news Dan.com to increase comission from 9% to 15% effective Feb 1st 2023

[MadAboutDomains]

Just received this email from Dan.com about commission increases (snippet of email):

Thoughts?

 

[Bob Hawkes]

Again, address Sedo.

As I see it, it could hurt or help Sedo. This is my thinking,..

Right now I tend to list my names at all of Dan, Afternic and Sedo, with not very different prices.

For a variety of reasons, I point DNS for different names to different places, including some at Sedo. Now if I do that, but the name actually sells at Dan or Afternic, I end up paying 25% commission to GD/Aft/NC vs the current 9% at Dan or 15/20% at Afternic.

So I am rethinking whether to point any to Sedo (despite the 10% if it actually sells there and is not MLS), so Sedo might get fewer pointed there. That will hurt them in sales. But, as you say, they may gain in sales as people abandon GD, and some have already said they are doing that.

But the real companies that are more profoundly hurt are the services to allow you to easily run your own landers, the parking companies, and the brandable places. Someone posted numbers showing a huge loss already from yesterday in one of the parking company listings. People who were parking and listing for 9% at Dan, are now faced with 25% if they want to continue parking.

The ending of tiered commissions might help the other places, and probably will help services like Efty.

While there will be some winners and some losers, and it is not entirely clear in my opinion.

Not long ago you had 4 independent choices of large, general purpose marketplaces: Afternic, Dan, Sedo, Uniregistry (or 5 if you count GD as separate).

Now with essentially Dan and Afternic integrating, and Uniregistry largely integrated, you have 2 choices.

-Bob

 

[JB Lions]

Mor than a hassle, it's a quite different sale and purchase process.

And I repeat, they will use the same commission structure as Afternic. That's for sure. No domain not pointing to Afternic's "network of" DNS will be sold at Godaddy with the "old" commission structure.

I don't see that happening, there is nothing anywhere about that, they would lose a ton of business. And you said commission structure at Afternic? That would mean they would lower the prices, that's not going to happen. Again, it's 20% at GD, will be 15% at Afternic, why would they lower it to 15%?

"Mor than a hassle, it's a quite different sale and purchase process." That's the hassle part. Again, you can use Sedo MLS plus list at GD, get the same coverage.

 

[Sutruk]

I don't see that happening, there is nothing anywhere about that, they would lose a ton of business. And you said commission structure as Afternic? That would mean they would lower the prices, that's not going to happen. Again, it's 20% at GD, will be 15% at Afternic, why would they lower it to 15%?

Godaddy have already updated their commission fees to align it with that of Afternic.

See this, from GODADDY:

https://www.godaddy.com/help/what-is-list-for-sale-27761#rates

 

[Bob Hawkes]

It is a clear consensus at this point, on every venue I have seen from NamePros, blogs, Twitter, and others that the primary problem is this 25% anti-competition move.

I agree that is the most concerning part.

I do not see any strong logic except to try to make their already dominant position even more so, and perhaps drive some of the players competing in other parts of the space out. Remember GoDaddy also does parking, so doing something that hurts parking companies helps their competitive position.

I really had hoped they would keep Dan more or less as it was. A lower cost alternative without the expense of a huge agent network. Let people pay differently for better traffic and the agent network at Afternic, or lower commission and some of the other advantages at Dan.

-Bob

 

[bmugford]

Woohoooooo. So Godaddy have already updated their commission fees to align it with that of Afternic.

See this, from GODADDY:

https://www.godaddy.com/help/what-is-list-for-sale-27761#rates

What are your commission rates?​

When the domain is sold, the seller pays a commission to GoDaddy.

Before Feb 1, 2023:

The commission rate is dependent on the price the domain sold for.

• Sale price: $0 to $5000 — Commission rate: 20% ($15 minimum)
• Sale price: $5,001 to $25,000 — Commission rate: $1,000 plus 15% of amount over $5k
• Sale price: $25,000 and over — Commission rate: $4,000 plus 10% of amount over $25k

After Feb 1, 2023:

The commission rate is dependent on where the domain’s nameservers are pointed to at the time of sale (US$15 minimum)

• Domains using GoDaddy brand aftermarket nameservers that point to a GoDaddy For Sale Lander: Reduced flat, 15% commission rate
• Domains not using GoDaddy brand aftermarket nameservers: Standard flat, 25% commission rate

GoDaddy brand aftermarket nameservers will end with the following:

• afternic.com
• smartname.com
• uniregistrymarket.link
• dan.com
• undeveloped.com
• internettraffic.com
• cashparking.com

Domains not using GoDaddy brand aftermarket nameservers: Standard flat, 25% commission rate

This is the biggest issue, by far, to me and most others it seems.

Brad

 

[JB Lions]

Godaddy have already updated their commission fees to align it with that of Afternic.

