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]

This new Bulk Upload implementation, while of course lauded by Afternic, would have benefited from prior consultation with the Sellers. It has to match their workflow, and that has been made more difficult than necessary.

 

[Future Sensors]

In the Bulk upload screen, the following instruction is given:

"Only one file can be uploaded at a time, and it must be in the CSV file format."

However, in all examples, on the Afternic blog, and the sample upload file they provide, they're using a .xlsx file format.

As requested earlier, please include a sample CSV file as well. Not here on the forum, but in the actual Bulk Upload area.

 

[Future Sensors]

That being said, uploading with V3 currently works without any issues, technically speaking.

 

[Vivere]

Hey guys,

What copy does (or should) the "Your funds are on the way!" email from Afternic always contain?

• "We have just sent you [amount] for the sale of [domain]."
  OR
• "We've scheduled your payout of [amount] for the sale of [domain], and it will be sent shortly."

I ask because I recently received one with the second version, and I'd never seen that specific wording used for this particular email before—it's always been the first one in my experience.

 

[Jeremiah88]

Hey guys,

What copy does (or should) the "Your funds are on the way!" email from Afternic always contain?

• "We have just sent you [amount] for the sale of [domain]."
  OR
• "We've scheduled your payout of [amount] for the sale of [domain], and it will be sent shortly."

I ask because I recently received one with the second version, and I'd never seen that specific wording used for this particular email before—it's always been the first one in my experience.

It used to be the first one but i also got the second one yesterday

 

[Vivere]

It used to be the first one but i also got the second one yesterday

Thanks for responding.

Got it earlier today.

SMH.

 

[alcy]

bros

what is best fast way to verify names I add??? I'd love something as nice fast as change DNS... like on sedo. can it be done???

text records and such shit give me bad headache to inplement across registers

ty bros

 

[GoDaddy]

When I EXPORT, the CSV file does NOT match the BULK upload file. It has extra columns like DATE_ADDED, LISTING STATUS", and the columns don't match up as the export has BIN, MIN, FLOOR while the BULK file has BIN,FLOOR, MIN

Your export file contains the same data and can be uploaded directly at afternic.com/domains/add.

I just wanted to circle back to this.

I received a contact from a @GoDaddy broker yesterday.

This was regarding a domain listed on Afternic with a "price request" lander.

This was not a buy service offer. It was subject to the standard 15% fee.

So, in this situation, who is the GoDaddy broker representing?

That aside, the negotiation did result in a $15,000 sale, so it ended pretty well for all parties.

Brad

Congratulations on the sale! Your domain was listed on Afternic, and as the seller, you covered the commission fee while the broker represented you.

In the new Bulk Upload File V3, there are these two columns related to LTO, and they feel pretty redundant:

Lease to Own (Options: Y/N)
Show Lease to Own Option (Options: Y/N)

Why are these two LTO columns necessary? If "Lease to Own" is "Y", show it. Otherwise, hide it.

In the Bulk Upload file, there are now 3 columns related to LTO. The inclusion of 3 distinct LTO-related columns is overly complex. A single "LTO" column, specifying either the maximum LTO period, or "N" to disable LTO, would provide a more streamlined and reliable approach.

Thanks for your feedback on the new sheet, @Future Sensors. The Lease to Own options are detailed within the sheet, but here’s a brief overview:

Lease to Own and Max Lease Period: Lease to Own is an option available to buyers via GoDaddy search. By entering a "Y" in the Lease to Own column, your exact-match domain listing at GoDaddy will offer a Lease to Own option. The Max Lease Period field allows you to set a maximum number of months for the lease - a highly requested feature.

The "Show Lease to Own Option" column is specific to the Custom Lander. To display the Lease to Own option to buyers on your Custom Lander, enter a "Y" in this field.

Each of the three LTO columns serves a distinct function.

Hey guys,

What copy does (or should) the "Your funds are on the way!" email from Afternic always contain?

• "We have just sent you [amount] for the sale of [domain]."
  OR
• "We've scheduled your payout of [amount] for the sale of [domain], and it will be sent shortly."

I ask because I recently received one with the second version, and I'd never seen that specific wording used for this particular email before—it's always been the first one in my experience.

