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discuss 5 figure offer and bad experience with GoDaddy/Afternic and their broker

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BigTree

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My recent experience with Godaddy/Afternic.

On November 26th I got a 5-figure offer through Afternic, which was presented to me by GoDaddy broker Joshua Z.
After my countoffer (the same day), I could see in my Afternic account that the buyer replied ("email received from buyer").
Since I did not know what the buyer replied in the email, I sent a message to the broker to ask about it. (From that information, I could adjust my negotiation with the buyer or even change my mind and accept the initial offer, but most importantly, I could keep the negotiation going with the buyer.)
I didn't get a reply from the broker that day.
I didn't get a reply the next day and
the following day.
I sent multiple emails to the broker trying to contact him through the Afternic website ("Contact the broker") and directly using his email address, but no reply to this day.

After a few days without any reply, I sent an email through the Afternic Help Center and GoDaddy.
I also contacted GoDaddy using their chat, and their representative there said he would make my case a priority.
Unfortunately, I haven't gotten any reply in the following days or to this day from them.

I contacted a GoDaddy representative through the official GoDaddy thread here on NamePros.
The representative said he understands that it must be a frustrating experience for me and
"I'll connect with the team. Note, most are in the US, so there could be a delay with getting a response."
From that, I got the impression that I would get a reply quickly; maybe even that day.
I didn't get a reply that day from GoDaddy team.
I didn't get a reply the next day and
the following day.
I didn't get a reply to this day.

Things like that just harm negotiation with the buyer and decrease chances to close the deal successfully. Not to mention wasted time, frustration, and that it takes my focus from other important things.

I am shocked by how Godday/Afternic work.
I used DAN before, and I always was able to get a reply within an hour or hours or even instantly through their chat. Everything was smooth and pleasure. I could make a counteroffer and send a message, and the buyers cloud did the same, and everyone was getting that information instantly, and negotiations were going on.
Here I cannot even get a simple reply, and they have a higher commission than DAN had before they put hands on it.

Today, in my time zone, is December 2nd, and I still haven't gotten a reply from GoDaddy, Afternic, or their broker.

Am I really expecting too much?
Should I, or anyone else, be happy with the customer service like this?
 
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The views expressed on this page by users and staff are their own, not those of NamePros.
Iโ€™ve had issues with GoDaddy's slow response times, which can and has ruined deals for me. Their super high commissions donโ€™t seem worth it either. Iโ€™d suggest using buy-it-now pricing to make things easier and switching to personal landers for better control and faster replies.

This what I will try to do.

"Fool me once, shame on you.
Fool me twice, shame on me."
 
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YES. Dan was better, GoDaddy ate Dan and ruin it, GoDaddy Staff basically knows nothing about domains.
 
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Millions stalled leads really. Maybe it would be better to prepare the buyer somehow about the price range. It's impossible to bring someone from $20 bucks to 2 or 5K.
And then spamming them forever till they buy, huh..
 
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most sellers will assume that you can pay more
Hi

i don't assume how much more they could pay, because if the offer is within an acceptable amount for the name,
then why risk having that potential buyer walk.

again, it's all about the specific name in question
some domains have a value ceiling and exceeding that, can deter potentials.

imo...
 
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My recent experience with Godaddy/Afternic.

On November 26th I got a 5-figure offer through Afternic, which was presented to me by GoDaddy broker Joshua Z.
After my countoffer (the same day), I could see in my Afternic account that the buyer replied ("email received from buyer").
Since I did not know what the buyer replied in the email, I sent a message to the broker to ask about it. (From that information, I could adjust my negotiation with the buyer or even change my mind and accept the initial offer, but most importantly, I could keep the negotiation going with the buyer.)
I didn't get a reply from the broker that day.
I didn't get a reply the next day and
the following day.
I sent multiple emails to the broker trying to contact him through the Afternic website ("Contact the broker") and directly using his email address, but no reply to this day.

After a few days without any reply, I sent an email through the Afternic Help Center and GoDaddy.
I also contacted GoDaddy using their chat, and their representative there said he would make my case a priority.
Unfortunately, I haven't gotten any reply in the following days or to this day from them.

I contacted a GoDaddy representative through the official GoDaddy thread here on NamePros.
The representative said he understands that it must be a frustrating experience for me and
"I'll connect with the team. Note, most are in the US, so there could be a delay with getting a response."
From that, I got the impression that I would get a reply quickly; maybe even that day.
I didn't get a reply that day from GoDaddy team.
I didn't get a reply the next day and
the following day.
I didn't get a reply to this day.

Things like that just harm negotiation with the buyer and decrease chances to close the deal successfully. Not to mention wasted time, frustration, and that it takes my focus from other important things.

