Domain Registration - 2013 state

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#811044 3-May-2013 21:52

michaelmurfy: I use Metaname - it just works, complete with IPv6 Glue and all that fancy stuff. $28.75/yr and good support if you ever need it.

+1 for metaname

Have used domainz, discountdomains, 1stdomain, domains4less in the past, they are all ok but their management websites are awful compared to metaname imo.

JamesCairns

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#811779 5-May-2013 21:54

softhost.co.nz Domain registrations for .nz domains are only $18 per year.

LennonNZ

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#811798 5-May-2013 22:50

softhost themselves are not a Registrar but using another company for Registrations (They are using Aust Domains but softhost will not be paying AU or NZ GST for the Domains)

For selling at $18.00 incl NZ GST.. they can't be making much $$ on them (easy to work out)

and btw.. softhost.co.nz = JaimesCairns as far as I can tell..
and btw.. your Secondary DNS is not working for softhost.net.nz so a lot of people will not be able to see your website and services and maybe your clients domains...

JamesCairns

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#811827 6-May-2013 03:22

LennonNZ: softhost themselves are not a Registrar but using another company for Registrations (They are using Aust Domains but softhost will not be paying AU or NZ GST for the Domains)

For selling at $18.00 incl NZ GST.. they can't be making much $$ on them (easy to work out)

and btw.. softhost.co.nz = JaimesCairns as far as I can tell..
and btw.. your Secondary DNS is not working for softhost.net.nz so a lot of people will not be able to see your website and services and maybe your clients domains...

Regarding your comment yes I do own the site Softhost.co.nz, and as a fact the Domains are under a reseller.

And yes I do not make much (just enough to cover costs from selling Domains) but that is not a problem as the Goal here is to Bring Prices Down to a reasonable and affordable level so that anybody can get a domain without feeling like I am paying too much (which at most other domain registrars you do.)

I only started Softhost.co.nz recently due to my frustrations at having to pay too much for what truthfully costs so much less than should be paid and feel that others should be able to get low costs as well.

However if you want to pay more for a domain I could set up a special price for you :)

Regarding the Secondary DNS being offline this was correct and I was working on it at the time.

However your assumption regarding people not seeing site or services is incorrect as the Primary DNS server is working and only one DNS server is required. However there would be an issue if the Primary DNS server went down as there would be no secondary DNS server. (which should now be working or will be very soon as it was going through an IP change as secondary DNS server was replaced)

mattwnz

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#812167 6-May-2013 17:41

I don't think prices are too high, and often the cheaper they are, the less service and support you will get. eg. Often the higher priced ones come with full DNS control and a good control panel, nz support etc, while the cheaper ones, you may have to pay extra, and put up with overseas call centres.

myfullflavour

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#812191 6-May-2013 18:14

mattwnz: I don't think prices are too high, and often the cheaper they are, the less service and support you will get. eg. Often the higher priced ones come with full DNS control and a good control panel, nz support etc, while the cheaper ones, you may have to pay extra, and put up with overseas call centres.

The price debate should be thrown over to the Domain Name Commission.

IMO $1.25+GST / month is on the high side, but I haven't seen a report of their operating costs.

myfullflavour

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#812193 6-May-2013 18:17

...Especially with 500,000 active domain regos.

500,000 x 1.25 = tidy 7.5mil / year...

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mattwnz

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#812303 6-May-2013 21:02

myfullflavour: ...Especially with 500,000 active domain regos.

500,000 x 1.25 = tidy 7.5mil / year...

I was talking about the retail price, not wholesale. If someone is selling the domains at the wholesale price or close to it, then who is getting paid to provide support, provide DNS infrastructure etc. Generally when you are retailing something with a low cost, you would want to make 100% profit on it before costs are deducted, I would have thought. Otherwise you are using it as a tool to attract business to another higher margin service.
The wholesale price has dropped alot from what it was anyway, so I don't think the current price is really a problem.

JamesCairns

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#812379 6-May-2013 22:33

mattwnz: I don't think prices are too high, and often the cheaper they are, the less service and support you will get. eg. Often the higher priced ones come with full DNS control and a good control panel, nz support etc, while the cheaper ones, you may have to pay extra, and put up with overseas call centres.

