When I entered this business, I expected that I would have to write all
of the scripts, etc. myself. I choose OpenSRS simply because they had
the lowest price, and therefore the highest margin for me. When I found
that they had sample scripts, well that was a bonus, but the choice was
already made, and that didn't affect my decision. If I were to enter
this business today, I might not choose them.
My prices, marketing, etc. are adjusted based on what the competition
is doing. My costs (for domain names) are still the same as they were
on day one: US$10. Domain sales are high for OpenSRS and they have no
incentive to lower prices while they are still doing good business.
Meanwhile, it is us, the RSPs who are taking the hit of the additional
competition in the industry. All I can say to OpenSRS is be careful how
you treat the RSPs. They are the lifeblood of your business. If RSPs
are having trouble attracting customers without taking a loss, and they
know they can offer the same service without the need to take a loss,
they will move. It may take some time for them to get that pissed off
about it, but beware, once the exodus begins, it may not be stoppable.
I hope OpenSRS responds before it is too late.
-Eric
-------------------------------------------------------
arctic bears - the internet - your way.
50000 domain names were reserved today. was yours?
domains from US$25/year, name resolution, mail hosting.
http://www.arcticbears.com
-----Original Message-----
From: "Adrian Cooper" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Date: Fri, 1 Dec 2000 19:56:29 -0000
Subject: Re: Re[2]: $12 and under Domain Registration
>
>----- Original Message -----
>From: "easygoing" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
>Sent: Friday, December 01, 2000 6:42 PM
>
>
>> But that does not do Tucows any good if those people register with
>the
>> company offering the lowest price nor does it do your RSPs any good.
> Both
>> Tucows and your RSPs lose when the public does this.
>
>Yes - exactly so.
>
>>
>> Unfortunately for your argument, some of those that offer lower
>prices also
>> are now offering scripts as good as the ones offered by Tucows for
>domain
>> name management.
>
>Again yes. And lets face it - once scripts have been written, debugged
>and
>deployed, they just run at no overhead to the registrar. It merely
>becomes a
>second weapon in the armoury to the first one - price. Lowest prices,
>and best
>scripts rule - I don't see how that can be disputable.
>
>> But Tucows has tried resting on it's laurels or moving in other
>directions
>> and allowed the competition to catch up and surpass them by offering
>a
>> better price and scripts as good as the ones Tucows utilize.
>
>Again yes - there is only so much value you can add to a domain in
>isolation,
>and that value is in the extent and effectiveness of the scripts which
>control
>customer management and functionality.
>
>>
>> And at least one of them has surpassed Tucows by offering domain
>locking,
>> url redirection and email accounts at a price equal to Tucows for
>small RSPs
>> and a much lower price for those who can deal in volume.
>
>Again - without the above these days - you are up against it
>regardless of
>price. Without the above, an uncompetitive price merely serves to
>further reduce
>your chances of a sale.
>
>>
>> That $2.00 per domain year adds up to a lot of money by year's end,
>which,
>> again in my opinion, is why Tucow does not wish to give it up.
>
>In fact it is $2.00 per domain *every* year if you keep your customer.
>That is
>the real value of any business - recurring income, without which, not
>only does
>your revenue suffer, but so does your net worth.
>
>$2 does not look much on paper - but multiply that by a few thousands,
>tens or
>thousands, hundreds of thousands, and then multiply it by any number
>of years in
>the future - and that is one heck of a lot of money.
>
>Adrian Cooper.
>
