DotRegistrar is the domain name services division of Miami's iHoldings. DotRegistrar's pitch is simple: it claims to be one of the cheapest registrars available to ISPs.

by Jeff Goldman [June 25, 2001]

DotRegistrar, the domain name services division of Miami-based iHoldings, offers a reseller program with the simplest of assets—price and ease of use. What more could any ISP operator want?

iHoldings was founded back in 1988, and ICANN-accredited in January of 2000. J. P. Vazquez, the company's Vice President of Finance, recalls that the company has always been in the computer business in one way or another.

"We haven't been on the Internet all the time, but we have been working with computers since 1988—first exporting, and then consulting," Vazquez said.

In addition to DotRegistrar, iHoldings has three other offerings, none of which is likely to represent any competition to a potential reseller partner. Arrive provides free URL redirection services; Freebies and More is a web directory of freebies, links and information; and MacTrading offers consulting and management services for technology companies.

Cheap is good
According to Vazquez, the value proposition of DotRegistrar's reseller program should be pretty easy for ISPs to understand.

Vazquez explains that all aspects of DotRegistrar's reseller offering are arranged to make it as easy as possible for everyone involved. "Everything is simplified with us, because the reseller has already prepaid for the registrations," he said. "They have an account in which they have DRYs, so they just use their credits—their tokens—to buy domains."

No frills
If you want a range of program options, personalized service, or access to every TLD in existence, look elsewhere. DotRegistrar doesn't offer any ccTLDs or multilingual domains, and its reseller program is targeted at companies that can take care of themselves. Still, the pricing and the simplicity have served DotRegistrar well: Vazquez claims the service currently boasts over 2,000 customers, of which about seventy percent are resellers.

And there's one more thing that's key to DotRegistrar's value proposition. Most registrars, if they don't have their own web hosting service, at least have a retail domain registration offering that stands to compete with you. But Vazquez notes that with DotRegistrar, you couldn't be safer—they don't offer any competing services, and they don't even service retail customers at all.

"We will not compete with resellers," Vazquez says. "If you take a look at our web site, it's very simple. We are not trying to attract end users at all, and we will not pursue their customers."

And, he adds, the company's planning to be around for a long time. "We have been profitable from the beginning," Vazquez says. "The way we keep our prices low is we have a very small staff: at this time, we are about ten people, and that includes everything. We don't have many people doing technical support, but since we try to sell just to ISPs and resellers, they don't need our help." Even with support, simplicity is key—the company offers email-only technical support. Vazquez contends that's all part of DotRegistrar's effort to attract serious resellers.

"If not, you get calls from people that just want to know how to register a domain name," he said. "We are a bulk registrar, and we are not looking for end customers. That's the most important thing we want ISPs and resellers to know—we will not compete with them."

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	[May 11, 2001]	ICANN Proposed Budget Leaked on the Web
	[Apr. 13, 2001]	EDUCAUSE to Take Control of .edu Registry
Online resources:
	Registrar Directory
	Registrar Directory: Quick-Reference Chart