Enom To Lose Market Share?

[clemzonguy]

Well foks ENOM has been great for those of us with ETP accounts over the last 2-4 yrs with $6.95 registrations but the time has come to count our pennies now that we are holding on to domains for the long run. No only do we have an ICANN fee on the horizon (which some registrars like GoDaddy are currently charging) but we have the burden of credit card fees (3% with Enom). If you refill $100 at ENOM that's the price of a Latte ($3). If you refilled with $500 that's ($15). Sure you could mail in a check but who has time these days. I am tempted at times to simply use my Paypal Mastercard just to get 1% of that money back. So now that registrars like DnForum ($6.85) and Fabulous ($6.75) are dropping prices and many others allowing for $6 or less transfers it would seem that we are moving further away from registrars being in the business of making much profit in the renewal arena. The more names a registrar can coax to come to their registrar the higher the chances the person will drop a name and thus they will be able to auction it off following the snapnames model (which will be the only viable option soon). I am testing out some $6 transfers to a registrar that will remain nameless. If I were to keep these at Enom I would be paying $6.95 + .21 (3%) or almost $7.15. So basically by transferring names for at least one year I am saving over $1.15 per name. Which means if you transfer over 100 names you will save $115!. I own at least 1500 names which means that I would save $1725 over the course of a year if i transferred just that amount over time. I am also less likely to spend as much with real money (credit/bank card) than I would with "enom money" which is gone the minute you refill and hard to keep a real time tally on. In addition to transferring names I will be registering new domains cheaper at their registrar which positions them better for long term growth in this highly competitive market (I have registered at least 10 in the last week). Sure there are security issues at hand and support issues all of which need to be considered when choosing a registrar. I would say overall I would be more tempted to transfer all $1K+ valuable domains to one secure registrar paying a little extra and sending my other ones to the cheapest registrar with transfers at least for one year (they very well may keep my business). I think in the next year we will see companies taking no profits like Godaddy/Yahoo with the hopes of selling other services or building long term revenue. Enom in the meantime makes it very hard for users to even obtain $6.95 pricing and even now this price isn't seeming very competitive anymore. With DnForum now in the game and with so many of us intertwined it would seem logical that Enom only stands to lose market share in the long run.

Your comments are welcome. :evil:

 

[gariben]

eNom, GoDaddy existed for years offering $8.95 or lower YET most registrars keep charging $15 or more and are getting lots of new customers

DNForum entering the domain registration won't even make a dent. Even Yahoo offering $4.95 domain registration is not making any noises.

 

[darrenl]

You dont always look at the price of the domains--but the quality of the registrar and how easy their navigation is.

 

[EM @MAJ.com]

You dont always look at the price of the domains--but the quality of the registrar and how easy their navigation is.

They are so many new registrar that tried to offer low registration fee per domain but failed and not stayed in the business because of lack of experience, infrastructure, support, private label, etc. These are the basic factors that we (reseller) look for. DNForum just new in this field and they have something to prove ... I know godaddy and enom are stable registrars. Only time can tell. ..

Cheers,
Em

 

[actnow]

I prefer dealing with honest registrars. I have had enough bad experiences with unethical registrars that the few pennies that I might save could not make up for the dollars I have lost.

Not to sound patronizing, I think Adam will operate a legitimate registrar.
And, I'm sure he will offer a valuable service to most of the DNF members.

However, I don't see Enom losing market share. Yes, the 3% fee is a profit center
for Enom. But, anyone with many domains can not have a few here and few there.
They need to be consolidated with a safe and convenient registrar.

Clem, as for having that cheap $ 6.00 transfer sounds ok until you try to
move again. And, then, you will find yourself trapped within the maze of
sudden changes in authorization codes. Or, internally locked domains eventhough
it says that they are unlocked. Or, the registrars that require direct communication
to unlock the domain.

I hope it is not with Directi.

 

[diverge]

First of all, 3% is not a "profit center", it is to offset the added cost of credit card processing, which runs about 2.25% + $0.25 for most merchant accounts nowadays (or 3% flat for PayPal).

Secondly, you forget the added profitability and managibility of eNom's reseller interface. Once established, most resellers will not move their domains, because doing so would forfeit the continued profit from their subaccounts. While they could, conceivably, move their personal domains separately, keeping everything in one interface is an increasingly valuable incentive. Add to that the ease of functionality of eNom's Registry Rocket, PDQ and API, and private-labeling, and you beat WWD hands-down.

