Hi Vic,
an interesting chat...   i am curious as to your role...

firstly, let me begin with the end and say I am **NOT**  saying that
resellers should be shielded from competition. for you to say this seriously
misses the point of the discussion.  But the competition should not come
from the registrar whose services the reseller is reselling.  Enetica should
not be competitng head-on with Enetica's own resellers - especially to a
registrant who was introduced to the registrar by that very reseller.  if
that is what is what auDA is encouraging thru its policies then it not only
sux, but it is evil. and in need of change.

please read on, there's more...

----- Original Message -----
From: "Deus Ex Machina" <vicc&#167;cia.com.au>
> Enetica will not contact a resellers customer unless required by AUDA. our
systems
> flags internal and external customers and handles them differently.
>

secondly, it seems you have some rel'ship with Enetica. i did not know
that - but then, how could I as you don't seem to disclose it very openly.
What is your position with them?


> AUda contractually requires a registrar to have a direct contract with a
registrant,
> its not the registrars choice. some can pretend they dont have a contract
with the end
> registrant and that they will never contact a registrant but the reality
is different.
>

in that case, i am very curious as to auDA's rationale for imposing such a
silly system.  it may be that resellers go out of business - in which case i
think it is absolutley fair enough that registrars can go direct.  but I
can't see any other oaccasion when it should be allowed.

 If a reseller chooses to use another registrar, then so be it. that still
does not (or should not) give the initial registrar any grounds to contact
the registrant direct. and besides, the domain is now re-registered for
another x years.


> Explorer try and pretend the only business they are in is domains but
perhaps you should ask
> them what other businesses are they actually in, you might be in for a
shock. also ask
> them how many domains they register each month and factor in the $3000
AUDA annual fee
> and do the sums. is it possible to be stand alone business on that
margin/turnover?
>

I admit, this did cross our minds.

> Under the current system, a reseller ideally must provide some value for
there part of the
> chain. and because of the structure imposed by AUda that value can not be
solely choosing
> the registrar.  more to the point it can not be based on hiding the
relationship to the
> registrar. Every reseller must be able to answer the following question.
what value do I provide my customers
> such that I can justify charging what I do compared to what the registrars
charge the public.
> if you can answer that then you probably have a business model that will
have legs. if you cant
> answer that given the transparency enforced by auda then you really need
to rethink
> your business model.
>

The value that the reseller brings is the rel'ship with the end-user client.
usually providing a suite of web services and far more than just registering
and hosting a domain.  In fact, i would suggest that the value-add in the
foood chain which should be seriously questioned is that of the registrar,
not the reseller.  Let's face it, the registrar queries and adds to a
database using some automated scripts. The reseller has (generally) had to
meet with the client, work thru their needs, strategy, build sites, host
sites etc and part of that might have been the registering of one or more
domain names. Having the domain name is crucial - but the process of
registering it is (and should be) pretty simple. (pls don't kid yourself or
us that it is a really complex feat of technological engineering.)

> and this issue isnt just in domains, cisco sell direct and have a big
channel. numerous large
> business are grapling with the notion of chanels and direct sales.
tupperware of all businesses
> went through a lot of soul searching trying our various things to work out
how to marry direct
> sales with a large channel. the global trend is clear, resellers shouldnt
be shielded from
> competition by a lack of transparency. resellers need to justify what
value they brng to the table
> just as any business does.

I am **NOT**  saying that resellers should be shielded from competition. for
you to say this seriously misses the point of the discussion.  But the
competition should not come from the registrar whose services the reseller
is reselling.  Enetica should not be competitng head-on with Enetica's own
resellers - especially to a registrant who was introduced to the registrar
by that very reseller.  if that is what is what auDA is encouraging thru its
policies then it not only sux, but it is evil. and in need of change.

>
> having said all that fell free contact me offlist if you want to discuss
what we think resellers
> should be doing to boost business and profitability.
>
> Vic
>
>

thanks.

richard keeves

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