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View Full Version : Idea: registrar for domainers - what do you think?



mrt
13-07-12, 04:10 PM
Hello, everybody!

This is my first time posting but I've lurked on AD and (recently) here for a while. My background is mainly web hosting (server side) with an occasional habit of registering domains that mostly sit and gather dust - I'm sure we're all guilty of that to an extent :) Over the past few weeks I've had an idea bubbling around in my head and I'd be interested in feedback to validate whether it'd be worthwhile.

The idea largely stems from AD's Domain Name Registrars (http://www.acorndomains.co.uk/domain-name-registrars.html) forum where there are reasonably frequent complaints about registrars and their various policies and tactics that can, at times, tend to get on domainers' nerves. It seems to me there's space for a registrar aimed at domainers, making .uk domain management easier while also providing tools useful to domainers.

Of course, many serious domainers will already have a tag of their own so such a service may not be as useful, but there are many smaller domainers who can't justify the expense or don't have the technical know-how (or don't want to learn) - and this would hopefully be useful to them. Some ideas that differentiate from a regular consumer-facing registrar include:


No charges for account balance topups where possible (i.e. via BACS/DD or even old fashioned cheques) - cheaper than the 3% or so levied by most registrars requiring pre-funding when paying by card
Fixed fee per reg/renewal rather than per-year margins that add up on multi-year reg/renewals. Somewhere in the region of 30-50p on top of Nominet's cost regardless of the term - competitive pricing at the 1-year mark and almost unbeatable at the 10-year mark
Heavy focus on immediate updates when changes are made to domains or inbound/outbound transfers are made. This is one that aggravates me somewhat, waiting hours and hours for registrar systems to pick up a transfer when it's technically possible to do in seconds; or taking a long time to submit nameserver changes or contact detail updates when, realistically, it can be immediate
No bullshit approach to limits: if Nominet allows it, I can allow it. For example unrenewing a domain or deleting a registration before it's invoiced. There's no need to make you jump through hoops or be refused "because that's policy"
Domainer friendly features like grouping domains with the ability to manage/change things by group, or making bulk actions for tens/hundreds of domains trivial, or domain research facilities (or integrating existing tools, of which there are many!)


I'd expect there to be tens (if not hundreds) of little tweaks that could be implemented to make your workflow easier and use up less of your time. Not catering to end users who may buy a single domain means significant focus can be put on making it usable by domainers and not shy away from having complex features exposed, or spend months going through design/development/QA for simple ideas to be added.

So there's the basics of an idea - what do you folks think? :)

atlas
13-07-12, 04:15 PM
I hate to be negative, but I think it would pretty much be a suicide mission to try to cater to domainers like that. It's a small group of people, your best clients will end up leaving to get their own tag, your profit margins are tight, and any little thing that is perceived to go wrong would be aired in public at acorndomains.

GreyWing
13-07-12, 04:18 PM
Great idea mate and one I have thought about before.... However domainers want you to wipe their arses, sell their names and decide in advance which domains need renewing in there portflio (the ones you don't auto renew and charge for the complain about - the ones you do, they claim they don't want and charged for).

In my opinion 90% of domainers are the biggest moaning group of people who will not lift a finger to help themselves yet complain at the first opportunity. The ones who usually have their tags are the ones who got off their backsides and did something about it and never going to use you because they have their own tags. Hence you are probably going to be left with the whinging mass of leftovers who you will cry foul if you make any kind of decent return above the £5 renewal fee.

They want everything for free, why bother mate? If you do it, aim it at businesses and the public not domainers.

rob
13-07-12, 05:18 PM
Its probably an idea most domainers have had at some point to varying degrees of interest!

As above its been discounted as its a fair bit of faff for not alot of benefit.

I think its a cracking idea and if a collective could fund the development and running costs then even better :)

mrt
13-07-12, 05:28 PM
Excellent feedback, thanks folks :)

It's probably worth me pointing out that I'm well aware it's not something that'd make a lot of money due to the margins - that's not my intention, rather more interested in providing a useful tool for the community as a side project. And of course there's no harm in firing customers who are a PITA, but it's a good point that they could be the rule rather than the exception!

rob, nice to see you reply. I used to IRC with you many years ago if you remember RMH :)

rob
13-07-12, 05:30 PM
Jesus thats a flashback!

I do indeedy... PM me your handle...!!!

GreyWing
13-07-12, 08:49 PM
I think your idea is good but I tried a few things to get domainers to change the way they did stuff, such as a content writing business for domainers etc. Whilst I met and engaged with some really great new contacts, the whole thing was a complete pain in the backside and I wish I never did it.

Looking at back at things other people have done for the industry, Edwin, Rob, James Tuplin, Angie with her parties, Dale with DCE took much more effort to build than anything I did with my site. They have all tried before me and I don't know all their findings from it but I think at least a few times they would have felt like they were hitting their heads against a brick wall.

In doing stuff that doesn't make a return to warrant your efforts, these things tend to be good motivation at first but they quickly wear off. Best thing you can do for the industry mate is concentrate on a business or a site that can be built up and make good money (ongoing - or sell on) and show people what can be achieved.

Best of luck either way though..

aZooZa
15-07-12, 12:58 AM
Domainers generally are a hard bunch and don't part with money for services too readily unless you have something particularly special. DCE was a hard nut to crack and a huge amount of work went into that. We're happy with the returns and now looking for something else to do. I'm going to drop you an email Tom...

Nadya
20-07-12, 06:32 PM
I wonder if you can treat such a service as a side project because domaining is a full-time job for some, and would they trust you with their assets if the project isn't your main focus? While if it is a priority project for you and you go commercial, your margins may be too tight - as the others have pointed out.