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.

 

[bmugford]

I have had some really slow buy experiences on Afternic lately.

1.) I bought (2) domains on 12/5/2024. It was the same term in both NET/ORG.

They were both owned by the same party, at the same registrar.

The .ORG was delivered on 12/17/2024. Nothing was happening with the .NET for some reason.

I contacted GoDaddy support a few times and it finally got moving. That one was not received until yesterday (1/2/2025).

2.) I bought a .US domain on 12/22/2024. Nothing has happened.

I contacted GoDaddy support and was told -

"The seller has been responsive on (DOMAIN) , it's just taking a while for them to get it pushed to us."

What does that mean exactly?

Are these delays on the end of @GoDaddy or the sellers?

Brad

 

[GoDaddy]

Happy new year, NamePros! In case you missed it, we recently published a round up of some of the most significant releases and updates of 2024. Take a look!

@GoDaddy what happens when a broker takes a vacation? Do other broker or lead broker take over the deal?

Hi @silentg,
Existing leads are typically reassigned or handled by another broker to ensure coverage.

@GoDaddy - it's been said many times, many ways... but I though I'd chime in yet again.

On a pure Buy It Now Custom Lander, the 'call to action' text still reads as:

"Pay the full $X,XXX now to make it yours!"

The full? I realize what you're doing, as it's an attempt to use a 'one size fits all' text field for everything (i.e. for BIN+LTO and BIN+Offer listings) but this looks stupid and sketchy as hell, like something is incorrect or missing.

When the BIN option is selected in the Custom Lander, it should read:

"Pay $X,XXX now to make it yours!"

Hi @DomainRecap,
This is the phrasing that Dan.com used on its lander, and we're using the same. We will share this with the team once again.

@GoDaddy Using the GoDaddy links now ( custom checkout ), will the buyer have the option to choose which registrar they want to push or transfer the domain to, or will it only support a transfer to GoDaddy?

Hi @coldfiire,
To maintain full control of our TA process, domains will be transferred to the buyer within GoDaddy. Once any applicable transfer locks have ended, the buyer can choose to transfer the domain elsewhere if needed.

This is positive news! I believe this solution could be beneficial for many who currently engage in outbound marketing or lead collection elsewhere, but their buyers prefer the familiarity of the Godaddy brand.

However, unlike the traditional Dan checkout process, this solution currently lacks support for domains in unsupported extensions such as .fi, .ae, etc. This results in the same checkout link error as a standard purchase through a landing page. I initially reported this issue in August, and despite five months having passed, this cart issue remains unresolved. In contrast, for these same domain names, the LTO checkout functions seamlessly.


Could you please provide an update on this matter @GoDaddy ? It is perplexing that the development team cannot replicate the successful functionality of the LTO checkout process for purchases made with BINs

Hi @freety85,
GoDaddy doesn't support the .fi or .ae extensions, so they won't be eligible for the Custom Checkout Link process. You can view the 548 extensions supported by GoDaddy here: https://www.godaddy.com/domains/gtld-domain-names

Hello Afternic

A small suggestion from me.

Could you consider adding folders to improve our domain management? It would be a great addition for those who manage 2 or more portfolios. Folders can be also useful to sort domains in different categories or price ranges. In short, it would be a huge QoL improvement with that small addition.

Hi @Kokoro
Thanks for your feedback. It's something we'll be looking at implementing this year. In the meantime, the Bulk Upload template may help to streamline your management of multiple domain types or sections of your portfolio.

@GoDaddy

So now that we're into 2025, are there any updates concerning the release of the Afternic Self-Brokerage Tool?

Hi @DomainRecap
We're still on track for Q1!

Here's my Afternic Question of the Day:

If I receive a WHOIS inquiry on a domain I have listed on Afternic, and due to the lower 5% commission rate for outside leads, I decide to accept a lower price than either my BIN or Min Bid price on Afternic... do these Afternic minimum prices have any effect on me creating a Custom Link for a outside lead?