Sorry I disagree I do think prices are too high, which is why I offer domains at near retail price, but you do have a point as I do not offer DNS management with these domains just change of name server so you can point your cheap domain at your hosting provider.

I Also offer a $5 per month 250MB Disk space and 1GB traffic package that does have DNS management and I deal with all my customers individually and am not stuck with all the same overheads as the larger companies like multiple phone lines and loads of staff etc.

Most support that I am contacted for is to help with initial setup which I am happy to help with getting things set up to start with.

Once everything is setup and working correctly then there is very little issues. when something does come to my attention then I am happy to solve it then use that information to develop a new guide/how to.

Like I said http://www.softhost.co.nz is a new business that is here to bring prices down so that everybody can get a site up and running for a fraction of the costs.

danfaulknor

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#812421 6-May-2013 23:25

The only thing offering low prices is doing is bringing the quality level of the entire industry down.
Same thing is happening with photography.

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mattwnz

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#812428 6-May-2013 23:32

danielfaulknor: The only thing offering low prices is doing is bringing the quality level of the entire industry down.
Same thing is happening with photography.

Totally agree. Also the most complaints you hear about of a business, are often the businesses that have under cut the competition and are cutprice services. The airline industry is a good example.

JamesCairns

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#812447 7-May-2013 00:13

danielfaulknor: The only thing offering low prices is doing is bringing the quality level of the entire industry down.
Same thing is happening with photography.

How so? I can not see that changing prices reduces the quality. It is a domain name and nothing more. it is not the service associated with the domain name itself it is as it is a domain name and that is all.

Perhaps the biggest mistake of many registrars was to offer "free DNS management" then including that in their domain registration price and saying it is for support of your domain which it is not as a domain name itself requires no support. as long as it gets registered.

I can easily setup a separate DNS management server then charge an extra $10 per domain registration just so you can point your domain to a different hosting provider and then not use it.

If you get a Hosting Service then you do get DNS management and that DNS management is included with your hosting plan.

In my opinion it is better to remove that $10 charge and let people point the domain to where it is required and not be charged for something that is not actually used.

JamesCairns

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#812450 7-May-2013 00:25

Oh I forgot to mention that when it is "free DNS management" then support for it is usually pretty much useless

But it is free and you are expected to be able to do it for yourself. but you most likely have to pay a little bit more than $18 for a .nz domain to get that free DNS management. (Then you point the nameservers to your hosting provider or email provider anyway.)

mattwnz

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#812784 7-May-2013 13:31

JamesCairns:
How so? I can not see that changing prices reduces the quality. It is a domain name and nothing more. it is not the service associated with the domain name itself it is as it is a domain name and that is all.

Not sure how long you have been doing it, but there is a lot more involved. When looking after .nz domains, you have to provide UDAI codes quickly. You have to make modifications to peoples contact details when they request it, manage any technical support and questions people may have. Mange domain ownership changes, which can require quite a bit of time. Handle renewals and and renewal / payment problems, handle cancellations when a customer hasn't renewed their domain in time and needs their domain renewed urgently etc. So you have to add enough of a margin to cover these costs in your time, even if you are just a one man band doing it from home with low overheads. You don't charge any penalties fees do you, such as a fee for uncanceling an expired NZ domain or changing domain ownership? Most registrars don't. But some of the cheapest ones do, and the fees can be large.

MurrayM

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#812811 7-May-2013 13:42

mattwnz:
JamesCairns:
How so? I can not see that changing prices reduces the quality. It is a domain name and nothing more. it is not the service associated with the domain name itself it is as it is a domain name and that is all.

Not sure how long you have been doing it, but there is a lot more involved. When looking after .nz domains, you have to provide UDAI codes quickly. You have to make modifications to peoples contact details when they request it, manage any technical support and questions people may have. Mange domain ownership changes, which can require quite a bit of time. Handle renewals and and renewal / payment problems, handle cancellations when a customer hasn't renewed their domain in time and needs their domain renewed urgently etc. So you have to add enough of a margin to cover these costs in your time, even if you are just a one man band doing it from home with low overheads. You don't charge any penalties fees do you, such as a fee for uncanceling an expired NZ domain or changing domain ownership? Most registrars don't. But some of the cheapest ones do, and the fees can be large.

Also, what happens when the "one man band" wants to go on holiday? Does all support stop?

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