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.

 

[dr manos]

Hi there!

Entered today at afternic account and found many brokered leads under negotiation but never received an email for any of there.
So some friends here were correct about it.
@James Iles

 

[Traderas]

Hi there!

Entered today at afternic account and found many brokered leads under negotiation but never received an email for any of there.
So some friends here were correct about it.
@James Iles

Yes, that s their standard procedure apparently.

"When an offer is made on one of your listings, our brokers will seek to address what they can with the potential buyer(s) first. If they are unable to get the potential buyer to accept a pre-approved price (the Buy Now or Floor prices, if set) then they will then message you to engage you in the negotiation process. At that stage, you will receive an email notification."

@GoDaddy avoided to comment on my previous post, although he replied to others.

 

[bmugford]

Guys, please wait your turn.

I sold a domain at Afternic on 29.06, it was a negotiated lead. I pushed the domain into their Dynadot escrow account, on 30.06 the domain was in their possession.

I guess it was a long weekend in the US, but on 07/09 the whois was updated (the domain was renewed until 2029). This means that the domain is now in the buyer's account.

After 3 emails, one to [email protected] (as suggested in this thread) and another 2 emails sent to [email protected], the payment date is still not scheduled.

I have no idea what else I should do to get the money. I probably have to wait for autumn to come ... maybe then I will receive the money.

Others seem to be having the similar issues.

Here are (2) from June 29th and June 30th.

I didn't realize some payments were taking so long.

I just made another sale today. Transferred to GoDaddy holding account.

We will see how payment goes on this one.

Brad

 

[Mister Funsky]

@GoDaddy

"Beginning August 1st, we will automatically opt-in in all domains listed on Dan with a Buy Now price into the Afternic marketplace. We believe our sellers benefit from additional exposure to more than 150 partners of the Afternic network."

So, my commission rate is fixed at 15% percent...right? I have names pointed to Dan with a fixed BIN that is done so based on the 15% commission structure.

Under NO circumstance will I pay above the 15. Please let me know.

 

[Mister Funsky]

Anyone else having trouble logging in?

It will take me to the non logged in afternic page after going through all the steps...it ends up resolving back to godaddy. It goes through the normal process but this phrase comes up:

Application error: a client-side exception has occurred (see the browser console for more information).​

 

[bmugford]

This wording by @GoDaddy is pretty amusing.

"Auto opt-in". Is that really an opt-in, if there is no opt-out option?

My main question is how all the different venues and distribution paths work.

We have Afternic, Dan, and GoDaddy auctions. Many have orphaned listings.
I frequently run into issues when I try to list domains.

If a domain sells through my Afternic account, I go through Afternic to complete the sale.

If a domain sells through my Dan account, I go through Dan.com to complete the sale.

Let's say I don't have the listing on Afternic but the Dan.com listing is "opted-in", if the domain is sold via GoDaddy / Afternic / partner where do I complete the sale? Dan.com?

Brad

 

[Mister Funsky]

Anyone else having trouble logging in?

It will take me to the non logged in afternic page after going through all the steps...it ends up resolving back to godaddy. It goes through the normal process but this phrase comes up:

Application error: a client-side exception has occurred (see the browser console for more information).​

Still unable to log into Afternic using Godaddy credentials.

Afternic support says they are working on the issue and it should be corrected in a couple of hours...lets see how things are at 9PM EST.

 

[NicTraders]

Let's say I don't have the listing on Afternic but the Dan.com listing is "opted-in", if the domain is sold via GoDaddy / Afternic / partner where do I complete the sale? Dan.com?

Brad

Yup. It sure is getting confusing.

 

[bmugford]

Others seem to be having the similar issues.

Here are (2) from June 29th and June 30th.

I didn't realize some payments were taking so long.

Show attachment 243282

I just made another sale today. Transferred to GoDaddy holding account.

We will see how payment goes on this one.

Brad

My original "transfer complete" sale (July 13th) still shows the same status, with no payout scheduled.

The buyer does have possession of the domain finally, so not sure what the delay is.

The second sale (July 21st) shows the same "transfer complete" status, but now has a July 27th payout date.

Brad

 

[NicTraders]

When is this going to start?

@GoDaddy @James Iles

My "transfer complete" Afternic sale has been in that status for around a week now.

