I have a few questions / concerns about this:
It seems that in this system the end users deal directly with OpenSRS and
OpenSRS simply pays the reseller a commission. Is this not in direct
competition to the resellers? In other words, how is my storefront going to
compete against all of the other storefronts for all of the other OpenSRS
resellers out there? One of the things that we like about OpenSRS is that
our customers deal with us and they pay us. They know (most of them anyway)
that OpenSRS is the registrar, but they deal with us only and not OpenSRS.
Now that OpenSRS collects the money from the end user, what do they need us
for?
Since it is a "fully hosted" solution, it will reside on OpenSRS's servers
and present the end user with an OpenSRS url. Now we don't look like
full-fledged domain name services companies; we look like divisions of
OpenSRS.
This also makes bundling registration with other services impossible.
And, what about renewals? Will OpenSRS handle all of the invoicing &
collections for those? (Actually, that might be a plus, not a minus. We
could just put all of the deadbeats into the storefront profile and then any
end users who consistently don't pay will no longer be able to cry to us
when their names go offline.)
In short, I do not see any real reason to use this "service". Especially
considering the extra 6%.
Thanks
Brian O'Donnell
Doctor PC
www.doctorpc.ca
----- Original Message -----
From: "Arthur" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: <[email protected]>
Sent: Wednesday, November 19, 2008 10:17 AM
Subject: Re: [domains-gen] A sneak peek at OpenSRS Storefront - a new way to
sell OpenSRS services
Hi Liam
Hi all
Thanks for the new storefront. On a first test run it looks nice and much
more streamlined than anything else OpenSRS is offering. Nice job. I'd be
interested in what plans you have for it in the future.
For our needs a few "musts" are missing for now:
* Internationalization/Localization - Language, default country settings
etc.
* Payment options - We don't compete with the hundreds of others offering
domains with credit card payment, we specifically offer locally used
payment methods for our customers. Some sort of API would be necessary to
allow for the implementation of additional payment methods and
pre-registration reviews for resellers.
* "OpenSRS/RWI - Storefront interchange" - I don't know whether I've
understood it correctly, but it looks to me as if domains registered via
Storefront go into a separate pool compared to those registered via the
API/RWI. For now I think I'd prefer it when those weren't distinct. But if
they are then there needs to be an easy way for moving domains between
those pools.
Thanks and regards
Arthur
Hi there -
Since launching OpenSRS back in 1999, we've offered two ways to sell
domains: a full Application Programming Interface (API) and the
Reseller Web Interface (RWI). Today we're adding a third way - a
ready-made, fully-hosted, easy-to-use storefront. Later on today, we'll
open the doors of the new OpenSRS Storefront to all existing Resellers
so you can have a look around and see how it works.
The new OpenSRS Storefront is a fully-hosted, fully-managed domain name
store that can be deployed in minutes. OpenSRS Storefront represents a
new way of selling OpenSRS services, but also a new approach to selling
domain names. No longer will end-users have to wade through endless and
confusing purchase flows. Instead, our Storefront will provide a
simple, effective domain sales and management experience that will
allow our Resellers to cater to the growing and evolving crowd of
domain name buyers.
We recognize that Storefront is not for everyone. High-volume Resellers
should continue to use the API to integrate with OpenSRS. Similarly,
some Resellers will (and should) choose to continue to manage OpenSRS
services directly through the RWI. But for those Resellers who are
interested in a fully-hosted, easy-to-deploy and manage all-in-one
domain name sales store, the new OpenSRS Storefront represents the best
way to offer domain names and related services to the customers of
today and tomorrow.
In a few hours, current OpenSRS Resellers will be able to log into
the RWI and provision a fully-functional, live Storefront and have a
look around. It's as easy as clicking a link. There is no additional
charge for Storefront, just as there is no charge for API access. Kick
the tires, look around the Storefront Manager, and explore the brand
new customer experience. Please be aware that Storefront is 'live' -
domain registrations and purchases made on your Storefront are real.
OpenSRS Storefront is a work in progress. We're showing it to you now
so you can see what we're building, and have a chance to provide your
feedback. For example, you'll notice that you can only sell a few
different gTLDs right now. By December 1st, 2008, we'll have all gTLDs
and ccTLDs available for sale in Storefront. After that, we'll continue
to enhance and improve the Storefront as we add new OpenSRS services.
Full documentation for OpenSRS Storefront is available at:
http://www.opensrs.com/resources/documentation/
More information, including screencasts showing how to provision a
Storefront, and what a Storefront looks like to your customers, is
available at the OpenSRS Reseller Blog.
Here's a direct link to the post:
http://opensrs.com/blog/2008/11/a-sneak-peek-at-the-new-opensrs-storefront/
Thanks for your continued support of OpenSRS.
Sincerely,
Liam Philley
Director, Storefront
OpenSRS
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