Richard Keeves [richard§ibc.com.au] wrote:
> 
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Deus Ex Machina" <vicc&#167;cia.com.au>
> > thats one interpretation however Enetica cant say it wont market to
> > a resellers customer because say it puts an ad somwhere and the end
> customer
> > saw it, it would be in breach of the contract.
> >
> > what it does say is there is nothing Enetica offers through retail that
> > a reseller cant offer through the reseller interface. so Enetica is
> contractually
> > bound not to gain a competitive advantage by offering a product that
> > resellers dont also get to use.
> >
> > Vic
> 
> 
> Vic,
> 
> the point here is *not* that Enetica (ie presumably you) might run an ad
> that some client of mine (for example) might see,  it is that you might
> directly target my client with a direct mail/fax/email  and try to get them
> to deal direct with you - for domain reg/hosting or whatever other services
> you might want to offer.
> 
> The fact that you are *not* saying that you will *not* target my clients
> directly is concerning.
> 
>  It would be *very* easy for you to come out and say that you will not
> compete directly against your channel for business coming from clients
> introduced to you by your channel.  But you are NOT saying that.  You seem
> to be saying that you think it is ok for you to compete directly with us for
> our clients.  And you seem to be blaming small market size and sasha for
> that.
> 
> Not sure if you know it or not, but the goodwill that existed for Enetica
> could rise or fall pretty easily here. Enetica provides great services and
> we have enjoyed the relationship - but if you can not say that you will not
> compete with us for our own clients, then we have to find an alternative.
> 
> Believe me, it is preferable for us - and I would have thought also for
> you - that we continue to work with you.
> But we are not going to feed a growing threat.


the answer is not so simple, because we do have competing registrars as resellers.
in fact we have good relationships even with resellers that have become registrars.

we also have virtual registrars as customers. we cant come out and catategorically say we
wont directly contact your customers because we are required to have a contract with
the end registrant which involves the registrant *knowing* they have entered into such a
contract with Enetica.

Enetica will however not use a resellers customer lists to do direct marketing and has never done so
and never will. Enetica has however engaged in direct marketing and where its been made clear
that the contact belongs to a reseller we have left it at that. 

If I was to say we will never contact a resellers customer, then every registrar will sign up
and cry foul everytime we contact one of their customers. We also do purchase 3rd party mailing lists
and do bulk mail outs. some of these may end up at a resellers customer, its hard to tell. thats
what I mean by direct marketing.

as far as competing. well all registrars and resellers are in the same market so yes we all
do compete. customers seem to swap between resellers and some small percentage will swap
to a registrar from a reseller if they peceive there is value in doing so. I am aware of that
happening but its not something we chase. its better for us for the reseller to handle support
issues then us deal with large number of registrants directly. there is no way of avoiding competition, its
best to focus on the why would your customers buy from you and not someone else. my entire
job is devoted to asking that very question again and again and again till I get better and
better answers.

I am being as honest as I can be, I cant say Enetica doesnt compete with resellers because if
we put an ad on looksmart or wherever then we are competiting with everyone in the market.

maybe some registrars will go through your customer list and try to steal your customer,
I am not aware of anyone doing that but other people are. Enetica certainly doesnt and wont
do that knowingly.

Our reseller base is very important to us, it represents a massive chunk of our business and we
treat them as well as we possibly can within the context of competition. without going into detail
we have big plans for our reseller base over the next 12 months.

Vic