[registrars] NSI marketing practices

[Robert F. Connelly]

Dear Kurt:

During the teleconf just completed, I mentioned predatory marketing 
practices by registrars.  I believe that predatory marketing practices -- 
including providing services for free -- are anti-trust issues in the U.S.

Just for starters, the attached is an offer which my late wife received 
from NSI.  It offers 1,000 frequent flier miles if she would transfer her 
domain "japan-dolls.com" from PSI-Japan to NSI.

The rule of thumb in the industry is (or was) that frequent flier miles are 
worth US$0.02 each.  Thus the offer of 1,000 miles is equivalent to a US$20 
"subsidy" for transferring domains, with a cost to NSI of US$6.00 plus 
ICANN fees.

At that particular time, NSI was totally held by Verisign, making it even 
worse.  There would have been no net registration fee from the registry to 
the registrar as they were one and the same corporate entity -- two pockets 
in the same pair of britches;-(

This small business registrar (and I suspect others) finds the practice 
reprehensible.

Cordially, BobC, speaking for PSI-Japan, Inc.
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