Hello ST,
Wednesday, June 13, 2001, 10:52:08 AM, ST wrote:
> Many resellers and registrars alike will be "authorizing"
> the funds to cover any possible registration before
> selection takes place. This puts a hold on the funds. Then,
> once selection takes place, the appropriate funds will be
> "captured" using the Auth code obtained when the
> authorization was done. Here's the problem: I talked to
> Authorize.net, and they say that the period the auths will
> stay valid differs from bank to bank, card to card. They
> said that most banks will keep the funds on hold for two
> weeks. So it would be wise to do the authorizations after
> Sept. 17th at the earliest, which is two weeks before Oct
> 1st.
This is a problem I've been thinking about myself.
I'm thinking my solution is going to be that a warning is given to the
users about the chances of getting domains registered during these
non-first come first served phases, and that we will be collecting the
full registration fee at the time of submission. Included in that
registration fee is a $1.95 fee for the processing of their
submission, which is applied to the registration fee if the
registration is successful. If it is not successful, then the
registration fee, minus the $1.95 processing fee, will be credited
back to them via the credit type transaction. (Or they can have the
entire amount held "on account" to be used for future registrations
and/or renewals without the processing charge penalty being applied)
And then I'll hold the funds in a special account I keep that is used
strictly for funds held in "escrow" (retainers for programming
projects under development, etc).
I can't really see any other way of doing it. The $1.95 will cover
any actual costs of the transaction (both the initial charge and the
credit) without being excessive.
And frankly, if they have an issue with that, I'm more than willing to
suggest they go elsewhere. I'm real hesitant about getting involved
in any non-FCFS process at all.
FWIW, this is the same process we use for transfers.
Failed transfers where the client requests a credit instead of using
the fee to reapply after fixing the problem that caused the failure,
or using the funds for another registration, are done so minus a $1.95
processing fee.
--
Best regards,
William X Walsh
mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Owner, Userfriendly.com
Userfriendly.com Domains
The most advanced domain lookup tool on the net