For example, let's say in Scenario A, my BIN is $3000 and I accept an outside offer for $2500, or in Scenario B my Minimum Bid is $3000 and I accept an outside offer of $2500 - in either case is there going to be any problem or limiting factor with a 'custom link' transaction being priced UNDER my minimum prices at Afternic, or is it totally apart from that?

In fewer words:

I have a $3K min bid on Domain X and decide to sell it for $2.5K to an outside lead - will the Afternic system spit out an error on a custom link priced below your minimum levels? Or do I need to adjust my minimum bid to not exceed the outside lead offer price?

Thanks.

@GoDaddy

You can create a Custom Checkout Link below your minimum offer value without changing your externally-set values, as long as it's $99 or higher. The Custom Checkout Link supports Buy it Now sales of $99 or more.

Anyone got an idea when Afternic will support .NOW gTLD?

Hi @newdomainernow,
Once the .now extension is available through GoDaddy, we'll look into adding it to Afternic.

I have had some really slow buy experiences on Afternic lately.

1.) I bought (2) domains on 12/5/2024. It was the same term in both NET/ORG.

They were both owned by the same party, at the same registrar.

The .ORG was delivered on 12/17/2024. Nothing was happening with the .NET for some reason.

I contacted GoDaddy support a few times and it finally got moving. That one was not received until yesterday (1/2/2025).

2.) I bought a .US domain on 12/22/2024. Nothing has happened.

I contacted GoDaddy support and was told -

"The seller has been responsive on (DOMAIN) , it's just taking a while for them to get it pushed to us."

What does that mean exactly?

Are these delays on the end of @GoDaddy or the sellers?

Brad

Hi Brad,
It's hard to determine the issue from the information provided. It could be due to an invalid auth code, for example. Please feel free to DM us the domains in question, and we'll connect with the TA team to assist you.

 

[DomainRecap]

Hi @DomainRecap
We're still on track for Q1!


You can create a Custom Checkout Link below your minimum offer value without changing your externally-set values, as long as it's $99 or higher. The Custom Checkout Link supports Buy it Now sales of $99 or more.

Thank you and thank you.

 

[Future Sensors]

This is the phrasing that Dan.com used on its lander, and we're using the same.

No. You are now mixing up BIN and BIN+LTO landers.

DAN.COM only used "full amount" when both BIN and LTO were offered on the lander.

It didn't use it on BIN-only landers. On BIN-only landers, it was simply "Get this domain".

https://news.dan.com/228129-dan-product-update-9

 

[DomainRecap]

No. You are now mixing up BIN and BIN+LTO landers.

DAN.COM only used "full amount" when both BIN and LTO were offered on the lander.

It didn't use it on BIN-only landers. On BIN-only landers, it was simply "Get this domain".

Thanks and I was going to call @GoDaddy on this one (I would have noticed it after selling on Dan for years, as Afternic's clumsy "one size fits all" BIN text stands out like a sore thumb) but I didn't have the visual proof.

Kudos.

And yes, the ONLY reason to insert the "Full Amount" comment is if there is also an LTO option present on the listing. No offence, but this is pretty basic stuff and I'm really starting to wonder about GD's dev team if they can't tell Dan's BIN lander from its BIN + LTO lander.

 

[Future Sensors]

Google is indexing Afternic checkout links. Afternic should of course have prevented this, but it didn't.

https://www.google.com/search?q=site:checkoutlink.godaddy.com&num=50

 

[Future Sensors]

On a related note, it currently takes 25 seconds after clicking on a checkout link for the cart to appear.

Ridiculous that Afternic isn't able to just FIX such essential things.

 

[Future Sensors]

I'm excited to announce that I will not resume using Afternic landers until the platform has adequately addressed essential issues.

 

[GoDaddy]

No. You are now mixing up BIN and BIN+LTO landers.

DAN.COM only used "full amount" when both BIN and LTO were offered on the lander.

It didn't use it on BIN-only landers. On BIN-only landers, it was simply "Get this domain".

https://news.dan.com/228129-dan-product-update-9

Show attachment 268427

Thanks. That's my mistake.

