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]

@GoDaddy one question specific to UK sellers. We have a VAT registered business in the UK.

Your transmittal document for domain sales shows an US address but a UK VAT number.

Over 95% of our buyers are non-UK & non-EU. So all these should be zero VAT for us, as these are considered exports if I'm selling directly to them.

However since GoDaddy UK entity is coming in between, we're liable for additional 20% VAT.

So if the buyer is in a country say Australia with 15% VAT. On a $1000 (list price) domain, buyer pays $1150 to GoDaddy. GoDaddy deducts 15% sales commission, so they send $850 to the seller (which includes 20% vat). And the seller has to remit this 20% to Govt, and gets only $705. Is this correct ? Buyer pays $1150 and seller gets $705.

But if I were to sell the domains through another platform like Spaceship, the buyer pays only $1000 because they don't have Australian entity. And because it's US entity seller VAT is zero. So the seller gets $1000 minus $50 = $950.

Is this correct ?

Thank you for making me aware of this issue!

I just checked my own transmittals (which I've never done before as they are not receipts). From Q4 2024, Afternic has added Marketplace GoDaddy.com LLC with an EU MOSS number on the transmittals, WITHOUT NOTIFYING ME ABOUT IT!

This means that my bookkeeping records and VAT records are now erroneous, and I need to investigate how to adjust them. This will take time and energy, and possibly money. Very annoying, and very nonchalant of GoDaddy/Afternic not to inform their customers about such an important change. I'm very disappointed with you @GoDaddy .

 

[sg08]

deleted

 

[SuperPorky]

Thanks for sharing your experience. Can you DM us the domain name so we can confirm? From what our TA team sees at the moment, the details don’t quite match up with what you described:

• The sale was recorded late in the day on 8/17
• The manual transfer was completed about 9 hours later, with the transfer itself taking minutes from authorization to completion.
• Your payout was scheduled earlier today.
• Updates were posted in your UI and emails sent along the way.

The new system we launched earlier this year is designed to shorten timelines, and in many Fast Transfer cases, we’re concluding sales in just minutes. However, we always want to hear user feedback and improve our experience for you. So let's connect via DM!

For the future, our TA team is always reachable via the “Message Agent” button on your TA dashboard, providing you seller support.

@Joe drake So did you get paid?

 

[carob]

"We're rolling out a new feature at Afternic!"

It's now automatically enabling Fist Transfer on all accounts by default, so domain sales pack a punch, and any seller not paying protection money to big GoDaddy will get knocked out. If that doesn't knock them out then the new Afternic Boots feature will, again enabled by default, you get booted off the platform if you don't agree to a sliding scale of commissions starting at a modest 75%.

 

[Acroplex]

Thank you for making me aware of this issue!

I just checked my own transmittals (which I've never done before as they are not receipts). From Q4 2024, Afternic has added Marketplace GoDaddy.com LLC with an EU MOSS number on the transmittals, WITHOUT NOTIFYING ME ABOUT IT!

This means that my bookkeeping records and VAT records are now erroneous, and I need to investigate how to adjust them. This will take time and energy, and possibly money. Very annoying, and very nonchalant of GoDaddy/Afternic not to inform their customers about such an important change. I'm very disappointed with you @GoDaddy .

Not the first time AfterDaddy effs up the way it's doing business with companies.

As a US-based LLC they make my life more difficult by not including the corporate name in domain sales, using my name instead. On the other hand, DAN.com did it beautifully.

And this year's 1099-K tax forms were sent off with errors, under-reporting numbers (which is why one should do their own thorough reporting without relying on such forms.)

 

[NicTraders]

No idea on the financial number, but I'm certain that GD would take a little less money if the revenue was sent to more departments.

And of course, the point for GD is that the subscription business is much more predictable than the sales are. At least for now. Naturally they will have budgeted for a percentage of people to pull out of DDC (or whatever they call it now), but the fact is that most people renew subscriptions even when prices increase. And the subscriptions look fantastic on a balance sheet.

But I would suggest that GD is too short-sighted to realise the damage they are doing to themselves in the long-term. It starts with the lost customer goodwill, which will later show itself in customers jumping ship, and following that comes the decreasing revenue). It'll take a few years for all this to play out, but by the time they realise it, NameCheap (and a few others) will be much bigger than they are now.

 

[NicTraders]

the new Afternic Boots feature

You really should trademark that or they'll steal it from you.

 

[411domains]

Delete

 

[forge]

lost customer goodwill, which will later show itself in customers jumping ship

Oh, I jumped ship 2 yrs ago, aside from a couple handfuls of names. No more DDC entrapment and rarely needing to revisit "Daddy's" chamber of UI horrors.