See this, from GODADDY:

https://www.godaddy.com/help/what-is-list-for-sale-27761#rates

Scroll up, that page is for Afternic -

What is Afternic?​

What is List for Sale?​

List for Sale (LFS) with Afternic is a way to put your domains to work and earn some money along the way. If you have domains in your account you aren't actively using, or don't plan to use at all, you can list them for sale. GoDaddy's List for Sale service puts your domain listing on Afternic partner sites for registration.

 

[Sutruk]

I really had hoped they would keep Dan more or less as it was.

Godaddy didn't pay $71M to keep it as it was. They bought it because it was a competitor with lower prices.
Now they have to refill the $71M hole by raising its price. It was all about ending with a competitor (and with innovation by the way) and increasing their monopoly on the domain aftermarket industry.

 

[JB Lions]

Godaddy didn't pay $71M to keep it as it was. They bought it because it was a competitor with lower prices.
Now they have to refill the $71M hole by raising its price. It was all about ending with a competitor (and with innovation by the way) and increasing their monopoly on the domain aftermarket industry.

They'll get the money back by getting all the sales they were getting and now at 15% instead of 9%.

What do you mean by ending innovation? They could still add things. And what more would you want to see at Dan? I can't think of anything at the top of my head, it already runs pretty smooth, it's why I use them for my landing pages. What would you like to see Dan add?

 

[Bob Hawkes]

Godaddy didn't pay $71M to keep it as it was.

You are probably right, although at least from Dan at the time of the acquisition I recall assurances that Dan would continue to operate as is.

I guess I had hoped that they bought it because it was profitable, and projected to become more profitable. It did many things well. It could make sense at $71 million and keep as-is, but only if it has profitable future likely. I don't know the Dan balance sheet to know that.

I guess, as others have said, the real elephants in the room are is this the final step, or will full integration eventually mean a surcharge if your name is not registered at a GD linked company. In a way that could be justified more than the 25% re DNS pointing, as there are probably some savings dealing with registrations within the company on closing of names.

And will Dan 5% closing stay. For now, yes. It is good that Sedo and Escrow both offer competitive closing services so there is competition to keep it probably.

-Bob

 

[Sutruk]

What do you mean by ending innovation? They could still add things.

Oh yes, we have seen their innovation at Afternic during the last years... so much innovation that they had to pay $71M for a clean landing page.

 

[JB Lions]

Oh yes, we have seen their innovation at Afternic during the last years... so much innovation that they had to pay $71M for a clean landing page.

Did they fire all the Dan people?

 

[bmugford]

And will Dan 5% closing stay. For now, yes. It is good that Sedo and Escrow both offer competitive closing services so there is competition to keep it probably.

No chance.

I can't see any incentive for GoDaddy to keep that. I expect that to be replaced sooner rather than later.

Brad

 

[Ostrados]

Are you using the ones with ns1.sedoparking.com or sl1.sedo.com? The former are the traditional ones, can make changes under parking optimization, and the latter go to newer clean-look landers. I personally prefer the sl ones, and think they have done a good job building trust with the design. Now if only that accept cookies could be made a bit smaller for the first time visitor!

-Bob

I am using sl1.sedo.com sl2.sedo.com
Very cool modern landers
I like that they show all payment options right below the BIN button (I think they copied that from DAN lol)

 

[Sutruk]

Did they fire all the Dan people?

No, they just ended with their competitor, raised its price and as a result of the monopolistic position, increased their commission fees by a 10% for people not using their network of DNS.

 

[bmugford]

Oh yes, we have seen their innovation at Afternic during the last years... so much innovation that they had to pay $71M for a clean landing page.

There are some annoying Afternic issues that go back many years and are still not fixed.

They still don't have a proper search engine, where you can narrow down what you are looking for.

Brad

 

[JB Lions]

No, they just ended with their competitor, raised its price and as a result of the monopolistic position, increased their commission fees by a 10% for people not using their network of DNS.

Oh, so they have the same people that built Dan still working with them. So not really ending innovation, keeping the people on board that innovated. That's a good thing.

And I do agree about Afternic, it's a pain listing there because it's not smooth, posted about that in another thread today. Maybe, they should get the Dan people on over there.

 

[Sutruk]

I recall assurances that Dan would continue to operate as is.

You should have asked them to put that assurance in a signed paper...

 

[bmugford]

And I do agree about Afternic, it's a pain listing there because it's not smooth, posted about that in another thread today. Maybe, they should get the Dan people on over there.

GoDaddy has so many venues, registration paths, etc. that it is almost impossible to keep updated with a large portfolio.

I constantly have listing conflicts on Afternic or Dan.com. When I spot check I will find Afternic BIN landers not loading sometimes, because there is some other orphaned listing loading from somewhere.

