Afternic - Official Thread

[GoDaddy]

Hello NamePros!
By popular demand, we have launched a dedicated feedback thread for Afternic, the GoDaddy-owned domain name marketplace.

We have created this thread as a way for you to tell us what works, what doesn't work, and what features you'd like to see at Afternic (please be constructive with your feedback). We're looking forward to hearing from the domain investment community to help us shape the future of Afternic.

We will also be sharing Afternic product updates in this thread.

Please note that this thread is not meant for support. Please email our support team at [email protected] for assistance.

 

[Future Sensors]

@GoDaddy When adding the column "Sales Lander" to the Portfolio overview, the last column "Action" disappears completely.

 

[Future Sensors]

@GoDaddy Suggestion: make the "Download Template" a simple .csv file.

The current .xls file produces an "Unknown or unsupported Excel file format" error.

 

[tonyk2000]

As per the last newsletter: "In instances where you are adding a domain name to your portfolio that already has a listing on Afternic, you'll be able to use TXT or nameserver records to move that domain name into your portfolio within minutes."
Fine, but ownership verification is still not mandatory. In other words, fraudsters are still able to add domains they do not own (if a real owner does not have the domain listed @ afternic), as well as unregistered domains. Moreover, the same issue is still not fixed @ DAN.

@James Iles

 

[kor]

It's great to finally see updates for Afternic 2.0!

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The new bulk upload sample file I downloaded via beta does not open on macOS.

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Lander selection will default your domain to our Request Price landing page. If you want to change that, you should visit your Afternic portfolio page and change the Sales Lander settings.

Is there a way to preserve the lander selections when uploading with the reconcile/replace option? I wasn't sure as I couldn't open the new file as seen in the screenshot above. If there is no column for it, I think it should be added.

 

[Future Sensors]

The new bulk upload sample file I downloaded via beta does not open on macOS.

Yes, there's definitely something wrong with that template .xls file.

Offering a simple .csv will do.

 

[Future Sensors]

@GoDaddy In the accompanying text it says that a CSV file can be downloaded, while in reality it is a corrupt .xls file named "bulk_upload_sample_v2.xls" when you click on Download. Please offer .csv only.

(This Download button is present in 2 different locations)

 

[James Iles]

Thanks @Future Sensors @kor - the bulk upload access is being worked on and will be updated as soon as possible.

Is there a way to preserve the lander selections when uploading with the reconcile/replace option? I wasn't sure as I couldn't open the new file as seen in the screenshot above. If there is no column for it, I think it should be added.

Reconciling applies to listing the domain and pricing. At the moment there's no option for lander selection on that file. For new domains, you'd need to use the bulk lander update feature following reconciliation. Hope that helps. Please feel free to DM me to chat about this further. I'm happy to take your feedback back to the team regarding a lander selection column.

 

[andrelisbon]

I'm having the same problems (corrupt excel file) and no results whatever (no errors, no message) from uploading a semantically correct CSV.

 

[LoveCatchyDomains]

Fine, but ownership verification is still not mandatory. In other words, fraudsters are still able to add domains they do not own (if a real owner does not have the domain listed @ afternic), as well as unregistered domains. Moreover, the same issue is still not fixed @ DAN.

So, Afternic:

If this is true, when is the mandatory verification coming for everyone? Or is this new verification method now or very shortly actually mandatory?

Mandatory verification would likely be a great blessing, helping eliminate the underlying problem of needing to 'kick out' the expired or fraudulent listings?

And when will all the unregistered domains be purged from the system?

 

[Future Sensors]

no results whatever (no errors, no message) from uploading a semantically correct CSV.

That would be the same bug that is present in the classic interface. Thanks for reporting.

Guess I'll wait a bit while all of you are testing...

 

[Future Sensors]

Show attachment 236529

This XLS template produces an error:

bulk_upload_sample_v2.xls

Read Error.
Unknown or unsupported Excel file format.

The corrupt .xls file that Afternic is serving contains all kinds of info that should not be there.

Like for example:

<NAME>[redacted]@godaddy.com</NAME> <ADDRESS type="email_alias">[redacted]@secureservernet.onmicrosoft.com</ADDRESS>​

Edit by moderator: username redacted.

