GoDaddy Reseller Review: Wild West Domains

Wild West Domains is a reseller company by GoDaddy who sells various domain reseller packages to businesses and individuals. In return, one could sell domains at a certain price range or even domain reseller accounts themselves.

I had an account as a domain reseller with Wild West Domains for a little over a year. I made a few bucks. Unfortunately, the downsides outweigh the earnings one could make.

Usability

I had their “Super Reseller Plan” which was their best package. It cost over $200 a year and came with Adwords credit. I don’t remember the exact figures but it was pretty close to what it was now. I had the ability to sell domains, reseller accounts and their other products. The usability issues came when I had to login to 3 different controls panels: one for the Wild West Domain master account, one for the individual domains account and another for the actual area of selling domain reseller accounts.

Stat reports are just as scattered across three different accounts including customer and revenue reporting. Setting prices for any product is a click-and-type fest. Do you recall how the check out process is with GoDaddy? The same is for setting the template and colors of the layout: an endless screen circle of useless options.

Customization

There are tons of customization options for a Wild West Domains reseller account,  however, it is not enough.  Reseller accounts can be spotted from a mile away with their similar layouts and graphics.  They all look very similar to this. If you do want any say so with the layout and design, they provide an API but it’s very expensive.

I have a work around that I used back then: create a static website using your own hosting solution. Write about the different products and services. Finally, link out to your WWD reseller account for purchase. I already contacted Wild West Domains back then and they allowed me to use the graphics for promotion as long as I was a reseller. However, I would lightly use their graphics (such as SSL products images and other various logos) but create an actual unique layout with unique content.

Costs

The costs are fair but still high compared to other reseller accounts. I found ways to get my money’s worth. First, WWD gives you the ability to set up accounts that can purchase from you at cost. You don’t make commission but you can buy from yourself and get a reduced rate on your domains.

Secondly, you can sell domains from your account to others but most people do not want to remain with an unknown reseller.

Finally, they allow you to set your own pricing but within a marginal range. For instance, I believe the highest you can go on a .com is about $30 (it’s been awhile since I had an account).  But you still have to price to be competitive.

60 Day Rule

I’m still a little pissed at GoDaddy about their 60 day rule which they reset every time someone makes a simple whois change.  I found out   while ICANN frowns upon this practice (but yet does nothing about it), it technically isn’t a violation yet. The 60 day rule also applies to each and every WWD reseller account. I’ve had a few pissed off domainers who wanted to transfer out well past the initial 60 day mark for new domains and way before the 60 day mark for expiring domains.

A few weeks ago, GoDaddy signed up at DNForum to cozy up with domainers. I smelled their bluff and I asked when they were going to change this (to an employee who won’t reveal himself) and they never addressed the issue. Until then, I have became a Name.com customer, paying a little more but the trade off is worth it.

Conclusion

Overall, I would rate Wild West Domains reseller accounts a 3 out of 10. The only reason I’m being that “generous” is because you can make money if you work at it but it comes with a huge customization, usability and 60 day rule issue that are deal breakers for me. If you consider WWD, keep in mind that more people are starting to recognize the layout and it may be harder to sell.