What does Afternic do for their 20% commission?

xynames · Jun 20, 2017

I listed on Afternic (AN) marketplace just a few weeks ago. Process very easy, just gave them my email address and they found all my domains. Some were disallowed though it seems, because they are apparently adult. One was loveminute How is that overtly adult, or even adult at all? They were supposed to notify me of any disallowed domains but have not - a small number of my 1500 domains are simply not there.

The same day I listed on AN, I received an inquiry to post a buy it now (BIN) price for a domain. I did, and ten minutes later the buyer bought it for $3500. (Guess I should have asked for more!).

Since then I have received multiple requests to set BIN prices on other domains. After I do this, what does AN do? Do they enter into discussions with the buyer? What are they doing to earn their 20%?

Obviously in the case of the ten minute later buyer, they didn't do much, but what about the buyers who don't buy right away?

With uniregistry, just to test, I made an inquiry on one of my own domains. All that happened is that I started getting boilerplate emails regularly asking me if I was still interested. Perhaps a little more interesting than what I describe as boilerplate, but not really much to them. I did not respond to the emails - perhaps I should, to see how the process goes, and how hard these guys try to sell my domains. Uniregistry commission is 15%, although they have told me that if I bring over my portfolio to them for registration they will lower that rate.

So at AN though, what do they do once a price inquiry is made? Maybe I should test out the process myself with a "buyer" to answer my own question.

xynames · Jul 19, 2017

Most of my domains are Make Offer, but the ones that sell at AN (at least lately), I get a price inquiry first, requesting that I set a BIN and floor price, and then after I set that it usually sells pretty quickly (not always, sometimes I set the price too high for that particular inquirer).

For this last one that I sold at AN, after the "price inquiry" came in, I set the BIN at $3000. with no floor, and just waited.

About a week later, the AN broker wrote me that he got the guy up from $800. to $1500. which I wanted $3000., but I went ahead and then set a floor of $2500. I gave the broker a couple of comparables for comparison, which I felt established that my domain was worth more than $2500. I also told the broker that if the guy didn't buy that very day I was going to raise the BIN to $5000. with a $4500. floor the next day because I had decided that it was undervalued, and I was serious I was really going to raise its price. The buyer paid the $2500. floor immediately when he heard that, and the deal was done.

Joe Styler · Jul 19, 2017

I sit next to half the team who field the domain inquiries and try to close them. They try and get everyone to pay the asking price. What you don't hear are the hundreds of low ball offers they field each day and try and explain the value to the buyer to get them to your initial asking price.
We like the floor price because it saves us time. We find that the faster you can close a deal after the initial inquiry the more likely you are to get the sale. If we have a floor we can negotiate without having to tell the buyer to wait for us to contact the seller and wait for the email back with the minimum amount you are willing to take. That can take hours or days depending on the seller, their time zone, if they are on vacation etc, and we find that additional delays result in lost sales. Long way of saying we do not automatically close the deal on your floor price we try and get the asking price and only if we can't get them any higher we close the deal at the floor.

xynames · Jul 19, 2017

Thanks Joe for your clarification.

Another issue I have is with AN Fast Transfer. All my domains are registered at DD. After I set a $25,000. or lower BIN price at AN, then one of three scenarios happens:

1) I received the email stating that I need to click to allow the fast transfer at DD. Actually, I never receive any subsequent email from anyone with a link to click anything, but instead what I do is login to my DD account and click on the relevant domains to "Set afternic" and thereby allow Fast Transfer.
I do so within my DD account, and then it shows as YES over at AN (Active) for Fast-transfer. All is well.

2) I received the email stating that I need to click to allow the fast transfer. I do so within my DD account, and on the DD side it shows that AN Transfer is in place ("Quick Info afternic") but then still it shows as NO (Requires Submission) over at AN for Fast Transfer. I go back and reclick at the DD side - still issue not resolved and still shows as NO over at AN for Fast-transfer.

3) I never receive any email requesting that I allow the fast transfer at DD, and the option is not available on the DD side. Obviously as well, shows as NO over at AN for Fast-transfer.

The Fast Transfer system seems buggy.

xynames · Aug 8, 2017

I just had a fast sell transfer of one of my domains at AN. I received a price inquiry on it two weeks ago, and I put in a 3500 buy it now (BIN), with a 3000 floor. It sold today for the full 3500. I actually had to look back at my notes to make sure I had indeed set it at 3500/3000.

So, here is an instance of where AN got me the full BIN not just the floor.

jideofor · Aug 8, 2017

xynames said:
I just had a fast sell transfer of one of my domains at AN. I received a price inquiry on it two weeks ago, and I put in a 3500 buy it now (BIN), with a 3000 floor. It sold today for the full 3500. I actually had to look back at my notes to make sure I had indeed set it at 3500/3000.