It still appears to be in GoDaddy's holding account, with no payout scheduled.

Brad

Hey Brad. I see @pinkdragon just reported this sale. So you might have a fair while to wait for your $ yet...

 

[Mister Funsky]

Still unable to log into Afternic using Godaddy credentials.

Afternic support says they are working on the issue and it should be corrected in a couple of hours...lets see how things are at 9PM EST.

Log in still not working as of 7AM EST.

How is it possible for such a well funded organization not be able to get this fixed...it has been days since I've been able to log in. I'm working on a sale and can not adjust pricing...this is really pi**ing me off.

 

[Rhinnnn]

Log in still not working as of 7AM EST.

How is it possible for such a well funded organization not be able to get this fixed...it has been days since I've been able to log in. I'm working on a sale and can not adjust pricing...this is really pi**ing me off.

I haven't been able to log in to my Afternic account since July 14, though the error in my case is 2FA-related. I was told it would be fixed soon, but soon can mean a lot of things.

Hey Brad. I see @pinkdragon just reported this sale. So you might have a fair while to wait for your $ yet...

Show attachment 243440

25 days to get paid is super-bonkers.

I guess it's difficult to take a tiny chunk out of the $352 million that GoDaddy made in net income in 2022 and hire a few more competent people.

 

[Mister Funsky]

I haven't been able to log in to my Afternic account since July 14, though the error in my case is 2FA-related. I was told it would be fixed soon, but soon can mean a lot of things.

My 2FA is working fine...it just takes me to a Godaddy page/site that has minimal info...mainly a blank screen. Clicking any link at the top simply takes you to the full page at Godaddy.

The poor rep I talked to said 'I'm sorry, but this has been happening for a few hours' and I let him know it had been a few days at least. He acknowledged that others had the same issue.

This August 1 mash up with Dan is causing me to loose precious living time as well (we are all one day closer to death upon each sunrise) and I wish a few of the truly big domain investors would get together and come up with a simple parking/selling solution.

Time to head into the heat...I hope all that read this have a happy day.

 

[silentg]

@jberryhill's post on Twitter regarding the LTO:

https://twitter.com/x/status/1683828430670790656

 

[M999]

Is the agreement to pay "over time" or their "overtime"?

Like everything else with Godaddy - a rush without vetting everything first.

 

[M999]

@jberryhill

What happens if buyer has a problem while in the LTO process? Does Godaddy indemnify the domain seller from lawsuit costs? What if a court awards the domain to purchaser prior to completion of LTO? Does GD then make seller whole? Unfortunately I am getting Brent Oxley/GD vibes (when they locked his names for no good reason and didn't allow him to transfer out or sell - or do anything with them).

 

[bmugford]

@jberryhill's post on Twitter regarding the LTO:

https://twitter.com/x/status/1683828430670790656

These comments highlight by concerns from earlier.

 

[silentg]

According to Afternic, DAN's TOS applies to LTO deals:

https://twitter.com/x/status/1683916412174188546

 

[GoDaddy]

These comments highlight by concerns from earlier.

Thanks for watching out for the community. As John mentioned in his thread, the risks aren’t unique to Afternic.

Any time you’re looking at an LTO solution, there is risk. DomainNameWire and DomainInvesting.com both talked about this and had great points on the topic.

We know Dan.com has had great success with LTO, and we took their best practices and learnings to create our solution. LTO buyers follow the Dan.com checkout process, so if you want to take a look at the terms of service for buyers, you can visit: https://dan.com/terms_of_use

 

[bmugford]

Thanks for watching out for the community. As John mentioned in his thread, the risks aren’t unique to Afternic.

Any time you’re looking at an LTO solution, there is risk. DomainNameWire and DomainInvesting.com both talked about this and had great points on the topic.

We know Dan.com has had great success with LTO, and we took their best practices and learnings to create our solution. LTO buyers follow the Dan.com checkout process, so if you want to take a look at the terms of service for buyers, you can visit: https://dan.com/terms_of_use

Thanks for clarifying that the Dan.com TOS applies to buyers.

People can weigh the risks of LTO and make an informed decision on what is best for them.

