One of Few Reasons to use GoDaddy Just Vanished.

I have a few domain names registered with GoDaddy, and tend to use them as my default domain registrar. Why? They have lots of renewal promo codes. So I usually use a code to register a new domain name for 99 cents, and then when it comes up for renewal I can use a 30-35% off renewal code to save for future years.

In the summer I received an email from GoDaddy inviting me to renew my domain names for 32% off. I didn’t think much of it, but I do remember that it said something weird: “hurry before this deal is gone forever”. The other emails didn’t say anything like that.

It’s only been in the last month that I’ve figured out what they meant:

GoDaddy’s cancelled all their renewal codes.

Now it’s not impossible to save some money. There are general-purpose codes (i.e. Spend $70 and save $15) that will still work.

Why Now?

After doing some digging I found out that GoDaddy is preparing for an IPO. For those that don’t know Wall Street lingo, an IPO stands for Initial Public Offering, and it’s when a company starts selling shares on the Stock Exchange. If you are part owner of a company before it goes public, you tend to make a massive load of money very quickly.

But what makes you attractive to investors? Cash. Lots and lots of cash. GoDaddy seems to be cancelling renewal codes because it thinks that it is hurting profits. Is the money they lose on renewal coupons more than what they would lose in customers leaving? It’s difficult to say.

It also means that these renewal codes aren’t going to be coming back anytime soon. Once a company goes public, it’s not about the customers anymore. It’s all about shareholder value.

Overall, this is too bad.

End of an era. No other domain registrar we know of offers the kind of promo codes that GoDaddy did. If only someone else could take up that void?