On a related note, it currently takes 25 seconds after clicking on a checkout link for the cart to appear.

Ridiculous that Afternic isn't able to just FIX such essential things.

The load time from Afternic landers to the GoDaddy cart currently hovers around 12 seconds, with more work planned to cut this again. Custom Checkout Links are currently loading within 8-10 seconds. Please could you DM an example of what you're seeing?

 

[bmugford]

The load time from Afternic landers to the GoDaddy cart currently hovers around 12 seconds, with more work planned to cut this again. Custom Checkout Links are currently loading within 8-10 seconds. Please could you DM an example of what you're seeing?

It might vary based on a number of factors, but the problem is even 12 seconds is awful.

With most websites the cart loads almost instantly, or at most in a few seconds.

In the last week I bought products on Amazon, Costco, Wayfair, Academy Sports.

In every case the item was added to the cart almost instantly.

Why is the process still so slow with GoDaddy?

Brad

 

[bmugford]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1841849506188738631

 

[Future Sensors]

Please could you DM an example of what you're seeing?

 

[Garet]

Thanks. That's my mistake.


The load time from Afternic landers to the GoDaddy cart currently hovers around 12 seconds, with more work planned to cut this again. Custom Checkout Links are currently loading within 8-10 seconds. Please could you DM an example of what you're seeing?

How on earth does one DM an example of slow? I just tested a name and it took 20 seconds to move from search to cart. That's painfully slow. Do you need a video with timer embedded @GoDaddy? The report that you need a DM for seems crystal clear. And there are plenty of similar reports. Take some responsibility.

 

[bmugford]

Show attachment 268436

I added a domain using the Afternic BIN lander to my cart.

It took over 15 seconds. That is just not acceptable.

I tried on my mobile phone. It was a similar time.

It is always slow. The problem is clearly on GoDaddy's end.

 

[Future Sensors]

The problem is clearly on GoDaddy's end.

The good thing is that GoDaddy admits this, but apparently is unable to solve it, even though they have been working on this for months with multiple teams from different disciplines. The same goes for the issues with lame delegation on ns1 and ns2. Frankly, it is somewhat embarrassing?

 

[Garet]

Frankly, it is somewhat embarrassing?

Somewhat embarrassing? Operating at a somewhat embarrassing level is improvement and cause for an excited announcement in the land of GoDaddy.

 

[Garet]

The good thing is that GoDaddy admits this, but apparently is unable to solve it, even though they have been working on this for months with multiple teams from different disciplines. The same goes for the issues with lame delegation on ns1 and ns2. Frankly, it is somewhat embarrassing?

The text (copy) used on a sales lander is critical and fundamental. Companies spend much effort refining and testing messaging.

It is more than somewhat embarrassing to take months and so many requests to even acknowledge and recognize a problem with awkward wording. That is sloppy and lazy. It reflects a lack of care and understanding. It never should have gone live in such a rough state.

 

[Future Sensors]

Perhaps @Paul Nicks could demonstrate some courage by addressing these long-standing issues, rather than secretly voting for his own company in the favorite registrar poll each year (which, by the way, hasn't helped GoDaddy rank in the top 5).

 

[Recons.Com]

The good thing is that GoDaddy admits this, but apparently is unable to solve it, even though they have been working on this for months with multiple teams from different disciplines. The same goes for the issues with lame delegation on ns1 and ns2. Frankly, it is somewhat embarrassing?

it shouldn't take more than a day to figure it out for any semi-decent IT company. Normally, it is something from another site and/or third party the page is waiting for. You need to identify it and decide what is going on. Either eliminate, or make it concurrent loading, when everything else is not waiting for it. Could be something absolutely unessential like some vague data someone on the basement floor is collecting for some ancient report no one has bothered to cancel, e.g.

 

[Future Sensors]

Could be something absolutely unessential like some vague data someone on the basement floor is collecting for some ancient report no one has bothered to cancel, e.g.

Sounds like GoDaddy is doing some serious A/B testing on user patience. The report is due on my desk by Monday.