Hi @Vivere
We've recently updated this based on seller feedback. These emails are sent as soon as your payout is scheduled, and the new wording more accurately reflects the process: once scheduled, your payout is typically sent the same day. Depending on your payout method, you might receive the funds that day as well.

 

[Future Sensors]

The Lease to Own options are detailed within the sheet

The explanations provided in the sample .xlsx are not showing completely in LibreOffice Calc. Suggestion: provide a complete explanation of these fields as well in the Bulk Upload screen; and also offer a default .csv template that can be downloaded there as well.

Lease to Own and Max Lease Period: Lease to Own is an option available to buyers via GoDaddy search. By entering a "Y" in the Lease to Own column, your exact-match domain listing at GoDaddy will offer a Lease to Own option. The Max Lease Period field allows you to set a maximum number of months for the lease - a highly requested feature.

The "Show Lease to Own Option" column is specific to the Custom Lander. To display the Lease to Own option to buyers on your Custom Lander, enter a "Y" in this field.

Each of the three LTO columns serves a distinct function.

This distinction between enabling LTO for GoDaddy search and for the lander is new to me. I haven't seen this distinction within the Afternic dashboard. Can this only be configured separately through bulk upload with .csv / .xlsx?

Still, I'm wondering why I would want to set LTO separately for these channels. Simply setting one LTO for all channels with just 1 column, with the number of months or "N" to disable, seems sufficient. But I guess colleague Sadarangani is not going to change this.

 

[DomainRecap]

So, in this situation, who is the GoDaddy broker representing?

The sale.

It's taking place through an Afternic listing, so all the same rules apply no matter the buyer and that's probably a big reason why it worked out.

In a case like this, the broker is just trying to complete a sale at a price that works for both parties. Depending on your POV, he may represent both the buyer and seller, or neither.

 

[DomainRecap]

We've recently updated this based on seller feedback. These emails are sent as soon as your payout is scheduled, and the new wording more accurately reflects the process: once scheduled, your payout is typically sent the same day.

This is a much better version of the Payment Released email, as no matter how many times I received the old one, part of my brain would immediately think "hey, where's my money?" before the logical part calmly determined it would be there next business day.

 

[Skyvisum]

Your broker Matt R ,blew a small $5,000 sale for me this year .

Didn't reply to my messages for 3 days and then replies back that he apologizes that he was travelling .

Why didn't he simply hand off to his supervisor or manager?

I told him to never handle any of my leads but it's ok ,I stopped using your NS and namepros lander is my go to .

Thank you namepros .

 

[silentg]

Your broker Matt R ,blew a small $5,000 sale for me this year .

Didn't reply to my messages for 3 days and then replies back that he apologizes that he was travelling .

Why didn't he simply hand off to his supervisor or manager?

I told him to never handle any of my leads but it's ok ,I stopped using your NS and namepros lander is my go to .

Thank you namepros .

Something happened to me. Different broker.

 

[bmugford]

Your broker Matt R ,blew a small $5,000 sale for me this year .

Didn't reply to my messages for 3 days and then replies back that he apologizes that he was travelling .

Why didn't he simply hand off to his supervisor or manager?

I told him to never handle any of my leads but it's ok ,I stopped using your NS and namepros lander is my go to .

Thank you namepros .

So, this type of thing should not really be happening. @GoDaddy

One major benefit of having a team is someone else can step in when needed.

Leads should not be left to go cold. The longer it takes to respond, the less likely a deal is to complete.

For instance, the $15K sale I referred to earlier was completed in a couple hours yesterday. That included initial contact, a couple phone calls and emails, negotiation, and the buyer paying GoDaddy.

That GoDaddy broker was very good, not the classic "cash buyers are rare" type broker.

Brad

 

[DrJacoby]

Your broker Matt R ,blew a small $5,000 sale for me this year .

Didn't reply to my messages for 3 days and then replies back that he apologizes that he was travelling .

Why didn't he simply hand off to his supervisor or manager?

I told him to never handle any of my leads but it's ok ,I stopped using your NS and namepros lander is my go to .

Thank you namepros .

I'm sorry to hear that. I'm experiencing the same thing right now. Almost 9 days ago, a lead was created for a $20k domain. Broker Patrick P. hasn't bothered to make a single call or send a single email to the buyer during those 9 days.