I am shocked by how Godday/Afternic work.
I used DAN before, and I always was able to get a reply within an hour or hours or even instantly through their chat. Everything was smooth and pleasure. I could make a counteroffer and send a message, and the buyers cloud did the same, and everyone was getting that information instantly, and negotiations were going on.
Here I cannot even get a simple reply, and they have a higher commission than DAN had before they put hands on it.

Today, in my time zone, is December 2nd, and I still haven't gotten a reply from GoDaddy, Afternic, or their broker.

Am I really expecting too much?
Should I, or anyone else, be happy with the customer service like this?
Hi @BigTree
Thanks for reaching out to us. We're looking at what caused a slowdown in communication between you and the broker, but we're glad to see that the negotiation is progressing well. Here's to your next sale!
 
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Update:

From Monday I have been getting replies regularly from Afternic.
At this moment I am trying to close the deal.

I will keep you updated.
 
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My recent experience with Godaddy/Afternic.

On November 26th I got a 5-figure offer through Afternic, which was presented to me by GoDaddy broker Joshua Z.
After my countoffer (the same day), I could see in my Afternic account that the buyer replied ("email received from buyer").
Since I did not know what the buyer replied in the email, I sent a message to the broker to ask about it. (From that information, I could adjust my negotiation with the buyer or even change my mind and accept the initial offer, but most importantly, I could keep the negotiation going with the buyer.)
I didn't get a reply from the broker that day.
I didn't get a reply the next day and
the following day.
I sent multiple emails to the broker trying to contact him through the Afternic website ("Contact the broker") and directly using his email address, but no reply to this day.

After a few days without any reply, I sent an email through the Afternic Help Center and GoDaddy.
I also contacted GoDaddy using their chat, and their representative there said he would make my case a priority.
Unfortunately, I haven't gotten any reply in the following days or to this day from them.

I contacted a GoDaddy representative through the official GoDaddy thread here on NamePros.
The representative said he understands that it must be a frustrating experience for me and
"I'll connect with the team. Note, most are in the US, so there could be a delay with getting a response."
From that, I got the impression that I would get a reply quickly; maybe even that day.
I didn't get a reply that day from GoDaddy team.
I didn't get a reply the next day and
the following day.
I didn't get a reply to this day.

Things like that just harm negotiation with the buyer and decrease chances to close the deal successfully. Not to mention wasted time, frustration, and that it takes my focus from other important things.

I am shocked by how Godday/Afternic work.
I used DAN before, and I always was able to get a reply within an hour or hours or even instantly through their chat. Everything was smooth and pleasure. I could make a counteroffer and send a message, and the buyers cloud did the same, and everyone was getting that information instantly, and negotiations were going on.
Here I cannot even get a simple reply, and they have a higher commission than DAN had before they put hands on it.

Today, in my time zone, is December 2nd, and I still haven't gotten a reply from GoDaddy, Afternic, or their broker.

Am I really expecting too much?
Should I, or anyone else, be happy with the customer service like this?
I have a domain being brokered by Joshua Z that I received an offer for, and I sent a counter offer yesterday early afternoon. Shortly after, it shows buyer call logged, email sent to buyer, and then about 5 minutes later it appears the buyer replied (Email received from buyer). Then nothing, no response from the broker to the buyer, no more updates.

So it could be that he is communicating with the buyer and the Afternic leader center isn't updating (people have reported this in the past), or the broker hasn't responded in over a day, or maybe the email the buyer sent was an autoresponder message (I have no idea how those lead center updates are generated - if they are automated or manual).

Either way, lack of transparency and how long it can take for some brokers to respond isn't a good look and probably a factor in some sales falling through. Self-brokering can't come soon enough.
 
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Last time Afternic broker closed a 5 figure sale. It took 14 days.
Broker was Calum Y: He kept the lead center updated when he emailed and called.

It all depends on who the broker is.
 
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9 days ago I got an offer for a domain.
For 2 days no interaction at all between me and the broker or updates on the lead center.
No email , not a floor price requestโ€ฆI just found out visiting the lead center.
After a couple of my messages ignored by the broker , 2 days later he responded saying they left a wrong number and that was why there was no interaction at all ( oh , and why the lead wasnโ€™t updated !?) and asked me for a floor price after stating that in the USA โ€œitโ€™s also thanksgiving weekโ€.
As per now we agreed on a price 2 days ago , but the domain never went on holdโ€ฆso another buyer can come and buy the domain paying the buy now price even now.
 
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I miss Dan for this exact reason. Full control of the negations unless you personally choose to include a broker. Good times.

I know and there was no reason in Hell (other than the CEO "hitting his targets") why Dan was shut down before Afternic had a self-brokerage tool in place.

