How to Transfer A Domain Name: Phase I (or, Bye-Bye GoDaddy)

Since I made such a fuss over the Super Bowl ads on Sunday, I decided to follow through and actually try to figure out how to transfer my domain registration out of GoDaddy to another site.  Even though I hate doing anything technical, I thought I'd better put my money where my mouth is on this one.

I asked around Twitter, and came up with the list I posted yesterday. One of the sites, Register.com actually tweeted me with an offer to help. I went with Register.com, since apparently someone there was on the ball and paying attention.  I'm easy like that.

First, I found some basic instructions on eHow.com to get started.

Here are the specifics of how to do the transfer from GoDaddy to Register.com:

1. Log into GoDaddy.com.  If you don't know your Customer Number, User Name, or password (like me), you can click the link on the log-in page to have that information emailed to you to get into the site. Check your junk mailbox if you don't see it immediately.
2. After you log in, go to My Products -> Domains ->Domain Manager on the menu on the left side menu. 
3. This will bring up a list of your domain names.  Click on the one you wish to transfer.
4. In the toolbar, click on the the icon that says "Locking".  Make sure that your account is not locked.  If it is, unclick the box that says "Lock Domains" and click OK.  You have to unlock before you can transfer.
5. Go back to the Domain Manager Page. If your registration is public, the bottom row will show your home or business address.  If it is public and correct, skip to Step #7.  If it is private, it will show the address of Domains by Proxy, and you need to do Step #6 before you go on.
6. If it is private, you will need to log into Domains by Proxy and change the setting to Public before you can transfer your domain registration.  If you're like me and have no clue what your Domains by Proxy Customer number or password is, follow the instructions to retrieve those. Again, be sure to check your junk mailbox to find the information, because it will undoubtedly end up there.  After you get it, log and reset your account to PUBLIC.  You will not receive a refund for the amount you paid to make it private, and you will have to pay this fee again with your new host.  It costs about $10 per year.
7. After you check to make sure the info on your GoNaddy account page is now public, and you can see that your address, email address, etc. are correct, be sure to unlock your account by clicking the little lock in the small toolbar.
8. Now, go to the top box and look for a line that says "Authorization Code" in the first column.  Click on the link that says "Send by Email" and click OK at the prompt.  You need this for the transfer.  You will receive an email with a very long code that you use to finalize the transfer.
9. Decide which company you want to transfer to and either call their customer support line, or use their online instructions to create an account and set up the transfer.
10. I decided on Register.com, so I called their customer support to find out what to do next.  Their number is 1-866-714-5960.  Be sure to have your authorization code handy.
11. I was transferred to sales at Register.com, and spoke to a very nice woman named Barbara.  I told her what I wanted to do and why, and she said she was a mom of boys, so she definitely understood.  She asked me to give her my domain name, and the authorization code.  Since the code is case and number-specific, she emailed me and asked me to cut & paste it to be sure.  She then sent a request to transfer to GoBaddy.
12. They gave me the rest of the year's registration plus an additional year for $14.95.  There may be cheaper registration sites out there, but I was happy that for $14.95 I could be rid of the other site for good. 
13. It will take 5-8 days for the registration to finally process, and I will receive a notice when the domain is transfered to the Register server.  When that happens, I will need to go into my Typepad account to complete the transfer.  I will write that up as it happens and post it here.
14. 11. Register.com will send you an email asking for you to authorize the transfer within 24 hours of the request.  Be sure that you respond to the email, so that they can request it from GoDaddy.

I am probably one of the least technically-inclined people I know, so for me to do this was kind of a big deal.  It's somewhat easier and more intuitive than it sounds here, but it did take me some time to hunt around the various pages to find what I was looking for.  I like having everything spelled out for me, so that's why I wrote this up.  Hopefully, it will go smoothly for you, if you opt to do this.

You should note that you will not receive a refund if you transfer mid-year, so you may want to wait until your domain names are close to expiring.  You can find out when your expiration date is by looking at the Domain Manager page, and setting this up on your calendar.