You're describing the use of domain registration as a loss leader, which is
certainly a viable business model. You could (and many do) consider the
"cost" of the domain registration as a marketing cost, and it may be very
competitive indeed.
The point that was being made, I believe, is that Domain Registration IN AND
OF ITSELF isn't likely to be a viable business plan for small players, and
certainly not if the business plan is to succeed as a Registrar solely based
on price. In the example you describe below, you're competing (financially)
based on the added value you bring to the table in terms of other services.
Essentially, you're saying "Hey, look at all the cool stuff we can do for
you on the web. And the starting point for all of this is a domain
registration. We're going to make it cheaper than anyone to take that first
step. Don't you want to come along with us?" Perfectly valid.
BUT, if your ONLY BUSINESS is domain name registration, and you expect to
turn a profit on that line of business alone, then forget Christmas. You
can't possibly sell every domain at a loss but make it up in volume. It
simply doesn't compute. Can you sell every domain at a loss and make it up
in other services? By all means, and my guess is that many successful
companies will do just that.
Regards,
Eric Longman
Atl-Connect Internet Services
+-------------------------------------------------------+
| Atl-Connect Internet Services http://www.atlcon.net |
| 3600 Dallas Hwy Ste 230-288 770 590-0888 |
| Marietta, GA 30064-1685 [EMAIL PROTECTED] |
+-------------------------------------------------------+
----- Original Message -----
From: "Amit Mehta -- Information account" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: "Bruno Carlos" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>; <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Sent: Wednesday, September 13, 2000 11:14 AM
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Open SRS is not competitive!
Let me try to explain!!
What is the cost of reaching to people who have already invested trust in
you or know you by your quality of services ?
How about giving somebody a brouchure that not only talks but even
practically shows your quality of services?
What is the cost of driving big InternetSavvy traffic to your site?
-- If try to think on above terms then you'll find that selling domains
below than the cost is also very much viable.
Let's say buying domain from opensrs cost me $10. Also additional services
cost me about $2 per url (quite high ;-). And assume that I'm selling this
at $7.
Does that always mean I'm loosing $5 on every client. NO.
In fact I'm investing that $5 for my long term client relationship. This
amount can easily be recovered when
-- he buys any further services from me (chances are very high that he'll
prefer me only as he has already invested trust in me)
-- now no more corporate brochure or marketing presentation required.
Instead he'll come to my office or at my website to understand & buy further
services. Big saving of Marketing cost
-- He'll be driving lot of other people who booked their domains from
somebody else on very high prices and also influence their further buying
decisions
I believe above are big benefits for a small investment of US$ 5.00 !!
That's it.
Yes, for achieveing you need to have sufficent resources and skills. But
that's the business all about.
And the point is don't sell anything on high prices where you're not adding
real value. Be competative worlwide. This what I'm trying to convince Mr.
Patrick Greenwell. Hope one day he'll understand this and take his words
(about crappy services) back.
Hope this helps.
Regards,
Amit Mehta
www.planetace.com
www.acesoftex.com
Linking web, people & ideas
----- Original Message -----
From: Bruno Carlos <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Sent: Wednesday, September 13, 2000 10:20 AM
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Open SRS is not competitive!
I thought this thread was over... but hey,
I just wonder how a company can give a good service selling you domains dor
$6.95/year including setup of dns, mail redirection, url redirect. Imagine
the service not now but in one year when their servers will be full of
requests for mail redirection.
Bruno Carlos