That's what caused all these issues, as a large number of Dan clients migrated into Afternic and engulfed their small broker team, resulting in massive delays across the board. Now sales are down, users are angry, and GD has delayed the launch of their brokerage tool.
 
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This delayment could be due to many trials of convincing the buyer to buy cheaper alternative domain from gd portfolio or hand reg one or choose other useless promoted tlds !! With godaddy anything expected .

.
 
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This delayment could be due to many trials of convincing the buyer to buy cheaper alternative domain from gd portfolio or hand reg one or choose other useless promoted tlds !! With godaddy anything expected .

.
We will never know for sure how many times this has happened but we can be pretty sure there is cross-selling going on.
 
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I noticed that even if you reply straight away to an offer, some brokers will not present your reply to that buyer for days.
This is obviously not good because some buyers may lose interest or just find another domain in the meantime.

An example (screenshot) of that from my account.
 

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I can relate to your negative experience. GoDaddy doesnโ€™t seem to prioritize improving its customer service. The level of irresponsibility and lack of respect for domain investors is unbelievable. What could be causing such low motivation among GoDaddy employees?
 
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GoDaddy obviously has a problem with its employees and customers. Sad to see Bob's company go to pot. Maybe shorting the stock is the best option!
 
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I noticed that even if you reply straight away to an offer, some brokers will not present your reply to that buyer for days.
This is obviously not good because some buyers may lose interest or just find another domain in the meantime.

This is standard operating procedure at Afternic/GoDaddy and while there may be some go-getter exceptions, my average is 2-3 days between my immediate relaying of the Buy Price and the broker actually forwarding that to the customer.

And they wonder why so many negotiations end up Stalled.
 
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Yes, this taking weekends off, and getting back 3-5 days later, kills deals, people find different options.

You can see with all the new tabs, if a buyer comes direct searching for your domain, they are given every other possible option for a different name. You have access to 0 data, how can you win like this?

They should have 24/7, 365 support, they have offices all across the World they this can be setup with, makes no sense.
 
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after this thread, im going to move my domains lander to domaineasy, because i don't want to lose any potential sale, broker sent email to a buyer after a week that most likely buyer will arrange other options.
 
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There are FAR more "tire kickers", ill-informed interested parties, low-ballers, curious folk, etc. than there are buyers for aftermarket domains priced or valued >$1,000+. This is a well know FACT to anyone who has been in the domain game since its early stages (late 90s, v. early 00s).

Why do I mention this? Because some of the inherent value of Afternic is that AN and its brokers serve as "filters", filtering out time-wasters. That's worth something. It's work they and the AN system does without making coin.

Then, as a somewhat ready, willing, and able buyer comes on the scene they also filter out person's or entities based upon your instructions or mine, be that a "firm price" or a "floor price".

They system also attempts to give guidance by displaying what the system's data "believes" are comparable, or at least relevant / reference sales. That cuts both ways, as a low number may instill in a prospect the idea that your "ask" is wrong, unsupported, etc. That's where personal experience kicks in and you get to live with the outcome, be that a lost sale for a reasonable price or a sale that far exceeds the estimated value. That's just the nature of "sales" or selling or the sales business.

The only thing I might change about the AN model would be a better process for a "hand off" for higher value domains to more experienced domain holders, with an adjustment for lead-gen versus closing deals. Some folks may be inclined to not list their top, right-priced domains out of a concern that they could do a better job of negotiating in real-time, without the friction of an intermediary. I'm not sure what they answer is here, but I've had at least one decent "potential" transaction at the $50K+ level go sideways when I was lead to believe it was still going forwards / upwards.

Sometimes the registrant needs to get on the phone with the prospect so there's a better sense or "feel" for what is and isn't not possible.

YMMV. Just thinking out loud . . via keyboard. :-/ Nothing about the leads that go nowhere surprises me. As I said, filtering has value, as does right pricing (as an aid to the brokers).

That's not to say that any broker would agree that I'm more expert at "right pricing"...... :p
 
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I've never had a problem with the overall Afternic process, only how incredibly slooooooow that very first step can be.

When Afternic is taking 2-5 business days to just forward the initial price to the buyer, something is desperately wrong. It would be like going to a coffee shop that serves really good coffee and donuts, but due to the high demand and limited number of servers, you need to wait in line for a day or two in order to even place your order.

What's even more amusing is that if you don't reply to a buyer offer, Afternic/GD sends out multiple emails telling you that the possibility of making a sale drops if you don't respond within 24 hours. Hmmmm, very interesting. :unsure:

GoDaddy needs to either a) hire more brokers or b) get their ass in gear on the self-brokerage tool.
 
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Domain Reacap you are on point. Ever since Godaddy turned into a huge corp the quality has gone down hill and of course Afternice"" is just part of the problem. Come on Afternic we're all rooting for you! Make the company a better experience!!!
 
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