I have heard negative things about 1&1.
Why is this?
Does anyone here have experience with using 1&1?

I dont see why there would be a problem there, they are quite large.

Also they have a promo now for free .info domains.
Dont know what the catch is though
http://order.1and1.com/xml/order;jse...957449. TC61b

I have one domain with 1and1 and have had no problems with them. They had a pretty nice price a while back and I decided to try it out and see how it was. I still prefer the expedited automation of go-daddy, and we will see how they do through my first renewal, but so far I have had no issues with them at all.

__________________
What is in a NAME?

Everyone has issues everywhere, then they try and tell everyone not to use this certain company.
Dont just base your decisions on one persons bad experiences, try it yourself and see

I would have to agree. There are web sites that list 'the top ten' for everything from domain registration to web hosting, etc. If you are shy about getting slammed by a bad vendor and you don't know who to believe, you can look for these sites to help you (just be sure they are independent and not affiliated with anyone who pays them to get a good rating)

i got a domain from them and lets just say it went wrong and i ended up spending on a lot more money than i thought i would on this domain

It they are established players in the market and have a reputation to save, I don't see a reason to smell rat in it.