Some people use DEA to abuse of trial services of SaaS, for example. They register again and again after the trial has expired. These users consume resources but they never effectively become customers. Some companies ban users using DEA, anonymous proxies, TOR, VPNs... or even Free Email addresses (the conversion rate comparing a user registered with his or her company email and a Free Email (gmail, hotmail, protonmail...) is much higher).
It's really a shame when online services make overly broad generalizations like this. I use disposable email addresses for all of my services, because they are the most effective way I've found to manage spam. (They also have the side benefit of a little added security when someone hacks Site A's account database and tries to use the email addresses to log in to Site B.) When a potential provider tries to coerce me in to exposing my keeper address, it signals to me that they (a) put their own convenience before my security, and (b) don't have a particularly good understanding of the internet. For both those reasons, I take my business elsewhere.
Even worse are the sites that happily accept disposable email addresses and claim to send a verification message, but never actually send it. This wastes my time with rummaging through spam filters and polling my inbox, wastes their time when I contact support to find out wtf is going on, and is generally just (c) a terrible experience.
> They register again and again after the trial has expired
This is great! You have users who are using your product, how could you not be happy? Find out why they are not converting, perhaps your offer isn't that great for their demographic? Note that even if they didn't pay to your service, they may be your biggest fans who may recommend your product to other people. DEA users are usually tech-savvy types, they are also the kind of people who are the early adopters when it comes to tech (since they were able to figure out how a DEA works & how to use one), and are probably the ones who normal people go to get advice. Don't forget that even if not a paying customer, they are still a customer in the sense that they could review your service or refer others through word of mouth! If you're blocking DEA services, it may end up costing you more.
Tons of trolls use disposable email addresses to register multiple accounts for forums and similar to harass others. I block most of the popular mailinator domains for my larger public forums (200k+ users).
logronoide|7 years ago
fibers|7 years ago
foresto|7 years ago
Even worse are the sites that happily accept disposable email addresses and claim to send a verification message, but never actually send it. This wastes my time with rummaging through spam filters and polling my inbox, wastes their time when I contact support to find out wtf is going on, and is generally just (c) a terrible experience.
flashmob|7 years ago
This is great! You have users who are using your product, how could you not be happy? Find out why they are not converting, perhaps your offer isn't that great for their demographic? Note that even if they didn't pay to your service, they may be your biggest fans who may recommend your product to other people. DEA users are usually tech-savvy types, they are also the kind of people who are the early adopters when it comes to tech (since they were able to figure out how a DEA works & how to use one), and are probably the ones who normal people go to get advice. Don't forget that even if not a paying customer, they are still a customer in the sense that they could review your service or refer others through word of mouth! If you're blocking DEA services, it may end up costing you more.
JohnTHaller|7 years ago