Didn’t know about this merge feature. Just used it, thanks much.
Dan – Glad you found it to be useful. I came across this new feature by accident as well. 🙂
The best solution would be to transfer out your domains.
This is a terrible registrar with ghastly customer service.
Jen – I’m familiar with your personal experience, however fair is fair: SnapNames captures end up at NetSol. The latter has improved its domain services, and even lowered their prices, a lot over the years. Yes, there are alternatives out there but I thought it was worth pointing out this particular feature at Network Solutions.
Fair enough.
But my personal experience is not at all uncommon, as evidenced on my Scamful site and the comment section.
This registrar and its two siren sisters Web.com and Register.com exhibit questionable ethics when it comes to expiring domains, and there have been outright hijacks by the Web.com shill company New Ventures Services when customers try to transfer their names out.
Most of these customers are not savvy and have no idea what to do when their valuable digital property is hijacked by the slimy New Ventures Services (which belongs to Web.com and is used by all three registrars to snag domains expired by ONE day or to even snag unexpired domain names).
I just think it’s fair to warn others whenever possible so that potential customers can make informed decisions and not be seduced by all the fancy advertising.
Jen – There’s always a flip side to any story. I’ll try to engage Web.com / Netsol for the particular issues you’re referencing. For now, let’s focus on a positive improvement for NetSol accounts. Thanks.
Yes, I would definitely like to hear what Web.com and New Ventures Services have to say.
🙂