evil scammy bastards...

hey there, Internet Corporation Listing Service - where do i rank in all the search engines when ya do a search for my website on the net?

going through the bills i got in the mail, i open one from ICLS.net...right up at the top, there's my domain name, a Customer Number, etc...

at the bottom, there's a tear-off section, says make checks payable to:... - they want $35 from me.

now waitaminute here - i'm definitely NOT a web geek by ANY stretch of the imagination, but didn't i just register that domain in june, and wasn't it more like ten bucks instead of thirty-five?

the letter says "Description of services: annual website search engine listing from jan 1, 2004 thru jan 1, 2005 -- $35.00"

what's that $35 get me? "domain name submission to 14 major search engines, eight keyword/phrase listings, quarterly search engine position and ranking reports." - hmmm, sounds like they tell the search engines "hey, lori's website's over there", do some of the stuff i get from SiteMeter.com for FREE and make $35.00.

i wouldn't be pissed if it didn't look so much like a bill - i had to read halfway down, past the sales pitch but a bit above the tear-off portion of the not-a-bill to read "this is not a bill. this is a solicitation. you are under no obligation to pay the amount state above unless you accept this offer."

i just wonder how much money these evil scammy bastards have made from people not too web-literate thinking they have to pay a bill to keep their domain. a customer number? totally made up, i've never been a customer of theirs. "please remit payment on or before december 15, 2003"? makes it look more like a bill. "all listings are final"? - yeah, then they can fall back on that when you realize you were scammed and they took $35 from you for shit that's basically worthless.