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<TITLE>Re: [registrars] Regarding transition to market forces</TITLE>
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<DIV id=idOWAReplyText5922 dir=ltr>
<DIV dir=ltr><FONT face=Arial color=#000000 size=2><FONT
color=#0000ff>Folks</FONT>,</FONT></DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: navy; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">Discussion of pricing
among competitors, even in the most general terms, makes me very uncomfortable.
We have never done so and it is not an appropriate topic for this forum. I
don’t mean to sound stodgy, but I spent a lot of years as an antitrust lawyer
and I guess I am just sensitive to the subject. </SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: navy; FONT-FAMILY: Arial"></SPAN></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: navy; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">On the other hand,
discussing the costs being imposed upon us and thereby on the consuming public
by monopolists with the consent of and under a monopoly granted both directly
and indirectly by a Department of the United States Government, and in
addition by monopolies that remain subject to the oversight of that
Department, is not only appropriate, but is our obligation to consumers and the
right of every citizen of this country. </SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: navy; FONT-FAMILY: Arial"></SPAN></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr><FONT face=Arial color=#000080 size=2>So with all respect, I urge
that we limit our comments on economics to the unjustified increases in registry
fees orchestrated by these two monopolist acting in concert. Thanks,
Champ</FONT><BR></DIV>
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<DIV dir=ltr><FONT face=Tahoma size=2><B>From:</B>
owner-registrars@gnso.icann.org on behalf of Tom C<BR><B>Sent:</B> Thu
11/24/2005 10:48 AM<BR><B>To:</B> John Berryhill<BR><B>Cc:</B>
registrars@gnso.icann.org<BR><B>Subject:</B> Re: [registrars] Regarding
transition to market forces<BR></FONT><BR></DIV></DIV>
<DIV>
<P><FONT size=2>My question is, at what point do we stop allowing market forces
to<BR>continue driving prices down? Let's be honest, consumers are
not<BR>demanding lower prices. It is Registrars, and web hosts, who
have made<BR>the decision to compete on price, rather than on service. With
current<BR>prices at $1.99, $2.99, $5.99 and $6.49, I believe we are doing far
more<BR>damage to our industry with lower pricing than with
higher.<BR><BR>Market forces do not always lead to lower prices. The auto
industry,<BR>home prices, gas prices, real estate and coffee are just a
few<BR>examples. My grande double shot, extra hot, vanilla latte at
Starbucks<BR>cost more this morning than a domain name at some Registrars, and
it<BR>wasn't good for a year.<BR><BR>-Tom<BR><BR>John Berryhill
wrote:<BR><BR>>>I am not aware of market forces leading to an
increase. I certainly<BR>>>haven't seen that amongst registrars
where market forces do
apply.<BR>>> <BR>>><BR>><BR>>...which, Bruce,
is precisely what is stated in the Q&A 1.4: "Prices have<BR>>dropped from
US$50 per year for a .COM domain name to as low as under US$10<BR>>since
ICANN introduced registry and registrar competition in
1999"<BR>><BR>>Uhmmm, gee, so in the competitive registrar market, prices
dropped by a<BR>>factor of five, but "market forces" dictate a 7% per year
increase<BR>>henceforth at the registry? And this is despite the fact
that .com is a<BR>>"thin" registry. So here our anonymous ICANNite is
basically saying that<BR>>the registrars maintain more data and provide more
customer service than the<BR>>registry on margins of less than four
dollars.<BR>><BR>>This is not a "Q&A", this is a case study in
dissociative identity disorder.<BR>>One shudders to imagine the childhood
trauma responsible for this<BR>>manifestation, but the author is in need of
professional help before the<BR>>apparent inner tension leads to physical
problems.<BR>><BR>>These are words intended to obfuscate, not
illuminate.<BR>><BR>><BR>><BR>> <BR>><BR><BR></FONT></P></DIV>
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