Re: [ga] The Future of Domain Registry Pricing, if left uncapped

["kidsearch" <kidsearch@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Okay, what is to stop you from adopting a method similar to dot tv?

What about the ability to price hike existing clients who cannot afford to
waste the marketing dollars, time, and effort it took to build traffic to
the website so would have no choice but to pay up or get a new domain name
elsewhere?

I'm not saying you plan to do any of this, but contracts are not usually
written with a "trust us, we won't do you wrong" clause. Usually you do take
the hypothetical into account with contracts. That is pretty much why there
are contracts. So it is entirely appropriate to speculate what could happen
if it is not clarified more.

Chris McElroy aka NameCritic
http://icann.thingsthatjustpissmeoff.com




----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Neuman, Jeff" <Jeff.Neuman@xxxxxxxxxx>
To: "George Kirikos" <gkirikos@xxxxxxxxx>; <ga@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Tuesday, August 08, 2006 2:30 PM
Subject: RE: [ga] The Future of Domain Registry Pricing, if left uncapped


> George,
>
> I think your analogy is not only inapplicable here, but also highly
> inappropriate.
>
> I am not sure if you are making the analogy just to get people excited,
> but the Common Short Code Registry and .BIZ are completely different
> services.  About the only thing in common is that they are called
> "registries."
>
> FYI, NeuStar operates the Common Short Code Registry under an agreement
> with the Cellular Telecommunications and Internet Association ("CTIA").
> NeuStar does not set the price for common short codes (unlike your
> statement below).  That is set by the CTIA.  The money funds not only
> the registry operations, but also a number of key CTIA programs and
> functions.  For more information on that, you can visit
> www.uscommonshortcodes.com.  A copy of the contract between NeuStar and
> the CTIA can also be obtained by looking at the public SEC filings
> (under the stock ticker "NSR").
>
> With respect to .BIZ, while it is true that there are no contractual
> prohibitions in the new draft contracts on raising the pricing for .BIZ
> domain names (other than providing 6 months notice to registrars), we
> also operate in a real-world competitive market, where we are tying our
> best to compete with the .com/.net registry operator that controls 85%
> of the gTLD market and growing. Regardless of what you may believe, the
> reality is that VeriSign controls pricing for the entire industry.
>
> Although you insinuate that we could raise prices, do you honestly
> believe that we could really get away with raising prices and not suffer
> a huge loss in the demand for our services?  We operate in a real
> economic market and not in a theoretical hypothetical world.  In other
> words, do you really think .BIZ could get away with raising prices above
> that for a .com domain name and survive?  We do not.  We believe that if
> we were to raise prices without a corresponding increase in .com prices,
> registrants would switch from .BIZ to .com or .net in a heartbeat.
>
> I hope that sets some further context for the discussion as we move
> forward.
>
>
> Jeffrey J. Neuman, Esq.
> Sr. Director, Law, Advanced Services  & Business Development
>
> NeuStar, Inc.
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: owner-ga@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:owner-ga@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf
> Of George Kirikos
> Sent: Tuesday, August 08, 2006 11:46 AM
> To: ga@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> Subject: [ga] The Future of Domain Registry Pricing, if left uncapped
>
> Hi folks,
>
> If you want to get a sense of where domain name wholesale costs might
> be heading if Neustar, Verisign et al are able to charge whatever they
> want, we need only look at the pricing for Common Short Codes, today,
> which Neustar runs:
>
> http://www.usshortcodes.com/
> http://www.usshortcodes.com/csc_obtain_a_csc.html
>
> "Registering and leasing a CSC costs $1,000 per month for each
> "Selected CSC" and $500 per month for each "Random CSC." THESE FEES ARE
> NON-REFUNDABLE REGARDLESS OF WHETHER ANY WIRELESS CARRIER AGREES TO
> ACTIVATE YOUR CSC. The Registry must receive payment in full for the
> duration of the registration at the time your application is approved.
> We offer Registration Terms of 3 months, 6 months and one year. Because
> fees are due up front, if you register a Selected CSC for three months
> the cost is $3000.00, and Random CSC for three months is $1500.00."
>
> Of course, we also have the example of .tv, http://www.tv/ where some
> names are six-figures+ per year as .tv. Naturally, .com names would be
> priced at a huge premium to any equivalent .tv.
>
> Sincerely,
>
> George Kirikos
> http://www.kirikos.com/
>
>
>
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