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 really don't understand what @GoDaddy is doing here.

There were multiple comments about people suddenly losing their premier services rep.

GoDaddy's frontline support is awful. Premier reps are the one saving grace.

Is it too much of a burden to provide good customer service to good customers?

https://twitter.com/x/status/1862723764955333083

I just wanted to point out that James responded and resolved the situation.

Having a point of contact really helps instead of dealing with @GoDaddy standard support.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1863874096339046615

 

[Jannes]

It seems as if they are intentionally delaying manual transfers in order to better market (shove down the throat) their Fast Transfer service. They want it to be all about fast vs slow transfer, not automatic vs manual.

 

[Future Sensors]

With the ongoing issues at GoDaddy and Afternic, Domain Academy should create a podcast series diving deep into the world of alternative domain registrars and marketplaces, providing investors with the knowledge they need to make informed decisions.

 

[bmugford]

Domain Academy could create a podcast series diving deep into the world of alternative domain registrars and marketplaces, providing investors with the knowledge they need to make informed decisions.

They are too busy working on beta 0.2.

 

[Future Sensors]

 

[GoDaddy]

By some, you mean all of them?

I guesstimate that 98-99% of all Afternic sales dating back to 10/11/2024 still have Godaddy auctions attached to them and they still appear in the Godaddy path.

If you try to add them to the cart, they'll fail. Who cares, right?

Everyone should care, because history has repeatedly proven this to be a clear sign the sync is off.

When the sync is off, so are the sales.

You now have a timeline of when it began. That's all I'm sharing.

Hi @411domains
We're on it. Our team has identified the issue and is working to resolve it as soon as possible.

@GoDaddy
This has happened now twice in the last week.
Please train your brokers to verify if a domain name is still listed and for sale before performing your
"Buyer call logged" or "Email sent to buyer"

Do you have some automation that sends a follow up after "x" amount of days? Whatever is sending out correspondence -- please insert a pre-check to make sure that domain name is still listed and for sale.

In the last week, I have seen correspondence go out on 2 different domain names that were already sold on your own platform -- so the excuse cannot be you never got notification from a 3rd party that the name sold -- you actually have the data within your own platform!

Hi @DN_Hunter
Thanks for sharing this. Do you mind sending these two examples to us via DM?

I've been trying to export my domain list but have never managed to do it successfully. My account manager told me that the failure is due to the large size of the domain list. I'm puzzled why such a simple export function is unachievable. If the large volume of data is the problem, why not process it on the backend and send it to my email?

Why do I need to frequently export my domain list? This is an old issue - “IN REVIEW” and I can't make sure all my domains are listed , yet it hasn’t been resolved even as we approach 2025. Now, there’s also a new "PENDING SYNC" category to deal with. My account manager says he lacks the authority to handle the "PENDING SYNC." When I contacted Afternic customer service, several days later I received an email saying, "Your listings require further review and have been escalated to senior support, as soon as we have an update we will reach back out to you." How much longer will it take to resolve this? It's frustrating that no concrete timeline is provided.

Why did I never encounter any of these issues with my domains at DAN? It’s incredibly disappointing and increasingly aggravating that these basic functions and requests continue to be problematic here. The lack of effective resolutions and the bureaucratic delays are unacceptable for such fundamental needs. How hard can it possibly be to fix these issues?

Hi @Bailian
With a portfolio of your size, exporting via the UI may be difficult, but we support a lot of customers with significant portfolios - your account manager should be able to assist across the board. Could you DM us with the name of your account manager, and we'll connect with them.

Afternic seems to have a verification issue when adding conflicting domains, and verifying them with nameservers, it simply cannot add them once verified, tried numerous times, no way around it sadly.

Hi @wwwweb
Could you send us a DM with a couple of examples?

Now it's 12 days since someone purchased my name and I provided the auth code, and nothing has happened since then. Usually I receive the payment from Afternic latest the next day... I'm not sure what the domain buyer is thinking at the moment, maybe he/she'll just say 'fuck this shit' and cancel the sale. Very professional, this is how a market-leading company should operate, right? :D By the way, is there anyone who would like to start a new Dan.com? If yes, please promise me you won't sell your business to Godaddy...

