I wrote Dotster earlier in the year and asked them how they were doing. Here is what Christine had to say
"Dotster is doing great; we just had our best month ever in March and everything is moving in an upwards direction. We are definitely in it for the long haul. If you decide to transfer your domain to Dotster, our process sends an authorization email to the administrative contact on your domain. Unless that email is responded to and acted upon, the transfer cannot continue. That is our main security check during the transfer process."
and if you check there News area, it has new PR items
June 19
LEADING DOMAIN REGISTRAR DOTSTER INC. LAUNCHES DOMAIN PROTECTION SERVICES
http://www.dotster.com/About/News/061902.asp
July 15
DOTSTER INC. STRONGLY OPPOSES VERISIGN?S DOMAIN NAME WAIT LISTING SERVICE
http://www.dotster.com/About/News/071502.asp
I tend to think they are just busy but sent them an email to double check. They have been around for a few years and their model is the same as a porn site...recurring billing. As long as their costs are inline, I think they are financially sound.
Andy