Slammin'
I have here yet another letter from the grandiosely named Domain Registry of America.
This is far from new to me - I've lost count of the number of invoices domain name expiration notices I've had from these people over the years - but this one's got my goat.
This one refers to my personal domain (you're looking at its sole raison d'être), and DROA generously offers me their "best savings" when I switch to them today from my current registrar using a form which, while it strenuously avoids using the word invoice, does look a whole lot like one.
(I've had these things forwarded to me by our Accounts Payable department in the past, with handwritten notes from AP staff to the effect of "please raise a PO, so that we can pay this invoice.")
Best savings? Let's see. They want (count them) eighteen of your standard English pounds to register my domain with them for one year. £18!
At $2 to the £, that's $36 - to register a dot net domain for one year!
If that represents their best savings, I'd hate to see their worst ones.
When I googled the Domain Registry of America (which, by all accounts, is so named despite the fact that they are headquartered in Canada), the top Google hit was DROA's own site but every other result for the first three pages of search results, and very probably well beyond that, was someone complaining about what I now understand to be called "domain slamming".
Well, Google, you may now add this post to that ever growing list.
Oh and DROA, I know you'll continue sending me those helpful domain name expiration notices, but know this.
I will never buy from you.
Category: T'Internet
Technorati: DROA Domain+Registry+of+America Domain+Slamming
1. Declan Lynch04/01/2008 16:41:43
Homepage: http://www.qtzar.com
I was at a neighbours house a few weeks ago showing them how to get photos from a new digital camera to their Windows ME computer when the topic of their website came up. They mentioned they had just, that day, renewed their domain name and they pulled out a DROA letter.
Thankfully they had not yet put the envelope in the mailbox so I was able to save them $95 for a 5 year renewal of a .com address.
Whenever I get these letters from DROA I just put some junk mail in the envelope and mail it back with a notice that postage is to be paid by recipient. With no return address the post office still bills them even if they refuse delivery 
2. Rob McDonagh04/01/2008 17:14:53
Homepage: http://www.CaptainOblivious.com
Well, Canada IS in North America just like the US, so despite the fact that those of us from the States tend to call ourselves Americans, our northern (and southern) neighbors could certainly use the term as well. It gets confusing, though, which is your point (I'm reasonably confident your geography skills include the knowledge of where Canada is. heh)...
3. Chris Linfoot04/01/2008 18:06:47
Yes, Rob. I am aware of the location of Canada. I am also aware of the design of the Canadian flag which is deficient to the tune of 13 horizontal red stripes, fifty white stars and the colour blue and has excess maple leaves and excess vertical red stripes to the tune of one and two respectively - when compared to the flag represented on DROA's letterhead.
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