registration validation- who does what?

[GreggRio]

What do people use for e-mail validation, or do they? I currently have them give a name, number, and e-mail and a zip code.

We also verify if their domain exists so I don't get dude @ ghcelzxe.com or some other non existant domain.It minimally works, but does have some warning to me that someone is likely to be bogus.

What do others do and how does it affect their registration? Some systems validate e-mails by sending the pw to their purported address. I have heard this kills registration rates, but want input.

My system allows them to see homes, but they need to register to see the full details.

Thoughts?

[OCTeam]

Once they sign in (detailed info), they get access, whether bogus or not. I don't want them to have to have to retrieve the password via a validated email address as I want them to stay on the site and not have an extra step. Plus, real addresses far out number the bogus ones. I just delete the bogus ones when notified. If they don't want to give real info, they probably are not the one I want to work with anyway.

I am sure others may see it a different way.

[MikeNY]

I agree with Drew in all that he said, though lately I have been curious if letting the leads with fake info stay and not delete them is smart and it turned out to be. This one woman put down her # as 555-1212, but then emailed me with her real # to see a house. I see others who put down fake emails but when ready they sign up with their real email and email me to see listings. But for the most part I like to delete them as soon as I see a fake email.

[Dennis Pease]

Some systems validate e-mails by sending the pw to their purported address. I have heard this kills registration rates, but want input.

I did this for over a year and since I changed back to allowing any login information I do get more leads, but not a whole lot more and yes there are the bogus ones.

I changed back for 2 reasons.

1. When you email the pw they would then login through the email and I would not see where they found me. The tracking would show their email rather than the search engine, keyword, etc.
2. I actually had good leads complain about the process to login.

As for the bogus emails if they are belligerent like nice@try.com, they get deleted, but as Mike said sometimes they give fake info until they are ready to buy. So I pick and choose the bogus ones, some get deleted immediately while others are left in the system, noted to be bogus and deleted after a couple weeks if they don't continue to search.

[metaylor9]

I agree with Drew, Mike, and Dennis on this one. I want to capture email addresses, phone #'s etc. but I do not want to make it impossible to access my site. If I get a few bogus ones along the way, who cares? That is the name of the game.