Not likely! What I (we) would ALL be interested in is for ALL registrars to return
domains
to availability 40 days after expiration like they are "supposed" to do currently.
Then, there
would be no need for a service of dubious value like SnapNames.
If I were to partner with SnapNames or a similar operation, I could do that directly,
without
the added expense of Tucow as an intermediary.
The major problem with many of the Tucows ancillary offerings is that the reseller
gets an
extremely small percentage of the sale. I
Oscar Petoskey
RocketNet
*********** REPLY SEPARATOR ***********
On 8/28/2001 at 9:52 AM Mason Cole wrote:
>Dear TUCOWS Reseller:
>
>Several substantive conversations with TUCOWS' Elliot Noss and Tim Denton,
>specifically about the changing nature of registration services demand,
>have
>developed into working ideas about what SnapNames can bring to registrars
>and their resellers to increase conversion rates. TUCOWS has asked us to
>forward our thinking and seek your input.
>
>As everyone knows, it's very hard to register a .com name because any
>sensible word or phrase has been taken. New registrations have fallen from
>their all-time high of over 60,000 per day to about 30,000. That's why, on
>average, only 3% of customers who came to register a name actually succeed
>in doing so. To the other 97% of ready-to-buy customers, credit card in
>hand, no sale is made -- everyone is dissatisfied.
>
>Meanwhile, the number of daily deletions has risen from only about 1,000
>per
>day last spring to nearly 30,000 today. What that says is there's just as
>a
>big a market in connecting customers with about-to-expire names as there is
>in registering new names for them. And we've confirmed that customers will
>pay substantially more to get an about-to-expire name. By operating at the
>customer's point of greatest frustration (the failed WHOIS search results),
>SnapNames' partners achieve over 9% conversion (it grows along with
>awareness) on a back-ordering service. Next to the text that says, "Sorry,
>this name is taken," partners can put a link saying, "Back-order it now".
>A
>lot of customers do. Our partners' revenue per clickthrough often exceeds
>US $1 per visitor.
>
>Additionally, SnapNames is the most efficient and scalable solution to the
>problem the Registry is reacting against -- we have great confidence we'll
>be a major part of the long-term solution.
>
>Our question is this: Would you be interested in OpenSRS offering
>SnapNames'
>back-ordering services to you, and, ultimately, to your customers?
>
>Please let us know your thoughts. We'll answer more specific questions as
>they arise and as you wish.
>
>Regards,
>
>Cameron Powell
>Vice President -- Business Development
>
>Mason Cole
>Director of Corporate Marketing