Hi @kaposzta,
Could you reach out to Afternic's live chat team by visiting afternic.com/contact? Under "Request Type," select "Sales Transaction Status" to chat with a member of the transaction team. Please let us know how it goes via DM.

Show attachment 267119

Whose issue is "Pending sync"? Afternic.

Whose issue is it, if "Pending sync" takes longer than a day? Afternic.

But who should contact support? Me!

Why can't you have a simple system, which takes list of all domains in Afternic "pending sync" status after a day and resolve them automatically? Why do you want hundreds of domainers to take their time for your issue?

Hi @Smooth
Pending Sync domain names are names that are currently syncing across the distribution network, as the tooltip indicates. However, if your domain has been in this status for over 24 hours, it’s usually due to compliance issues (trademarks).

Contacting support will enable our team to review the domain.

We're also working on enhancing the granularity of statuses to offer more transparency.

 

[DN_Hunter]

Hi @DN_Hunter
Thanks for sharing this. Do you mind sending these two examples to us via DM?

@GoDaddy
It would be simple for me to tell you two examples. But instead of that, why don't we empower the Afternic Development Team? Simply have them join a couple of tables -- looking for examples where LEAD_CENTER.DATE_UPDATED_TIMESTAMP with "Buyer call logged", or "Email sent to Buyer" happened AFTER NAME_SOLD.PAYOUT_COMPLETE DATE_TIMESTAMP (I am making up the table / column names).

If they only find my two names, that would be great. My guess is they will find more than just my 2 names...

Forgot to mention -- a name that was sold and payout complete on Nov 27 still shows in my LEAD CENTER with a status of NEGOTIATION. Once a name is sold with payout complete -- should they move out of the NEGOTIATION status?

 

[entupo]

I get all of mine in without issue. Do you have the 3rd verification nameserver listed? Once in a while the change doesn't propagate fast enough and I have to resubmit the domain to afternic and then it goes through.

Sedo is the pain for me. I get almost no response from my listings there and it more time to get the listing live.

Didn't need the 3rd server. It eventually worked. Sedo is annoying. Best thing to do is do your TXT first then wait a bit. If that doesn't work, try using their nameservers. Check propagation of DNS with https://dnschecker.org/

 

[DomainRecap]

Definitely wait an hour or so before verifying on Afternic or Sedo and you'll be golden. If you try Sedo before the DNS TXT is propagated (and Sedo verification fails) then you could easily get in a loop that is impossible to get out of.

Here's the DNS tool I use to make sure: https://dnslookup.online/txt.html

 

[rh2000]

Anybody else having trouble listing domains on Afternic even after you verify them? The website must be having issues. Even the pending review section is not working.

 

[411domains]

Anybody else having trouble listing domains on Afternic even after you verify them? The website must be having issues. Even the pending review section is not working.

Show attachment 267150

@rh2000 - Same here.

 

[Yanosh]

Yep , here we go again

 

[411domains]

Hi @411domains
We're on it. Our team has identified the issue and is working to resolve it as soon as possible.

@GoDaddy - I certainly hope so. If we're lucky, this will clear up the rest of the sync-related issues.

Knowing how important the sync is for the entire system, it's hard to believe there isn't a monitoring system in place to detect sync anomalies.

You're all grown up, you shouldn't be relying solely on the users to detect and report bugs and then expect them to go the extra 1500 miles providing evidence to your developers who, by now, should be able to detect sync issues in their sleep.

 

[wwwweb]

I have great sympathy for the Godaddy/Afternic mods who handle this thread, they are simply trying to communicate the issues we are having back to the respected support teams.

However there are serious issues going on right now, we all can see the sales in our accounts underperforming.

First off nobody wants to give into "BOOST" extortion, you already get our free traffic, all our leads, and traffic data for free. Boost should immediately be just added to every account, because if holders sell more, you earn more in commission.

Something is wrong with partner path checkouts, and sales, it is just not operating like a well oiled machine, there is hangups, and the sales are showing it.

Also in mobile lookups, for domain purchases, pop ups actually hide our names, with targeted upsells, the buyers never even see the option to purchase the domain in some menus within their search query. You really need a team to go thru every option as a walkthrough, and document all these barriers to a sale.

Pick a error anyday of the week at afternic, one day we can't verify, one day we can't add names, one day the wrong leads are coming thru, it's all over the map.

