I can't imagine there is that much different between different registrars, but there are so many, and I want a good deal.

Can anyone make some recommendations? I saw one website recommend GoDaddy and 1&1 (1&1 seems really cheap!), but are there any hidden costs to look out for? When I got jibbsmart.com I was young and naive, and I reckon I got ripped off at $28 name renewal + $34 DNS hosting per year

Should I get DNS hosting through whichever registrar I choose, or is there a better way? What on earth is the difference between DNS hosts?

And am I pretty-much stuck with my current registrar/DNS host for jibbsmart.com?

Jibb

EDIT: While we're at it, what are good shared-hosting solutions? I spent ages looking through reviews and finding them incredibly inconsistent -- many seem to be motivated by their affiliate programs rather than actual reviewing.

I use 1&1 for my domain, and I can assure you that there are no hidden costs. And it's pretty cheap, so I can recommend it.

We used Godaddy. They had great customer service and good prices. There are also lots of promo codes and things to get better deals
http://revision3.com/deals_hosting

using acknexturk.com on godaddy for many years now for hosting and domain registry, did not have any problems.

for domains it's around $11, but there are a truckload of coupon codes around the internet that reduces it to around $7.69, most works for renewals too, so it's pretty much $7.69/year for domain.

for the hosting part, i guess it's not the cheapest one on the internet but as i said, never had problems with it. Note that godaddy does not use cpanel, they have their own panels. Their panels are very good to0 - only it's something new to learn if you are a cpanel guy. (They also have documentation for every link and button on the panel). Cheapest shared hosting solution is 10gb, unlimited bandwidth, 10 x 1gb mysql databases, 100 email. For emails i use google apps and gmail(but with @acknexturk.com) not the default godaddy mail, so i do not know how good it is.

and according to ICANN, your registrar have to transfer your domain on your request ANYTIME. Transferring to go daddy is $7.49 it also covers a +1 year extension so when you transfer your domain for 7.49 you get your remaining time plus additional year.

You can check download/respond speed of the shared hosting here
http://www.acknexturk.com/blender/ <---(big files)
http://www.acknexturk.com/forum/ <---(regular forum)
http://www.quadraxas.com <---(wordpress)

Wow, that's extremely helpful. Thanks everyone. I want to start by transferring jibbsmart.com to GoDaddy -- I'm in the process thereof right now. It's asking if I want to:
1. Keep the existing nameservers on my transferring domain names as currently set at my domain registrar.
OR
2. Change my transferring domain names to GoDaddy.com park nameservers.

Is this referring to DNS hosting? In which case, surely I do want to, because my old host (AustDomains) is charging me $34 a year for that. I really have no idea what I'm doing, in case you can't tell

Jibb

Web hosting and DNS hosting are different things.

First, are you sure you are referring to your DNS hosting or the hosting that is your webspace?

If it is "DNS hosting" for sure, it is a total rip off, DNS hosting is included in that 7.45 on godaddy and most other registrars.

for web hosting on godaddy it's about $4/month (makes $48/year) for WEB hosting.(and again there are coupons that will save you about 25%.)
That makes your total(including everything) expenses on having an internet site about $50/year.

for choosing options,
again if you are sure it's DNS hosting, do not wait another second, park on Godaddy.

Also if you get your web hosting from godaddy, it will automatically set up your domain for you since you already have that domain on your account.

100% sure. Jibbsmart.com doesn't use paid hosting -- it's just a googlesites website. And in my inbox each year I get a "DNS Hosting Renewal Notice" separately from a "jibbsmart.com Renewal Notice", so I know I haven't accidentally paid for a webspace hosting service.

I'll leave jibbsmart.com's hosting as-is, but I do plan on another website soon that will hopefully generate some more traffic, so I'll probably get that hosted on GoDaddy.

I'll be on GoDaddy as soon as my money gets into my paypal

Thanks so much for the help

Jibb

EDIT: Okay, I've begun the transfer processs to GoDaddy.com, but that will take a while. I've also registered karboom.net with them (karboom.com goes to Suzuki of Wichita ), and started hosting with them, so in the next few days I'll get that set up, time permitting.

Thanks to everyone for the suggestions, especially Quad

those renewal notices often are scams. i get them per snail mail once a year from some obscure us address but my domains get handled by my webhoster.

The timing's right, and I've always completed the renewals at AustDomains.com.au. Also, I remember having to sign up for them right near the beginning. So I think they're legit, and just a complete rip-off. It appears quite a few similar Australian services are quite expensive.

Jibb

Yes, they are legit, the prices are also listed on their site.

@Jibb, if you need any help with godaddy, i can help as much as i can.