if you are really worried about your domain name beign protected and getting good support @ the same time, i recommend register.com. they cost a little more but i found that i do sleep better at night using them. i have used godaddy and they are horrible. i called godaddy over the weekend to resolve an issue and the support person, sounding like he didnt even want to be on the phone. was highly offended by this. i dont think they care about their customers. i believe register.com has buld registration for better pricing.
It just took me three months to transfer a domain I owned to 1and1. Besides the fact that I wasn't getting the transfer request emails, when I finally got the email and clicked it only three hours after receiving it, I had to agree to 1and1's draconian Terms and Conditions!! Let me remind you, I was transferring a domain name TO 1and1 and I had to agree to their terms! Finally, when I finished the process, 1and1 kicked out an error that the domain transfer key had expired - after only thee hours. People have been getting ripped off by these little domain name places. My brother, a total novice on the net, tried to register a domain name with Instra, a domain name that Instra's whois claimed was available. One week later, Instra notifies him that the domain name was already taken - along with his money. They told him he could register another domain name, but that they would not refund. If you are looking for cheap, you are looking for headaches. I only use Godaddy.com. It's not the cheapest, but they are inexpensive. The best part is that their web control panel is fully featured and easy to use. Changes are fast and simple. Tech support with anyone, whether it's software, hardware, or domain registration, is always a crap shoot, but with GoDaddy I get someone knowlegable 80% of the time - that's better than most. Stay away from 1and1, Melbourne IT, Verisign, and Instra. GoDaddy is the best IMO, and Yahoo is supposed to be very good. In any case, always read the full TOS before you decide to use a domain registrar.
I bought quite a few from Yahoo at $2.99 each. That was when they advertized it last year in September or October. You only suppose to have only one at that price which I did not realize, but the system let me buy them in any case. They changed it afterwards. Two of my domains, however, are lost. They are still registered in my name when I do a whois but do not show in the Yahoo control panel. If you buying fifty domains I would not use them-they will in any case charge you for more.