Leasing a Domain Name

The first time I leased a domain name back in 2005, I have no idea on where to lease a domain name. So what I’ve done is to use my favorite internet tool, Google Search. Results were overwhelming after a single search. During that time, I managed to lease a cheap domain for educational purposes. After leasing the domain name for 1 year, I forgot to renew it. Few months or so, I decided to lease back the domain name. I tried to add balance to my account to have the domain name reinstated.

So this is what happened, after finishing the transaction to add balance to my account, using Paypal, the registrar’s website showed an error and no balance was credited to my account and it means that I am unable to renew the domain. No reply was received after I contacted the technical support. I gave up and fortunately, Paypal refunded the money I deposited to this registrar after telling them what happened.

These are the things that I am checking before leasing a domain name to a specific registrar:

1. Responsive customer support.
2. Free value added services.
3. Accepts Paypal payments.
4. ICANN Accredited Registrar. (Optional as long as the customer support is great.)

Just take note that not all ICANN Accredited Registrar have great service. I don’t know the difference between those accredited and non accredited registrars. Is there any advantages for the domain owner?