I personally only offer LTO in limited situations where it makes sense. I don't have it enabled on any domain, but it might come up in negotiations when it comes to closing the deal.

I still think it is confusing that buyers are likely to start at GoDaddy / Afternic then checkout via Dan.com.

I have found that any time you introduce a third party, deals often fall apart. This is the same case with GoDaddy sending $5K+ auction sales to Escrow.com.

Brad

 

[Jeff_Libert]

While the risks "aren't unique to Afternic" the protections can be unique, such as crafting terms that provide protections for the risks that J. Berryhill articulated.

We can't (to my knowledge) buy insurance to protect ourselves from the risks of damage to or loss of our domains, due to buyer/lessor behavior, but we can mitigate against or minimize the identifiable risks attributable to misbehavior, selfish behavior, or foolish behavior by domain lessors.

Identify / specify unacceptable behaviors and give the domain registrant the right to repoint the DNS or terminate the lease and retain lease payments. IF there's a dispute then provide for 1 or 3 person expedited and binding private arbitration (with a list of known domain lawyers), with the loser to cover the costs. (1 lawyer for <$10K leases?)

This is just "off the cuff" but thought needs to be given to protecting both sides and providing for effective, low cost, "final" dispute resolution. YMMV. Like I said, it's preliminary thinking.

I can see that the Dan.com agreement provides a number of domain registrant/lessor protective terms. However, as far as "remedies" go, 1) IF there is a dispute the lessors/lessees must rely on the US courts. Probably not the best approach due to time delays, expense, etc. (See arbitration proposal, above); 2) also, as to "remedies", IF the lessee ~acts badly I see this -> "Buyer agrees to protect, defend, indemnity and hold harmless Dan.com and its officers, directors, employees, agents and third party service providers" but I fail to see the same "protections" provided to the domainer-lessor. Again, YMMV, I'm not doing a deep dive right now.

 

[GoDaddy]

Not really expecting a response from this PR thread.....but worth noting

Why has Afternic started making you have to disable Ad Blocker's to access the site?.......

I only use it for make offer, but it's getting close, if not to the point of me delisting my domains - you keep piling on restriction after restriction to use your Brand and it really is getting to the point where it's not worth it.......

Someone wants a domain I own that badly...they will find me......without your boa constrictor, monopolistic strangle hold......

Hi @NickB, we haven't made any changes in terms of site access. Can you DM us information on what you're seeing? We've tested several ad blockers through different devices and we can't replicate what you're describing.

@GoDaddy

If we use the ns1/ns2.dan.com or ns3/ns4.afternic.com is the LTO option still going to appear on the GoDaddy site when someone searches the domain? or we must use the ns1/ns2.afternic.com for that?

Great question. As long as you have enabled Lease to Own for your domain name through your Afternic portfolio page, a Lease to Own option will be displayed to searchers at GoDaddy. Of course, you can also use the Dan.com custom lander at Afternic to display a Lease to Own option to your domain's visitors.

When is this going to start?

@GoDaddy @James Iles

My "transfer complete" Afternic sale has been in that status for around a week now.

It still appears to be in GoDaddy's holding account, with no payout scheduled.

Brad

Hi @bmugford, eligible domain name sales closed on or after July 18, 2023, will follow the expedited payout process. If you have pending payouts from sales before this date, Afternic customer service can provide you with an update. We'll also DM you now.

 

[bmugford]

Hi @bmugford, eligible domain name sales closed on or after July 18, 2023, will follow the expedited payout process. If you have pending payouts from sales before this date, Afternic customer service can provide you with an update. We'll also DM you now.

I received payment yesterday for the sale that happened on July 21st. Payment was made on July 26th.

However, the other sale from July 13th has no activity. It has been listed as "transfer complete" since then.

It still shows "Not Scheduled Payout Date".

I contacted multiple people at Afternic.

Today I was told there was an issue with the payment processor, but the issue has been resolved.

Is that the case?

I know some others are in the same boat, waiting on payment for an even longer period of time.

Also, I did not receive a DM.

Brad

 

[davidc1]

No afternic lto sale for the moment, any of you have some ?

 

[Constantin S]

No afternic lto sale for the moment, any of you have some ?

Do you know if the LTO option was integrated on GoDaddy? because when I search my domain there I still see no LTO option.