Afternic and the slow buying process makes you on edge!

[mrcurly]

I was speaking with the owner of a particular domain today and they mentioned about their domain being listed at various places , godaddy , afternic, sedo etc......they also mentioned that they would be happy to go through escrow or paypal , and most importantly that since listing the domain at numerous places yesterday, they have 2 buyers who want to buy today and that they are waiting for someone to start the escrow process to cement the sale in stone.....so I though I would buy the domain asap through afternic.com , I paid the money and within 5 minutes of pressing the "buy now" button, I told the seller that I have purchased the domain through afternic. 20 minutes after pressing the "buy now" button and paying the money, the seller had still not yet received any notification that I had purchased the domain and was still considering other options. I contacted afternic and was passed around like football before ending up with the escrow team there, the guy on the phone to me said that they process each transaction through out the day and that there is no urgency in any purchase. Obviously this was no good for me as I knew that the seller had just listed the domain everywhere and I knew things were going to happen fast whatever the outcome, I was also aware that the seller was not playing tricks with me on the multiple offer thing as I have been in the domain business for a while and know a decent domain when I see one. After 30 minutes on the phone to Afternic in America ( Im in the UK ), I finally get through to someone who says that they have informed the escrow department that they need to process my payment asap and that they will contact the owner of the domain to say it has been sold to prevent the seller selling to anyone else. What a wrong choice going through afternic has been, the process is just not fast enough for me to get things wrapped up! Surely an email needs to get sent instantly to the seller to say the domain has been sold?? .........never again!

 

[gilescoley]

Hey Stu, that is really strange, I have sold and bought names through Afternic and never seen this before, they have always been pretty good

they process each transaction through out the day and that there is no urgency in any purchase

I really cant understand this bit, if it comes to the transferring of names and liaising with buyers/sellers, then I can understand them doing it manually, but when it comes to generating the email, most systems are automated so this shouldn't be an issue and the email should be instant

Must be frustrating Stu

 

[mrcurly]

I will send you details mate via email, and what domain it is ( as you are the only person in the domaining industry that I can trust........sad as it seems! ) then you will understand my frustrations mate!

 

[gilescoley]

No worries Stu, send away

 

[GravityEleven]

no.. things have changed at Afternic, Giles.. they used to be fast and uncomplicated in the past but nowadays it's a real pain to deal with them.. i have sold and purchased lots of domains via Afternic and their speed / efficiency has definitely deteriorated over time..

not sure if it has to do with the GoDaddy BuyUp or whatever.. nowadays i prefer to buy a domain at other venues if i see it listed not only at Afternic..

 

[GravityEleven]

ps: the only way to still sell/buy domains fast via afternic is via fast transfer (requires premium listing, buy now pricing and domain listed with supported registrar such as GD).. then everything is dealt with swiftly (as its mostly automated then, duh)

 

[gilescoley]

no.. things have changed at Afternic, Giles.. they used to be fast and uncomplicated in the past but nowadays it's a real pain to deal with them.. i have sold and purchased lots of domains via Afternic and their speed / efficiency has definitely deteriorated over time..

Thanks GravityEleven, has that just changed recently, I sold 1 and bought 1 in the middle of last year through them and had no issues? maybe I just got lucky, not good for business though

 

[mrcurly]

Just spoken with afternic again, and now they said it can take up to 10 business days to receive the transfer codes???

So the payment has gone from my account, afternic have confirmed they have the money and both myself and the seller have to wait up to 10 business days to receive some transfer codes wtf!

All afternic have to do now is email the seller to say they have the funds, and it is ok to push the domain. Then I will I will confirm the push and the seller gets paid.....I have never known anything so long winded in all my life!

 

[RevolutionaryDomains]

As I have not dealt with Afternic in many years, this may be a silly question/suggestion, but just trying to help here. Since GD is the parent company, can you contact GD Customer Service for some assistance or guidance, or are both entities still acting fully independent from one another?

 

[Name Trader]

My GD Account Manager has advised me on some Afternic issues i the past, but mostly on generic issues.

10 business days for transfer codes? Where is the domain registered? Sounds ridiculous to me.

 

[gilescoley]

Yeah, never had that issue with them, even last year they were fine

 

[mrcurly]

after a 3rd phone call to afternic they apologised for the confusion and speeded up the process, I now have the domain.

 

[jideofor]

I was speaking with the owner of a particular domain today and they mentioned about their domain being listed at various places , godaddy , afternic, sedo etc......they also mentioned that they would be happy to go through escrow or paypal , and most importantly that since listing the domain at numerous places yesterday, they have 2 buyers who want to buy today and that they are waiting for someone to start the escrow process to cement the sale in stone.....so I though I would buy the domain asap through afternic.com , I paid the money and within 5 minutes of pressing the "buy now" button, I told the seller that I have purchased the domain through afternic. 20 minutes after pressing the "buy now" button and paying the money, the seller had still not yet received any notification that I had purchased the domain and was still considering other options. I contacted afternic and was passed around like football before ending up with the escrow team there, the guy on the phone to me said that they process each transaction through out the day and that there is no urgency in any purchase. Obviously this was no good for me as I knew that the seller had just listed the domain everywhere and I knew things were going to happen fast whatever the outcome, I was also aware that the seller was not playing tricks with me on the multiple offer thing as I have been in the domain business for a while and know a decent domain when I see one. After 30 minutes on the phone to Afternic in America ( Im in the UK ), I finally get through to someone who says that they have informed the escrow department that they need to process my payment asap and that they will contact the owner of the domain to say it has been sold to prevent the seller selling to anyone else. What a wrong choice going through afternic has been, the process is just not fast enough for me to get things wrapped up! Surely an email needs to get sent instantly to the seller to say the domain has been sold?? .........never again!

Sorry about that. But why didn't you use Sedo? You could have encouraged the seller to list it there.

 

[xam8758]

I write emails to them from July 20, and all the moves terribly long.
July 20 began the buyer escrow and paid back my domain, I was notified, I unlock the domain and sent the transfer code. July 24 domain was transferred to the buyer, and I'm still waiting for the payment to my PayPal. I set them 5 emails and no one response.