GoDaddy will stop offering all Uniregistry domain names

GoDaddy will stop offering all Uniregistry domain names and extensions on August 29, 2017.

A few months back GoDaddy suspended all Uniregistry extensions after the price increases were announced but then reinstated (some and then) all of the extensions after Uniregistry said that it will be grandfathering prices on SOME of the extensions.

This time GoDaddy decided to stop offering new Uniregistry domain names for sale because their pricing changes caused frustration and uncertainty with its customers.

For existing customers who have Uniregistry domain names, GoDaddy has partnered with Hexonet’s 1API GMBH to take over the backend management of the domain names. Customers will continue to manage their existing Uniregistry domains through the GoDaddy platform.

Owners will still be able to handle their renewals but will no longer be able to use domain name private whois (Private Registrations) on these domains.

Last week Namecheap announced that it will be discontinuing several of the Uniregistry and XYZ domain name extensions (plus .rich and .luxury) on September 7, 2017. Namecheap also suspended extensions that have “extremely” high registration and renewal cost such as .auto, .car and .cars. These are extensions that are run jointly by the Uniregistry and XYZ registries. For some reason GoDaddy will continue offering these 3 extensions.

In May 2017 Tucows decided to drop 9 of the Uniregistry extensions.

Here is what Mike McLaughlin, EVP and General Manager, Domains at GoDaddy said about the Uniregistry decision:

“GoDaddy strives to provide its customers with great product experiences wherever possible. After careful consideration, we decided to stop offering new Uniregistry domain names for sale because their pricing changes caused frustration and uncertainty with our customers.

For existing customers who have Uniregistry names, GoDaddy has partnered with Hexonet’s 1API GMBH to take over the backend management of the domain names. Customers will continue to manage their existing Uniregistry domains through the GoDaddy platform.”

This is the email that all existing registrants of Uniregistery domain name at GoDaddy will receive (all have already received):

“On August 29, 2017, we’ll be removing Private Registration from the following domain(s):

List of impacted domains are inserted here.

We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause. We will automatically apply a full refund for the cost of Private Registration paid on each domain listed on this email.

Why is this happening?

GoDaddy is switching the backend domain service provider and will no longer directly support domain names from the registry provider.  Though this change will not affect any other domain functions, and you’ll still be able to manage your name(s) and handle your renewals with the support of our dedicated customer service team, we are no longer able to offer Private Registrations on the domains listed above.

If you have other domains in your account that use Private Registration and aren’t listed above, they’re unaffected by this change.

What can I do to save my Private Registration?

Your privacy is very important to us. Unfortunately, the necessary removal of Private Registration due to this change means your personal information, including your name, mailing address, email address, and phone number, will be displayed publicly in the Whois database.

However, if you’d rather not own a domain without Private Registration, you have two options:

1. Transfer the domain name(s) to another registrar that may offer privacy services. Please note you will have to cancel your Private Registration before transferring and adding it at your new registrar (which means your information will temporarily be publicly available).
2. Cancel the domain and we’ll refund the full cost of the domain name registration itself. We’d hate to see you go, but if you wish to cancel, simply send an email to regupdate@godaddy.comprior to August 25, 2017 and let us know which of your domains you want to cancel.

What if I do nothing?

If you choose to do nothing, GoDaddy will continue to provide support for your domain name registration and renewal(s), but your domain name(s) will no longer have Private Registration associated with them.”