Thirdly, eNom does so much right, I find it hard to believe that anyone can take their market share just yet. Their integrated DNS (at no add'l cost), perpetual cart, and ease of check-out (one-click versus 20-clicks) puts them head-and-shoulders above GoDaddy -- without even touching price.

P.S. I have my BillPay system set to automatically send $100 checks to eNom at regular intervals to avoid the 3% fee, which also helps me budget my spending.

 

[actnow]

First of all, 3% is not a "profit center", it is to offset the added cost of credit card processing, which runs about 2.25% + $0.25 for most merchant accounts nowadays (or 3% flat for PayPal).
.

Considering the amount of solid, continuous credit card business Enom must generate.
I'm sure they have negotiated a far better deal than 2.25% + $.25.

As for your other points, you are 100% correct.

 

[theparrot]

Thirdly, eNom does so much right, I find it hard to believe that anyone can take their market share just yet. Their integrated DNS (at no add'l cost), perpetual cart, and ease of check-out (one-click versus 20-clicks) puts them head-and-shoulders above GoDaddy -- without even touching price.

enom is now up to two click ordering it seems, and has also dropped phone support as a listed feature.

Considering the amount of solid, continuous credit card business Enom must generate.
I'm sure they have negotiated a far better deal than 2.25% + $.25.

As for your other points, you are 100% correct.

yeah, probably, but we also don't know what the loses are they suffer due to chargebacks are.

 

[peekaboo]

enom is a (shit) registrar that charges a $100 minimum for a 'refill'!!

 

[stuff]

enom is a (shit) registrar that charges a $100 minimum for a 'refill'!!

And whats worng with that?
You can always have retail account.

 

[EM @MAJ.com]

enom is a (shit) registrar that charges a $100 minimum for a 'refill'!!

I just don't get it. If you are a businessman and you know the value of service offering they provide to you. I guess the minimum is for a refill is justifiable.

My 2cents.

Em

 

[peekaboo]

in today's business/marketing world where the customer has 'all the power' -- to be held for a ransom in such a sleazy and calculated way (having to part with at least $100 even if i just want to reg one name) is not 'justifiable' to say the least.

anyway, i made my choice (one less sucker under the spell of their 'business formula'.)

 

[stuff]

in today's business/marketing world where the customer has 'all the power' -- to be held for a ransom in such a sleazy and calculated way (having to part with at least $100 even if i just want to reg one name) is not 'justifiable' to say the least.

anyway, i made my choice (one less sucker under the spell of their 'business formula'.)

If You want to register one domain, then use retail account.

 

[peekaboo]

If You want to register one domain, then use retail account.

u don't get it do u? it's not about one domain, it's about one choice.

i have already paid a steep entry fee for the "wholesale" account, and i don't see the reason to keep paying in perpetuity just so that i can keep the "privilege" which i already paid for.

 

[actnow]

There is a business strategy established almost 20 yrs ago, now used by most of the
major companies called "80/20 rule".

It basically means that 80% of the business is done with 20% of their customers.

They also noticed that the business conducted with the bottom 1/3 of their customers
(by volume) was unprofitable. But, some are willing to accept that hoping that you
become a bigger customer.

In realty, Enom is probably losing money with your account.

And, Enom's largest customers are basically supplementing Enom for the smallest customers.

And, that is why you have all of the bells and whistles with your Enom acct.

Do you really think they could economically afford to supply you with the addon values
for the $ 0.95 they make per domain? And, if you only have 10 or 20 domains with them. They are losing a lot of money with your acct..

Why? It cost them for servers, administration, programming, insurance, lawyers,
accountants and yearly Icann fees.

Plus, if you contact their customer service, their cost for maintaining
your acct just went thru the basement.

 

[diverge]

u don't get it do u? it's not about one domain, it's about one choice.

i have already paid a steep entry fee for the "wholesale" account, and i don't see the reason to keep paying in perpetuity just so that i can keep the "privilege" which i already paid for.

I don't get it either, sorry. Are you complaining about the price? Or customer service? Or having to pay $100 to refill your account? If you want to pay just the cost of one domain, create a retail account under yours and pay by the domain (at a higher price, but you'll get most of it back in commissions 90 days from now). Plus there are no recurring fees, so I'm not clear why you are so upset at eNom...

 

[Auction]

We have recently purchased two established Enom ETP accounts. Business is very strong, better than expected. We look forward to continued growth.