 

[karmaco]

As per the last newsletter: "In instances where you are adding a domain name to your portfolio that already has a listing on Afternic, you'll be able to use TXT or nameserver records to move that domain name into your portfolio within minutes."
Fine, but ownership verification is still not mandatory. In other words, fraudsters are still able to add domains they do not own (if a real owner does not have the domain listed @ afternic), as well as unregistered domains. Moreover, the same issue is still not fixed @ DAN.

@James Iles

And they are doing it this very minute. I had 3 today requesting Afternic fast transfers for names that I have integrated through DAN!! Its a hot mess allready.

This is so a$$ backwards. It should be the other way around prove to ADD a listing PERIOD. All this does is let the scammers continue.

It helps nothing except lets support not have to help us. I will continue to contact Afternic because my names are mostly integrated through DAN.

Stop calling it “outdated listings”. Its predominantly scammers hoping we click the fast transfer email.

 

[capybara]

The next feature I would love to see is the ability to force trigger fast transfer integration for domains which either were not eligible for it at the time of being listed or had it turned off due to expiration or transfer.

 

[fardomai]

Hello I hope you guys having a great day!

I used to get Afternic's payouts to PayPal.
But now I need them to be in TransferWise(Wise) in USD.
I'm not a US resident or citizen.

is it possible to receive payouts to Wise in USD

Did contact Afternic support, still no reply
@James Iles @GoDaddy any accurate info about this?

 

[Bob Hawkes]

Does Afternic have a status page that shows any issues? I checked status.afternic.com and not one there, but maybe under another name.

If there is not one, it could be helpful so users can know if a problem they are experiencing is widespread, and that it is being worked on. For example yesterday for awhile the new verification system was not working, a message there would have kept people informed.

Here is an example from Hostinger:
https://statuspage.hostinger.com/

Or NamePros
https://www.namepros-status.com/

I am not sure whether there should be one for each division or all under a single umbrella at GoDaddy.

What do people think? @James Iles

-Bob

 

[Future Sensors]

Does Afternic have a status page that shows any issues? I checked status.afternic.com and not one there, but maybe under another name.

If there is not one, it could be helpful so users can know if a problem they are experiencing is widespread, and that it is being worked on. For example yesterday for awhile the new verification system was not working, a message there would have kept people informed.

Here is an example from Hostinger:
https://statuspage.hostinger.com/

Or NamePros
https://www.namepros-status.com/

I am not sure whether there should be one for each division or all under a single umbrella at GoDaddy.

What do people think? @James Iles

The only status page Afternic has given us publicly on this forum is https://status.godaddy.com/ with Afternic in the Domain Services section.

But as we've seen from the reports in this thread, a green Operational status there only means that the website is up (I think), while there could be a myriad of problems in the meantime with uploading, signing in, landers, etc. We've seen bugs and outages reported here that lasted several days, and did not even get a mention in the Past Incidents section.

I fully support your call for more fine-grained monitoring of all essential Afternic services, which truly mimics user actions -and potential buyer actions- on the Afternic website and Afternic landers.

Furthermore, I believe that GoDaddy/Afternic itself needs to monitor their Afternic services much more seriously (24x7x365) and not only fix issues after someone is reporting here in this thread. That causes a huge delay every single time.

 

[James Iles]

Does Afternic have a status page that shows any issues? I checked status.afternic.com and not one there, but maybe under another name.

If there is not one, it could be helpful so users can know if a problem they are experiencing is widespread, and that it is being worked on. For example yesterday for awhile the new verification system was not working, a message there would have kept people informed.

Here is an example from Hostinger:
https://statuspage.hostinger.com/

Or NamePros
https://www.namepros-status.com/

I am not sure whether there should be one for each division or all under a single umbrella at GoDaddy.

What do people think? @James Iles

-Bob

Thanks Bob. There is a general one for GoDaddy - but it is great feedback and I will talk to the Afternic project manager to see if we can work on this for the future.

 

[Embrand]

The Buy Now button on the Afternic Buy Now landers has gone from black color to blue. I do like that the Buy Now button is blue, but I am not sure how great it looks together with the other colors on the lander.

 

[ArielT]

@James Iles @GoDaddy

Hi,

I often encounter the issue of an "Access Denied" page when deleting expired domains on my account

Please fix this issue

Thanks

 

[Future Sensors]

I often encounter the issue of an "Access Denied" page when deleting expired domains on my account

Please fix this issue

Thanks

Afternic is using Akamai, and indeed, reference #18 in your screenshot would mean "Access denied".

