I’ve used Godaddy to register my domains for some time. The only reason I used it was because it was cheap, I didn’t really enjoy their interface or the company as a whole. So, when I found someone cheaper (or comparatively priced), I jumped on it.

So let this be a guide on how to transfer domains FROM Godaddy. I used Mydomain.com as an example.

First step, go to your Godaddy control panel and ensure that
a) Your administrative e-mail is correct.
b) Your domain you will be transferring is unlocked.

Next, go to MyDomain.com and login (signup as necessary). Once logged in, you will see on the bottom of the main page “Transfer Your Domains To Us”. Click that then put in the domain name in the following page. Just follow the steps until you can place the order. Two things that really appealed to me were the fact that
a) Coupons exist for a $5 transfer, which INCLUDES a year renewal. If for no other reason, this makes it much cheaper than godaddy can do.
b) You can use paypal for payments. You can do this with Godaddy but it’s just not as seamless.

Next with the Godaddy control panel, select “Authorization Code: Send by Email”. You will get an e-mail containing a code which you will need later.

Next you will receive an e-mail from Mydomain entitled “Confirm Domain Transfer”. There will be a link in there to confirm the transfer, click that. The page you go to requires you to put in the authorization code obtained from Godaddy. Once you enter that code, the transfer process has begun.

Next (a few hours later), you will receive an e-mail from Godady along these lines:

Dear %NAME%,

GoDaddy.com(R) received notification on %DATE% that you have requested a transfer
to another domain name registrar. If you want to proceed with this transfer, you do
not need to respond to this message. If you wish to cancel the transfer, you must do
so before %DATE%+4.

Followed by a bunch of “incentives” to try and keep you. I’ve tried to hasten the 4 day period, but they won’t have it.

After the 4 days have passed, the domain will be copied. Fortunately, they keep your NS records in tact, so the transition can be seamless insofar as there should be no transition-downtime.

Overall, yes it’s a lot of steps, but it’s worth it. Domains are expensive, and they really shouldn’t have to be.

I found out about Woot (wikipedia entry) a few weeks ago, and I gotta say, I’m completely addicted.

The premise behind the site is that they sell one technology product per day, usually bulk, often refurbished or factory recertified. You may order 1-3 of the daily Woot, and shipping is a flat $5. The price is typically 40-75% of what it goes for online, so worst case you could just rebay it.

They also accept paypal payments at no fee, so it works out great.

So far I’ve purchased a 256MB Sandisk MP3 player (Kessa loves it) for $9.99, an Audiovox 96-Watt DC-to-AC Power Inverter for the car for $9.99, and a 2-pack of Logitech Curve Headphones for $4.99 (today’s deal).

Fun times

I needed a lawnmower, so I added a Craig’s List search in my Google Reader, responding to any reasonable ads. I ended up with a working used $25 lawnmower. It started first time and did a great job on the first lawn mow in the new house.

Yet another praise to Craig’s List, it’s pretty hit or miss, but I’ve had good luck with it.

I took some pictures.

I need to buy a lawnmower for my front patch of grass, and of course the moss in the back. I’ve never bought a lawnmower, but I suspect I should be able to get a decent used one for under $50 on Craig’s List. We shall see…

Wow, Sprint’s SERO plan is a great deal. I got the idea from Tom, who originally got a slick deal on a nice phone and a cheap monthly.

So I pursued the SERO plan for myself. I really could care less about the phone I use, and I’ve had enough gadgets in my pockets through high school and college to make me infertile for life, so I figured a cheap, low power emitting device was the way to go. I had originally decided to go with the free model phone from Sprint. After some more investigation, I changed my mind. I realized by paying $50 initially for a phone, I could make money on it in rebates, and that’s in fact what happened.

Here’s the skinny on my Sprint payments so far:
Signup for the Sprint SERO plan, including Vision (internets, lol), unlimited mobile to mobile in the Sprint network (big deal, I don’t know anyone on Sprint), unlimited nights and weekends (9PM on), 500 anytime minutes. $0 setup and $30 monthly.
$100 refundable “poor credit” deposit. Refundable after one year.
$50 for the Sprint LG Fusic LX550 Phone. Mixed reviews, but it’s a small flip phone with more features than I’d use.
-$200 rebate for the LG Fusic, found on Amazon. They say it has to be submitted with a new plan and 2 year contract, which it was. I just don’t have to pay $200 to buy it from them.
-$75 rebate from Kellogg’s, found on their box.
-$25 for saying someone referred me. When you sign up with Sprint if you say someone referred you within a month of signing up, then both you and the person who referred you get a $25 visa debit card (able to receive 12 referrals per year).

I was looking for a good deal on a cell phone, and this is about as good as it gets, I’d say. I don’t have any complaints about the service, or the phone yet.

Edit: BTW, Contact Me if you want to use me as a SERO referrer .