I signed up to rent.com.au recently to see what it's like as a...

I signed up to rent.com.au recently to see what it's like as a subscriber. Within seconds i received an email from them regarding utility connections - so this perhaps confirms my suspicion that much of their revenue comes from the rentconnect part of their business, or at least they are hopeful of revenue from this part of their business. I haven't yet had the chance to go through this process to see whether it's an online process (light-touch, low overhead) or whether someone actually calls you to arrange the utility connections (which would mean expensive, call centre model). I'll report back once i've done this.

I haven't yet had a chance to read through the annual report that came out today but judging by the market reaction to it - there's not much in it to be excited about...

Again - i'd be happy to hear form anyone out there that has any knowledge regarding this. For those of you that are interested in this business, it is very important to understand how reliant they are on the utility connections for revenue. Considering the "Minister for reducing electricity prices" is going to ensure electricity prices are regulated (pegged to an industry-standard reference price) retailers may find themselves in a position where it is not worthwhile paying 3rd parties for new customers, which means rentconnect (and many other business models like it) may no longer be viable.

Cheers,
Hoops