Excuse me for being my usual sceptical self, but I think you're in dreamland
in respect of your contention that lower prices will create a demand.

The only market sector for which domain names are important is the domain
name industry itself.  Out there in the real world, domain names are
peripheral to other services, without which domain names are irrelevant.

To trot out an analogy I occasionally use - what business would you invest
in - selling new cars (products & services) or selling number plates (domain
names)?  Nobody buys a number plate in anticipation of buying a car ... and
I'll bet that car buyers neither know nor care about the price of number
plates.

Getting a domain name is not a driver for individuals or businesses.  Having
a service to which a domain name is attached is.

Sure, you'll get some mileage from advertising the nebulous benefits of
having a domain name for its own sake, but that's a short-term market that
will quickly saturate.  And then what?  Another TLD?

The real value for the registrar is the database that results, and only then
if it can be used as market intelligence for non-domain name services.

Ron Stark
Business Park Pty Ltd
mail: ronstark§businesspark.com.au
phone: +61 (0)3 9521 0649   fax: +61 (0)3 9521 0485
mob: +61 (0)41 812 9922



From: Patrick Corliss [mailto:patrick§quad.net.au]
Sent: Sunday, 9 June 2002 7:58 AM
To: Marty Drill - Nexsta
Cc: [dns]
Subject: Re: [DNS] registrars and resellers


On Sat, 8 Jun 2002 13:27:10 +1000, Marty Drill  - Nexsta wrote:

> Your assertion that there is not a lot of money in selling domain names
> in Australia is correct. With 10 players in the market, the competition
> will be high and the margins low.  With roughly 250,000 .com.au names
> registered at the moment and a total of up to 50,000 other au names;
> conservatively you may suggest the numbers don't add up.

Congratulations on being appointed a provisionally accredited registrar.  I
wish you well in the new environment :)

In relation to your first point, AusRegistry has already declared that they
will market domain names across the board fairly vigorously to assist
registrars.  It is very unlikely, imo, that the total numbers will stay low.
It would be reasonable, in my view, to expect at least a couple of million
domain names in a population of nearly 20 million people and an untold
number
of corporations, charities and other entities.

At present, many smaller organisations simply use their own ISP's services
or,
sometimes, a cheap global domain name.  I'd say with a lower price the
market
share in Australia will grow considerably.  One growth area is that of
personal domain names.

The current price of A$140 for com.au and net.au is way too high, especially
if you have to register a business name first, and I'd expect the new regime
to start with a price of $99 including GST and go lower as the competition
bites deeper.

Of course, that's my own personal view.

Best of luck !!

Regards
Patrick Corliss
_________________________________________________________
I'm on the Board of auDA (the .au country code).  Anything I write is my
own personal opinion and does not necessarily reflect the views of any body
with which I am associated.  Please also note IANAL (I Am Not A Lawyer).



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