RE: Re[2]: [ga] domain tastinmg comments

["Dominik Filipp" <dominik.filipp@xxxxxxxx>]

Shane,
 
Ask other online businesses how they cope with fraudulent activities and
how they recoup from such activities. Imagine selling software via
Internet by first paying big money by credit card and then by
downloading the software. Very common thing nowadays. In case of
fraudulent payment, even if remedied later, the software is definitely
in hands of fraudster and is in fact stolen. They cannot profit from any
similar feature like AGP.
 
My question therefore is, why should Registrars be given a special
advantage over other online businesses? Especially, when we realize that
a 'stolen' name still remains in possession of Registrar/Registry and,
theoretically, can be restored back to the pool if necessary?
 
Dominik

________________________________

From: owner-ga@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:owner-ga@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf
Of Shane Kinsch
Sent: Tuesday, March 25, 2008 6:21 PM
To: 'Karl Peters - TLDA'
Cc: ga@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: RE: Re[2]: [ga] domain tastinmg comments



Hi Karl -

I'm referring to a broad scale and wide abuse of the AGP.  This
situation is more of an "opportunity" they are exploiting you with and
has nothing to do with tasting domains, unless they actually parked it
and analyzed the traffic/revenue over a 1 year period w/o contact the
.org/.net registrants.  The people (not Registrars, but possibly) that
have engaged in the activity of registering .com versions of your .org
or .net and contacting you see what they're doing as a benefit to the
.org/.net registrant.  More often, and it's almost a guarantee, the
speculator will just register the .com version of a .net/.org and call
it good, park it and making no contact with the other TLD registrants
unless they wanted to flip it.

Overall, the people that pay the $295 "acquisition fee" in my opinion
actually want the .com variant and it possibly was registered previously
when they choose the .net/.org/.tv/.ws/.cc, etc. that is now available.
Keep in mind, there is a minimum backorder fee for NameJet ($65 for
some) and SnapNames ($100 for some) and possibly go to auction at much
higher than $295.

The act of registering the .com to flip it to the registrant of a
.net/.org is not domain tasting.  Domain tasting overall is at a grand
scale, not minor.  It's the major players that have abused this, or I
should say .. found a weakness and exploited it.

Removing the AGP all together without providing for a means where a
Registrar can recoup their expenses from fraudulent activities won't
work and is wrong (double opt-in won't work either).  The gaps need to
be filled and filled with discouraging fines or overhead expenses that
break the abusers business model without distressing legitimate
Registrars.

Shane

 

From: owner-ga@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:owner-ga@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf
Of Karl Peters - TLDA
Sent: Tuesday, March 25, 2008 11:54 AM
To: ga@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx; Shane Kinsch
Cc: jwkckid1@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: Re[2]: [ga] domain tastinmg comments

 

 

> In general, you pay a fine of $2,851,200 just to sample 18,000,000
domain names in a year and keep only the ones that barely pay for
themselves.  Thats not good business sense anyway you look at it.  I
would estimate a much higher drop rate such as 90+%.

>  

> If ICANN would enact a penalty as such, that anything over a nominal
percentage is charged $0.20/drop would take care of this and everyone
else.  The legit registrars are happy and the tasters/kiters will go
away.  Its not feasible for them to keep operating.

 

So you want to talk about numbers and feasibility instead of right and
wrong? OK...

       Let's say a scammer picks up 500 domains under this tasting
policy and sends out solicitations as we have described and discussed to
sell them at $295 per domain for people to "complete" their
registrations of the major TLDs' domains of their name. 

       Let's say that of these five hundred names that are tied up and
unavailable for consumers for a week (perhaps the one time they will try
for that name for some time to come, if they are not sufficiently
skeptical and aware of the effects of tasting), they successfully sell 2
of them, but for less than advertised. 

       Let's say they settle for $500.00 for the two registrations they
sell and then return the other 498 domains at $0.20 each penalty, or
$99.60. This scammer just made a profit of $400.40 for one week of free
e-mails based on improper marketing of unregistered domains and I still
have no example of any corporation who has used this program as it was
intended.

 

-Karl E. Peters