So, here is an instance of where AN got me the full BIN not just the floor.

wow congrats. What was the nature of the domain name? Two words? Product, services?

xynames · Aug 8, 2017

Thank you. I have lots of these two words domains that seem to sell well around three four five thousand. But I'm trying to get over ten or twenty thousand for a few right now that people are interested in and have made offers on.

Basically what I've found is that I get lots of $1000. offers, either offers to me directly or via AN, SEDO, etc. but trying to get them above $1000. is sometimes a very steep uphill battle. They know the domains are worth a lot more than $1000. but that's often all they will offer, at least at first. In my opinion, it's not so smart on their part to be willing to pay $1000. only because they won't get a great domain for that price.

You may check out most of my sales at namebio, I post most of them there.

tomcarl · Aug 8, 2017

Have to give credit where credit is due, Afternic may take 20% but unlike any other marketplace, their sales staff will get on those phones, call your leads, leave voice mails, emails, do follow-ups, etc.

xynames · Aug 9, 2017

I have the same domains listed at AN as at Uniregistry (UR), and have sold lots and lots of inquiries at AN, not a single inquiry or sale at UR this year yet.

I do believe that the main way UR even sells anything is if you use their landing pages (I do not) and only then if someone just happens to land on that domain URL. I have my own landing pages and I sell quite a bit directly from my own landing pages / website, so I don't need UR, but AN has proven to be a valuable partner lately.

Hemanttilotia · Aug 9, 2017

They let the world see your domain in the first place. Believe it or not, that's a big service.
And Afternic is still the best place to sell your domains.

xynames · Aug 9, 2017

xynames said:
I have the same domains listed at AN as at Uniregistry (UR), and have sold lots and lots of inquiries at AN, not a single inquiry or sale at UR this year yet.

I do believe that the main way UR even sells anything is if you use their landing pages (I do not) and only then if someone just happens to land on that domain URL. I have my own landing pages and I sell quite a bit directly from my own landing pages / website, so I don't need UR, but AN has proven to be a valuable partner lately.

Basically I think that there are far more people searching for domains for sale at AN versus UR.

Perhaps when a domain is sold at UR through one of their landing pages, they consider that a UR sale even if the domain sale is handled by the domain owner himself with no UR brokers.

xynames · Sep 25, 2017

Just sold another domain at Afternic for full asking of $20K.

xynames · Oct 18, 2017

It would be nice, very nice, if Afternic upgraded their system to allow anonymous interaction between potential buyer and seller, such as at domainagents and sedo - on these platforms we are allowed to add comments to our counteroffers.

Or at least allowed comments to be passed along to the Afternic broker whenever a pricerequest is made.

By comments I mean - comparables, market analysis.

A quoted price - in a vacuum - doesn't mean as much as supplying it with supporting comparables. Whenever I quote a price and am able to communicate with the buyer I supply comparables for both closed sales, and current for sale domains, to support my asking price.

Joe Styler · Oct 18, 2017

I sit by the people taking these calls. They provide very compelling sales data and try hard to close those sales. They pull comps as needed on their own, but you can always email them at [email protected] with any info you want to provide.

xynames · Oct 19, 2017

Did Afternic just raise the limit for Fast Transfer to $35,000. (from the prior $25K)? Just received emails that allowed me to go into my DynaDot and list a number of domains with BIN up to $35K, for Fast Transfer.

Joe Styler · Oct 19, 2017

We raised it to $50k https://domaininvesting.com/50000-now-max-afternic-fast-transfer/

Joe Styler · Oct 19, 2017

Also since this is a what does Afternic do for 20% thread, https://domaininvesting.com/afternic-outbound-email-sales-tactic/ is something else we have been seeing some success with for our sellers.

Templr · Oct 19, 2017

Majority of the domains that are sold on Afternic actually come from sales on one of their many partner sites.

xynames · Aug 31, 2018

I am fine with giving Afternic the 20%, or anyone else who makes the sale.

In my opinion those who don't wish to pay commission to these outfits like Afternic, or to say, another domainer who brings in the sale, are being penny wise, pound foolish.

xynames · Jun 18, 2019

As I think about it the reasons I am willing to pay 20% to Afternic are two fold:

(1) Their domain marketplace is swarming with buyers. Buyers may see my domain that might not otherwise through merely my own domain landers.

(2) Afternic brokers get on the phone with potential buyers. I am not willing or able to communicate on the phone with each inquirer.

What does Afternic do for their 20% commission?

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