Here's more info from Akamai why such a block could happen. But it's Afternic that has to resolve this matter, not Akamai.

https://community.akamai.com/customers/s/article/Why-is-Akamai-blocking-me

 

[kor]

@ArielT

It seems they have implemented a new DDOS protection setting on Akamai and almost all services are negatively affected.

 

[Maged Khatab]

The Buy Now button on the Afternic Buy Now landers has gone from black color to blue. I do like that the Buy Now button is blue, but I am not sure how great it looks together with the other colors on the lander.

No, the blue color isn't good at all with this color theme! Actually, the reason some colors turned to blue is due to the misconfiguration of the CSS files and I already reported this bug last week.

 

[Embrand]

No, the blue color isn't good at all with this color theme! Actually, the reason some colors turned to blue is due to the misconfiguration of the CSS files and I already reported this bug last week.

So that is why... Yes, it does look a bit strange. You would think they could fix it quickly if you reported it already.

 

[James Iles]

So that is why... Yes, it does look a bit strange. You would think they could fix it quickly if you reported it already.

I'm in contact with @Maged Khatab about this - it is being investigated and reviewed at the moment.

 

[simran.net]

With one of the next major releases, we should see customer support response times speed up significantly. I'll make sure to highlight your experience here, though.


Thanks Dane. Based on feedback, faster payouts is something that Afternic is working on in the long-term.


If you're experiencing this, please DM me and I'm happy to look into it.

Lander Selection: The way you switch between Afternic landing pages is changing

Afternic is excited to announce our lander selection update!

In short, this update changes how you switch between Request Price, Buy it Now (BIN), and Cashparking landing pages at Afternic.

From now on, customers already using Afternic nameservers will now use Afternic’s portfolio dashboard to update their landing page settings either individually or in bulk. You will not need to change Afternic nameservers to change landing pages.

For customers adding domain names to Afternic, here is our recommended flow going forward:

• Set your domain name to ns1.afternic.com and ns2.afternic.com
• Add your domain name to your Afternic portfolio
• By default, your domain name will show the Request Price landing page
• If you want to change the landing page that is shown, this will be done through your Afternic portfolio page
• Any changes to your Afternic landing page selection will, in the future, be actioned from your Afternic portfolio page

Why have we done this?
In the past, selecting your landing page at Afternic would require you to change to specific nameservers. This limited our ability to add new lander types.

Switching to this lander selection system paves the way for us to add more lander types in the future. For example, lease to own landing pages.

For a first look at lander selection and our ownership verification update, read this blog post from @James Iles.



FAQs

Do I need to change Afternic nameservers to change my landing page?
As long as you’re pointing to Afternic nameservers (for example, ns1.afternic.com and ns2.afternic.com), you will change your lander type via Afternic’s portfolio page from now on.


Will Afternic remember my current landing page settings?
Afternic’s team has backfilled landing page preferences. Your current Afternic landing page preferences are shown under the new “Sales Lander” column on your portfolio page. From now on, you will change you lander type via Afternic’s portfolio page.


If I’m already using Afternic nameserver settings, do I need to update my nameservers to access the new lander selection?
If your domain is currently using an existing Afternic nameserver, you do not need to make any changes to your nameserver settings. The lander settings will now be determined by the lander selection in the UI rather than the nameservers.

If your domain is not using the Afternic nameserver, you will need to update your domain to use one of our nameserver configurations and then select the lander type in the UI.

How long will it take for my lander page to update to the new lander settings?
If your lander is currently using an Afternic nameserver, the lander changes should take effect almost immediately.

If you have just updated the nameservers to Afternic, please allow 24-48 hours to see the lander changes take effect.


If I add domain names to Afternic and I use an Afternic nameserver configuration, which landing page will it default to?
Lander selection will default your domain to our Request Price landing page. If you want to change that, you should visit your Afternic portfolio page and change the Sales Lander settings.

Hi Afternic team,

it seems uniregistry customers are facing difficulties in merging.

1) domain listed, servers set to afternic (ns1,ns2), Afternic parking approved. But domains showing only blank page.

2) There is no domain showing in my afternic public profile also.

Have sent email to service(@)afternic.com few days ago and no response. Today sent to [email protected] also.

Can you look into this issue?