My actions:
1) I've sent two messages to him. The first one a week ago. No answer.
2) Sent a private message to @GoDaddy 6 days ago. No answer.
3) Sent emails to support@, service@, and ta@afternic as I didn't know who deals with the brokers. Service@ responded that they have relayed my concerns to the broker, and that he will follow up with me asap. A day later and broker Patrick P. has still not responded.

What do I do now?

After 9 days of inactivity, the lead is dead, and I'm angry. What's the point of listing my domains with Afternic when the broker just doesn't give a shit?

 

[DomainRecap]

I'm sorry to hear that. I'm experiencing the same thing right now. Almost 9 days ago, a lead was created for a $20k domain. Broker Patrick P. hasn't bothered to make a single call or send a single email to the buyer during those 9 days.

That beats my record of 7 days, but it's clear the Afternic system is irrevocably broken and there is nothing any of us can do about fixing it. Checking your Afternic Dashboard is like looking at a painting and trying to make it move and change. Good luck.

The most insane thing about this, is that GD decided to "hit their year-end target" of closing Dan right smack in the middle of "our busiest season", all the while knowing that Afternic did not have the features (like self-brokerage), the manpower or the structure to handle it.

It takes a special kind of stupid to make decisions like that.

 

[bmugford]

That beats my record of 7 days, but it's clear the Afternic system is irrevocably broken and there is nothing any of us can do about fixing it. Checking your Afternic Dashboard is like looking at a painting and trying to make it move and change. Good luck.

The most insane thing about this, is that GD decided to "hit their year-end target" of closing Dan right smack in the middle of "our busiest season", all the while knowing that Afternic did not have the features (like self-brokerage), the manpower or the structure to handle it.

It takes a special kind of stupid to make decisions like that.

There are some delays that brokers can't control like the speed of the buyer and seller.

As a seller, I will admit I am not always the most responsive. Many buyers also take their sweet time to make an offer.

My responsiveness is tied very closely to how appealing the offer is. If I get a "how much" or unappealing offer on a high quality domain, I am normally in no rush to respond. So, in that case the delay could be on me.

However, there are many delays that can be controlled liked going on vacation, weekends, etc.

A big issue is the lack of communication on the current status of negotiations.

@GoDaddy brokers are paid to sell domains. It's in no one's interest to let leads go cold.

Brad

 

[DomainRecap]

There are some delays that brokers can't control like the speed of the buyer and seller.

Of course and I fully understand this. If my counter offers are being sent to the buyers in a timely manner, I just wait patiently for something to happen as I know this part can take some time.

But conversely, if a buyer makes an offer $X,XXX and less than a minute later I send in a counter of $Y,YYY, yet it then takes the broker 2-3 days to forward that number to the buyer, he or she is effectively performing 'negotiation suicide' on my potential sales.

The Afternic system is lazy, slow and counter-productive to sales in 2024, and IMO, is not only ill-suited for smaller transactions, but significantly harms closing rates.

Even GoDaddy knows this because if you don't reply to an offer immediately, they admonish you through email to reply fast so as not to lose the buyer. I sat on an offer (in protest) yesterday and I received 3 emails telling me to "respond now!", yet they obviously don't hold their broker team to the same high standard.

Maybe they need to send those same emails to brokers who just sit on my counter offers for days and days.

 

[DaveX]

I'm a little confused why my lead panel reflects outbound activity on very old leads (some of which I no longer own the domain and are not in my portfolio..lol), versus no activity on newer leads. Confusing.

 

[DomainRecap]

I'm a little confused why my lead panel reflects outbound activity on very old leads (some of which I no longer own the domain and are not in my portfolio..lol), versus no activity on newer leads. Confusing.

Yeah, that's another of my pet peeves - this exhuming of long-dead leads by the exact same brokers who are sitting on my counter offers.

Just for fun I just checked my Dashboard and sure as shootin' the only updates are a couple of really old leads that were reassigned to new brokers. Great.

I am so glad I'm taking an enforced break from this BS next week and trying to enjoy myself for Christmas with some relatives I haven't seen in years. Down-home country activities like snowmobiling and shooting stuff.