For instance I have one I found the other day with Afternic BIN lander that is listed for the same price on Afternic and Dan, but it loads the "may be for sale" lander. If I search it on Afternic or Dan it shows that price.

If I search it on GoDaddy it shows another listing, at a higher price.

Where is that coming from?
Is it an orphaned listing?
How do I find out what is not working properly?

I have no idea what listing takes priority in the registration path.
I basically gave up on it.

Brad

 

[Sutruk]

I would say, that even more than to buy a competitor and increase its price, it was more to buy its market position. I mean, they paid $71M not just for Dan's revenue, but for their market in domains number, for their traffic.

That acquisition target was finally revealed, now that they have the maximum aftermarket monopoly in number of domains, so they can finally release the "kraken", and that's "STAY WITH MY LANDERS, SEND ME YOUR TRAFFIC, OR PAY 10% MORE" in Afternic. A clearly anticompetition and monopolistic practice intended to harm their few remaining competitors.

 

[Mister Funsky]

Godaddy didn't pay $71M to keep it as it was.

Is this a confirmed number? If so, considering how close things came, RM is surely down in the dumps about this one getting away.

Also, if Dan had built such value in the short life it had before consumption, does this not give any top notch coders around the globe the desire to build a similar marketplace?

I hope so!

 

[Sutruk]

Is this a confirmed number?

https://domainnamewire.com/2022/08/04/godaddy-paid-71-4-for-dan-com/

GoDaddy paid $71.4 million for Dan.com​

"According to a regulatory filing, GoDaddy (NYSE: GDDY) paid $71.4 million to acquire Dan.com.

The company filed its form 10-Q quarterly report today. In the subsequent events section, it stated:

In July 2022, we completed an acquisition for $71.4 million in cash.

GoDaddy announced the acquisition of Dan.com at the end of June, but it hadn’t closed yet. The deal appears to have closed in July because GoDaddy branding appeared on Dan.com’s landers last month."

 

[Sutruk]

Also, if Dan had built such value in the short life it had before consumption, does this not give any top notch coders around the globe the desire to build a similar marketplace?

You bet.

 

[JB Lions]

GoDaddy has so many venues, registration paths, etc. that it is almost impossible to keep updated with a large portfolio.

I constantly have listing conflicts on Afternic or Dan.com. When I spot check I will find Afternic BIN landers not loading sometimes, because there is some other orphaned listing loading from somewhere.

For instance I have one I found the other day with Afternic BIN lander that is listed for the same price on Afternic and Dan, but it loads the "may be for sale" lander. If I search it on Afternic or Dan it shows that price.

If I search it on GoDaddy it shows another listing, at a higher price.

Where is that coming from?
Is it an orphaned listing?
How do I find out what is not working properly?

I have no idea what listing takes priority in the registration path.
I basically gave up on it.

Brad

Yeah, it's a bit of a mess. I'm trying to simplify things. Had a mix of Dan/Afternic landers, mostly Dan. Just went 100% Dan landers the other day. They're nice looking, love the Lease to Own option, support has been good etc. Never had an issue with a Buyer, that's the important thing. Want the buyer's experience as smooth as possible. I don't even like the Beta versions Afternic and GoDaddy has. Too much white space, can't figure out what's actually improved. They need to hire Dan level talent and get that all fixed. Get somebody who understands web design/usability

 

[bmugford]

Yeah, it's a bit of a mess. I'm trying to simplify things. Had a mix of Dan/Afternic landers, mostly Dan. Just went 100% Dan landers the other day. They're nice looking, love the Lease to Own option, support has been good etc. Never had an issue with a Buyer, that's the important thing. Want the buyer's experience as smooth as possible. I don't even like the Beta versions Afternic and GoDaddy has. Too much white space, can't figure out what's actually improved. They need to hire Dan level talent and get that all fixed.

Dan.com is the superior system IMO, by far. The value in Afternic is obviously the distribution network.
The venue itself is nothing special. It is dated, there are really no advanced features. There are lots of issues.

Brad

 

[Sutruk]

The value in Afternic is obviously the distribution network.

More than the distribution network... it's a registrar in their distribution network called Godaddy. A registrar that has more market power than the rest of the following registrars combined.
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https://www.hostingadvice.com/how-to/largest-domain-registrars/

Largest Domain Registrars in the World in 2023​

1. GoDaddy: 76.6 million domains
2. Namecheap: 16.5 million domains
3. Tucows: 11.1 million domains
4. Google: 7.9 million domains
5. Network Solutions: 6.4 million domains

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And that's what makes the new commission structure to collide so blatantly with the Antritrust laws. They are using their market power to harm their remaining competitors, by punishing their users (not using Afternic's DNS) by increasing a 10% the commission on domains sold in their network (mainly at Godaddy).