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.

 

[DrJacoby]

I've been complaining lately about the lack of sales, and that something isn't right. Well, seems like the old Afternic engine has been overhauled and is ready to kick ass again. I just sold two domains within 19 hours! My first sales in 3.5 months.

I'm shell-shocked, especially since both domains are hyphenated – out of 25 hyphenated domains in my portfolio – and I haven't sold one of those for years. Amazing, could it be Rob Monster on a buying spree? I will post in the Reported Sales thread once the money lands in my bank account.

Edit: Non-boosted.

 

[alcy]

I've been complaining lately about the lack of sales, and that something isn't right. Well, seems like the old Afternic engine has been overhauled and is ready to kick ass again. I just sold two domains within 19 hours! My first sales in 3.5 months.

I'm shell-shocked, especially since both domains are hyphenated – out of 25 hyphenated domains in my portfolio – and I haven't sold one of those for years. Amazing, could it be Rob Monster on a buying spree? I will post in the Reported Sales thread once the money lands in my bank account.

Edit: Non-boosted.

good for ya..but honestly u got more chance your salsa depend on weather than some afternic rehaul

 

[wwwweb]

I've been complaining lately about the lack of sales, and that something isn't right. Well, seems like the old Afternic engine has been overhauled and is ready to kick ass again. I just sold two domains within 19 hours! My first sales in 3.5 months.

I'm shell-shocked, especially since both domains are hyphenated – out of 25 hyphenated domains in my portfolio – and I haven't sold one of those for years. Amazing, could it be Rob Monster on a buying spree? I will post in the Reported Sales thread once the money lands in my bank account.

Edit: Non-boosted.

That is crazy to sell two hypenated names from a portfolio of 25 names in less than 24 hours, especially if they are unrelated niche categories. Congrats

 

[Bob Hawkes]

Is Afternic down for everyone else or is it just me?

Working for me, west coast Canada.

 

[DomainRecap]

I've been complaining lately about the lack of sales, and that something isn't right. Well, seems like the old Afternic engine has been overhauled and is ready to kick ass again. I just sold two domains within 19 hours! My first sales in 3.5 months.

The Afternic brokers are moving faster with leads and that facilitates higher closing rates, and like I said, it looks as if someone at HQ did an Alec Baldwin and gave a Glengarry Glen Ross ass-kicking speech to them.

ABC - Always Be Closing

Now if only one of my many open negotiations finally closes before the weekend.

 

[DN_Hunter]

I don't want to only report on things when they go poorly.

So, in fairness, my recent Custom Checkout Link sale went well.

If all sales were that smooth, there would not be many complaints.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1867565922937872404

Thanks for sharing your latest experience! I was wondering if anything was different (other than the actual domain name vs your first transaction). Example -- were both domain names at the same registrar? Or was the first one at "X" and the 2nd one at "Y"?

 

[bmugford]

Thanks for sharing your latest experience! I was wondering if anything was different (other than the actual domain name vs your first transaction). Example -- were both domain names at the same registrar? Or was the first one at "X" and the 2nd one at "Y"?

The only difference was the extension. The first was .ORG, second was .COM.

Outside that, both domains were already registered at GoDaddy.

I have no idea what the communication was like with the buyer the second time, but if things proceed in a timely manner the communication is not as big of a deal. It only becomes a major issue when the transaction drags on.

Brad

 

[URL Stream]

nah ... all brokers work for buyers... they never made distinctions.

Many well-reputed private brokers seem to better at balancing this conflict of interest.

 

[HotKey]

where is laszlo now anyway

he was the best support

laszlo should be cloned and gd should replace every csr with a laszlo

The Lazlos get fired. Companies don't want to give support they want to gain effectiveness. Numbers rule, workers are under the thumb of massive layers of profiteering.

This is happening everywhere. It's easy to see the pattern. I wish I could say it will all come to a head one day and change things back but we'll have to look for honest and smaller entities for that and hope that they keep small and honest, or at least grow large and still keep honest.

 

[kaposzta]

The Lazlos get fired. Companies don't want to give support they want to gain effectiveness. Numbers rule, workers are under the thumb of massive layers of profiteering.

This is happening everywhere. It's easy to see the pattern. I wish I could say it will all come to a head one day and change things back but we'll have to look for honest and smaller entities for that and hope that they keep small and honest, or at least grow large and still keep honest.

Laszlo was the best, he helped me a couple of times a few years ago

 

[alcy]

The Lazlos get fired. Companies don't want to give support they want to gain effectiveness. Numbers rule, workers are under the thumb of massive layers of profiteering.

