Btw. I don't like the namecheap interface, dynadot''s interface is much faster ;)

I'm with you in putting the reader/customer's interests above my own profit, so it's nice to see a little recognition from namecheap.

Andy's last paragraph about customer acquisitions addresses the “losing money” question. It's not at all unusual for a business to lose money on the initial sale, because they know the lifetime value of a customer and that they will make a profit over time.

Obviously, I don't know what NC's numbers look like, but I'd tend to think that people intentionally using a registrar (vs. just buying a domain as part of a hosting registration process or through TypePad/WordPress.com/etc.) are the type of people who will probably go on to buy another domain.

Add to that the fact that it's generally a pain to switch registrars, and I imagine you typically retain customers (of even just one domain) for several years, as long as you don't tick them off (like GoDaddy does :) ).

I'm with Andy; I'll forgo the affiliate program rather than offering my clients a worse deal. And if the lifetime value of a NC customer is that low, it might be better to not offer the affiliate program at all, if it's going to generate ill-will among customers who later learn they paid more than they had to as a result.

Don't get me wrong; I like NameCheap and plan on buying domains there for the foreseeable future. The affiliate announcement is just a bit disappointing, particularly when compared to the programs of other, less-recommendable registrars.

The only thing I criticized in the whole of this post was the affiliate program, every other aspect is a solid testimonial.

The most telling of the tweets I received you might not have picked up.

@AffiliateStuff “LMAO!! You said it, but we were all thinking it ;)”

You might not know Kirsty McCubbin but she was the A4U Affiliate Marketing Blogger of the year, whose opinions are highly respected, and she doesn't pull punches either.

My solution? Give me $0.05 – $0.10 on all domains for the first year (on current prices, but see later, you could increase prices and pay more – improved value proposition)

Not sure if it is currently available, but Formula 5 from Stompernet would give you plenty to chew on http://andybeard.eu/adtrackz/go.php?c=f5mba (aff)

If I bring someone across with 100 domains, that must be worth $5 – $10 to you

Give me a bigger percentage on hosting which having just compared numbers is competitive with VPS.net but without the “cloud” features. It wouldn't actually hurt you to just become one of their resellers – the margins with volume are pretty good.

Just 2 days ago I was chatting with a guy who has multiple websites just about to do a huge product launch… who had his domain with Godaddy.

One of the strong pieces of advice I gave him was to switch to Namecheap or Moniker, and do it yesterday, as it is a huge risk.

As an affiliate authenticity with your audience is your most valuable commodity. The money isn't in the list, but the relationship with them.

I wouldn't want Namecheap to go bust just so I could make money recommending them, but if you are going to have an affiliate program, it has to be one that makes sense for all parties.

Affiliate authenticity is your strongest weapon, because most major affiliates have heard horror stories with your competitors. It is something that can overcome price differentials – significantly.

First of all, you have me on chat and you knew you could come to me with these concerns before publishing this article. You know I do and have always listened. Come on now. We are the little guy just trying to make it easier and less obtrusive to buy domains.

Secondly, NameCheap would like nothing more than to offer coupons to our affiliates. Seriously. The easier we make it for you to sell, the more you would. However, NameCheap works on slim margins already. If we gave you a portion of what we made, plus a coupon code, we would literally lose money. I can't imagine any customer who is happy with our service would actually want us to lose money selling domains.

Andy, what would you do if you were in our shoes? People asked us for an affiliate program, and we gave them one. We can't justify losing money to do so. What is your solution to this problem?