Once again, I know the team here it is not your fault, you are simply doing your job to relay this info to the proper channels, but those channels, for whatever reason, cutbacks, layoffs, are simply not getting the message.

I understand many people here have also lost account reps, as maybe their relationship value is not strong enough, or cost cutting, I do not know why, but you need to relay back that these customers give you the registration, give you their traffic, give you their lead data, give you the opportunity to upsell, give you their afternic sale, top to bottom, their entire domain ecosystem, and many are on the brink of moving to another registrar, and using another primary aftermarket sales site. We are getting to that tipping point, I am just trying to point it out, because Godaddy/Afternic you own and control Dan tech, Uniregistry tech, there is a chance to fix this, Anyways, Happy Holidays to this team, I know they have a tough job, and nothing but respect for the ones who handle these customer feedback requests.

 

[DaveX]

After multiple acquisitions including Uniregistry, Dan, Afternic, and various portfolios, I am not surprised by the grinding of gears that should operate smoothly.

My concern is, and has been, the absence of any level of transparency.

Imo, clearly GD values the leads and traffic it receives. Otherwise the company would share this information or provide a self-service option.

Personally, I am actively searching for a viable alternative worthy of moving my portfolio.

I have had many successful sales through AN in the past, however, just like GD, I need to see ongoing sales to survive. I'm willing to do the work, just need a transparent partner to share the information.

 

[Optimal Names]

After multiple acquisitions including Uniregistry, Dan, Afternic, and various portfolios, I am not surprised by the grinding of gears that should operate smoothly.

My concern is, and has been, the absence of any level of transparency.

Imo, clearly GD values the leads and traffic it receives. Otherwise the company would share this information or provide a self-service option.

Personally, I am actively searching for a viable alternative worthy of moving my portfolio.

I have had many successful sales through AN in the past, however, just like GD, I need to see ongoing sales to survive. I'm willing to do the work, just need a transparent partner to share the information.

Have you given Namepros landers a try? I absolutely love being in control, receiving an enormous amount of lead "intel", and ... it is free. Its growing, they are listening to suggestions and implementing idea. Cant ask for more than that really. If you havent, give it a shot.

I moved all of my names there and do not see any reason to move them away at the moment.

https://www.namepros.com/threads/na...escrow-com-integration-and-much-more.1324080/

 

[DaveX]

Have you given Namepros landers a try? I absolutely love being in control, receiving an enormous amount of lead "intel", and ... it is free. Its growing, they are listening to suggestions and implementing idea. Cant ask for more than that really. If you havent, give it a shot.

I moved all of my names there and do not see any reason to move them away at the moment.

https://www.namepros.com/threads/na...escrow-com-integration-and-much-more.1324080/

Funny you should mention the NP service...

I've been seriously considering this as an option. Just figuring out payment processing.

Lemme go to the thread and do more reading.

Cheers fam!

 

[Optimal Names]

Funny you should mention the NP service...

I've been seriously considering this as an option. Just figuring out payment processing.

Lemme go to the thread and do more reading.

Cheers fam!

There is a good amount to read, and a thriving community of us who have moved our names over - especially after DAN... @Bravo Mod Team is very responsive. Good luck! Ask me any questions, will be here for about one more hour today.

UPDATE: Throwing this out there in case you've not seen it. LOTS of options out there..
https://www.namepros.com/threads/mega-list-of-landers.1337766/

 

[End User King]

Thank you for this explanation wwwweb.

@GoDaddy - As previously mentioned, I think we done more than enough for you guys with little to no return on our investment.

My job is to protect my assets. Not do the job your teams are

There is a good amount to read, and a thriving community of us who have moved our names over - especially after DAN... @Bravo Mod Team is very responsive. Good luck! Ask me any questions, will be here for about one more hour today.

Frustrated. Just took a break to call Afternic. They hung up on me. We are not valued there. Losing soooo much time due to Godaddy "the world's premier domain marketplace".

 

[Optimal Names]

Frustrated. Just took a break to call Afternic. They hung up on me. We are not valued there. Losing soooo much time due to Godaddy "the world's premier domain marketplace".

There is also this fantastic thread by @NameGroove "Mega List of Landers"
https://www.namepros.com/threads/mega-list-of-landers.1337766/