Mark Jeftovic writes that "many of the resellers on this list have the technical expertise in-house to do exactly what Snapnames is doing but are limited only by their ability to get a socket during the crucial times." The first part of this statement -- on the resellers' capability -- is undoubtedly true. The second part is where SnapNames comes in. A single registrar is not going to be able to give resellers enough connections to the Registry to make a difference. Moreover, VeriSign has informed me that it is a violation of the Registry-Registrar Agreement for registrars to cede control over their connections to third parties, such as speculators and other scripters. SnapNames' licensing of its technology to numerous registrar partners solves both of these problems at once. It's unclear what is "vapourware" about a back-ordering service that has been operating for 9 months with 250% revenue gains each month. Mr. Jeftovic writes that most names will renew and thus there is no opportunity to back-order. The statistics do not bear this out. Over 700,000 names expire every month. Renewal rates are a lowly 56%. The other 44% of names will delete. There are therefore plenty of names to back-order, and our customers have an unerring ability to avoid back-ordering names attached to live websites. Also, we do not "collect money" on services we do not provide; if we fail to get a name for any reason, the subscriber can transfer the subscription to a new name free of charge. And all the while, we are still providing both monitoring services on that name and the best chance in the industry of getting the name. Customers agree there is value here, and they pay us for it. Cameron Powell VP of Business Development and General Counsel SnapNames 115 NW First Avenue Suite 300 Portland, OR 97209 (503) 219-9990 x229 (503) 274-9749 fax [EMAIL PROTECTED] Connecting Registrars and their Customers to the Secondary Market in Domain Names
