VRSN - Verisign down 50% because of renewel declines

[havaloc]

http://www.wired.com/news/business/0,1367,52151,00.html

Basically Verisign lost half their value last week because they are starting to realize that the great domain land rush is over, and they were banking on all those useless cybersquatted domains to be renewed forever.

I won't shed a tear from them especially with all the games they've been playing lately such as sending mail notices for domains registered at other registrars expiring.

[Czar]

You just need to have viewed the Detailed Stats over at DeletedDomains a few times recently to see the extent of this trend. On a few days this month deletions came in at 5-6 times the rate of registrations.

I'm not sure whether their registration figures include renewals, but these ratios were vastly different even as recently as a year ago. Not to mention that many alternative domain registrars have consistently provided superior service to NetSol of late - despite undercutting them by dramatic margins on price.

[Edwin]

I've done my own bit for the cause by moving over 500 domains away from Verisign already. They have by FAR the worst customer service of the over a dozen registrars I have used!

[Nintendo]

Renewel's are probably down because most people have found cheaper places to renew them, like www.godaddy.com

[jnestor]

NetSol has consistantly provided the worst possible service at the largest price. It's a situation that can only be sustained with a monopoly. Now that their monopoly is gone they should die a fairly quick death. They've shown no signs that they're capable of building a system that works, charges a reasonable rate and provides decent customer service. Good riddance I say.

[WildComputer]

My own experiences with Network Solutions are not happy ones - more than once. I personally will try to never use any of their services ever again. Even if I had to pay more to use other registrars, I would - the fact that I can pay less makes it doubly attractive.

I have never seen any figures, but I would not be surprised if those people with multiple domains constitute a big percentage or even the majority of all domain registrations.

In my opinion, beginners might register domains with the best-known company, the one on TV, or the one that sends snail mail to people who aren't even their customers.

But people with more experience, and probably more domains to register/renew, will use companies that treat them right, and if the price is cheaper that's a bonus.

[JP Sauve]

I use DirectNIC. No problems so far and I really like their user interface.

[Aaron Dragushan]

I really wish I'd actually followed through on my urge several months ago and shorted their stock. In an industry where the basic technical service is relatively simple to get right, firms compete on service and reputation, so I should have acted confidently on my hunch that they wouldn't last long. They've always been deeply despised by everyone I've ever spoken with.

I guess I've had too much "irrational caution" hammered into me by seeing firms do well on the stock market that simply shouldn't have even gone public. But I suppose over the long term reality must set in, and the stock should go down.

[shareasale]

i'll second the plug for DirectNic...great interface, and lots of add-on services as well, i.e., domains, ssl certs, forwarding, etc...

much easier to move domains around as well, no need for emailing the very picky "hostmaster"

[AhmedF]

A third plug for DirectNIC?

Yep! Satisfied as can be

[tmax]

I wonder how much their recent controversial email practices have hurt them. I almost fell for it but got a notice from Dotster explaining the deceptive email. But that will definitely affect my decision next year about who to update my domains with.

tmax

[FWT]

How about a fourth for DirectNic

I use them also and am very happy.

[Czar]

Personally, I'm a big 000domains fan. They're simply an OpenSRS reseller for Tucows, but offer quality service, affordable rates, a simple admin interface and no co-reg or upselling steps in their signup process (ie GoDaddy).

Will have to look into DirectNIC, though. They seem to have a pretty enviable following.

[mikegaultier]

I got 2 renewals notice for domains that will expire only in 6 month and more. I think they are trying to build cashflow , and that is not good.

I hope nobody here had their stock, It seems that they might go down even more

Mike.

[PaulT]

I am also a big 000domains fan as well.

As for Verisign, didn't I read an article a few months ago that they wanted to become a "household name"??