This is happening everywhere. It's easy to see the pattern. I wish I could say it will all come to a head one day and change things back but we'll have to look for honest and smaller entities for that and hope that they keep small and honest, or at least grow large and still keep honest.

we start movement ... hire laszlo
and clone him. to replace all gd reps

anyway.. well I hope he didnt get
fired and he got better job doing nothing for more money.

 

[End Game]

I look forward to Abdul Basit's monthly afternic sales reports every month. Funny how this month he has not published one, I heard his sales were dismal, like abnormally just fell off the charts, I think reading thru this thread others have the same experience. So what has happend since the close of Dan, and all these "boost" experiments that sales have fell off the board so much?

I'm sure his sales have dropped off like the rest of us, but he did say a couple of month's ago he wasn't going to report his monthly sales anymore.

 

[End Game]

Is Afternic down for everyone else or is it just me?

Me too, since moving from Dan.

 

[DomainRecap]

Me too, since moving from Dan.

I think it's been conclusively proven that waiting 2-3 days between a buyer's first offer and an Afternic broker responding with the seller's price, is simply not conducive to closing sales.

 

[Future Sensors]

I think it's been conclusively proven that waiting 2-3 days between a buyer's first offer and an Afternic broker responding with the seller's price, is simply not conducive to closing sales.

While waiting for Afternic to restore the quick negotiation functionality previously offered by DAN.COM, consider exploring DomainEasy as an alternative.

 

[DomainRecap]

I was thinking about the possibility of Afternic launching a self-brokerage tool in 2025, and my sincere hope that GD doesn't totally miss the boat in terms of what domain sellers need.

For me, the key element is:

A negotiation area where the buyer and seller can make offers/counters and converse in real-time without any delays or other chicanery. Domain sellers require control in a self-brokered deal, not the illusion of control.

If a buyer makes an offer through a lander, that offer should be viewable in the buyer/seller negotiation area immediately (with the option for the seller to a) self-negotiate or b) use a broker), just as any counter offers should be viewable by the buyer and seller soon after posting. If the buyer or seller accepts an offer, then the transaction is closed and a request for payment issued and Afternic CSRs would post any updates after that.

Obviously this means both the buyer and the seller will require access to this self-negotiation area and there needs to be a level of automation in processing the transaction. If the system is utilizing emails or broker phone calls to relay offers / counter offers to buyers, this will put us back in the same 'stone age' boat we're in right now.

No more waiting, no more emails, no more phone calls, no more 9-5, no more weekends off, and absolutely everything related to a self-negotiated transaction happens in real-time from within that negotiation window.

Speed, speed, and more speed is the key here, and in 2024, you need to strike while the iron's hot. I have closed deals in minutes on Dan, and without full control plus the ability to react quickly and decisively, any self-brokerage system is doomed to failure right from the start.

I truly hope GD can create a true self-brokerage system that provides a designated area for real-time contact between the buyer and seller, and is not just some fancy window covering over the current system with brokers continuing to email and call clients behind the scenes.

@GoDaddy

 

[DomainRecap]

While waiting for Afternic to restore the quick negotiation functionality previously offered by DAN.COM, consider exploring DomainEasy as an alternative.

I'm only staying on Afternic because I am giving them one chance to keep me with their 'self-negotiation tool", and if they screw that up with some company-controlled bullshit (still manipulated and delayed by brokers), then I (and probably a lot of other people) will jump ship elsewhere.

If GD can't produce a viable, real-time negotiation tool, then you can stick a fork in Afternic, as they're done.

 

[Future Sensors]

I'm only staying on Afternic because I am giving them one chance to keep me with their 'self-negotiation tool", and if they screw that up with some company-controlled bullshit (still manipulated and delayed by brokers), then I (and probably a lot of people) will jump ship elsewhere.

At that point, you can stick a fork in Afternic, as they're done.

Appreciate your loyalty.

 

[Future Sensors]

@GoDaddy There is a message in the Dashboard indicating that the current Bulk Upload CSV will no longer work in 2 days, but there is no replacement CSV available yet—only the bloated XLS file. When will the new CSV be available for download?

 

[King]

I'm only staying on Afternic because I am giving them one chance to keep me with their 'self-negotiation tool", and if they screw that up with some company-controlled bullshit (still manipulated and delayed by brokers), then I (and probably a lot of other people) will jump ship elsewhere.

If GD can't produce a viable, real-time negotiation tool, then you can stick a fork in Afternic, as they're done.

Using afternic offer landers at this point is wild.