 

[411domains]

Introducing GoDaddy Search Insights on Afternic! Domain Pro members can now see filtered, exact-match search data from the world’s largest registrar - right in their Afternic portfolio.

What is GoDaddy Search Insights?
It’s real buyer-demand data for your domains. No noise - just genuine, human-driven, exact domain searches from GoDaddy.

How do you access Search Insights?
As a member of GoDaddy's Discount Domain Club Domain Pro tier, it's simple to see your search data.

1. Go to your Portfolio page at http://afternic.com/domains
2. Click “Columns”
3. Make sure “Total Searches” & “Unique Searches” columns are visible


For a deeper dive, along with an explainer on how to connect your Discount Domain Club membership head to Afternic, head to our blog: https://blog.afternic.com/godaddy-search-insights/

@GoDaddy - How about you introduce NEW SALES DATA to your valuation tools?

It's been over 2 YEARS since that data was last updated!

I hate to state the obvious, but the longer you wait, the worse it makes you look as an "industry leader."

I won't disclose the name associated with this valuation, but I'm quite certain it, along with numerous others in my portfolio, have at least doubled and perhaps even tripled since 2023.

These valuations are incorporated into the Godaddy search path, Godaddy domain manager, Godaddy auctions and Afternic to name a few places.

The little "Explainer Disclaimer" does not make it okay.

The bottom line is and always has been, if you're going to provide valuations, the data must be kept up-to-date.

You have mountains of valuable data piling up that are sure to significantly increase domain valuations for most investors. Either update the data or lose the tool.

When it pertains to our assets, misinformation is the enemy.


Google Ai Overview

 

[dr manos]

Show attachment 280550

https://twitter.com/x/status/1953104967188828597

Is there an update on this?
Still my latest afternic sales i see that transferred to namecheap so i assume still in network, but is there any information?

Thnx

 

[silentg]

Is there an update on this?
Still my latest afternic sales i see that transferred to namecheap so i assume still in network, but is there any information?

Thnx

https://twitter.com/x/status/1953103610977366488

 

[domainer8888]

Domains from Afternic are still on NC regpath as we are speaking. I just checked. You can spot them easy because those are integrated into checkout, not bolted-on like the Spaceship ones.

 

[DomainBanana]

Great to see this... I wonder if some competition will finally make Afternic rethink its abusive commission hikes like Boost / nameserver upcharges.

 

[DomainRecap]

I wonder if some competition will finally make Afternic rethink its abusive commission hikes like Boost / nameserver upcharges.

I hardly think so, as without all the paywalls, surcharging, upselling, and new customers from domain traffic, GoDaddy would probably just close everything down to concentrate on their expired domain empire.

 

[kryptostacja]

@Afternic when you will pay parking revenue for July? for afternic and godaddy. First month in history that this is so long today 20th and still no payments...

 

[Maged Khatab]

Hi,

I’ve seen many complaints regarding lost sales due to the 60-day lock policy on LTO transactions. Personally, I’ve lost several over the past few months.

Here are a few suggestions to improve how LTO sales are handled during the 60-day lock:

- Domains less than 30 days from lock expiry: The TA team contacts the buyer to confirm if they are willing to wait. If so, the domain should be manually transferred and approved on the same day the lock expires. This ensures the buyer gains full control before the next installment is due.

- Domains more than 30 days from lock expiry: The TA team may cancel the sale, but once the lock expires, the system sends the buyer an automatic reminder that the domain is now available for immediate transfer.

- Preventing the issue at listing: Since the system already detects 60-day locks and expiry dates, it could automatically disable LTO terms for newly listed domains under lock. Once the lock expires, the LTO option would automatically reactivate if it was set initially.

If anyone has additional ideas or improvements, please feel free to share them so we can work toward the best solution together.

@GoDaddy I’d truly appreciate it if you could raise this with the team and work toward a practical solution.

Thank you!

 

[alcy]

Show attachment 281375
Hi,

I’ve seen many complaints regarding lost sales due to the 60-day lock policy on LTO transactions. Personally, I’ve lost several over the past few months.

Here are a few suggestions to improve how LTO sales are handled during the 60-day lock:

- Domains less than 30 days from lock expiry: The TA team contacts the buyer to confirm if they are willing to wait. If so, the domain should be manually transferred and approved on the same day the lock expires. This ensures the buyer gains full control before the next installment is due.

- Domains more than 30 days from lock expiry: The TA team may cancel the sale, but once the lock expires, the system sends the buyer an automatic reminder that the domain is now available for immediate transfer.

- Preventing the issue at listing: Since the system already detects 60-day locks and expiry dates, it could automatically disable LTO terms for newly listed domains under lock. Once the lock expires, the LTO option would automatically reactivate if it was set initially.

If anyone has additional ideas or improvements, please feel free to share them so we can work toward the best solution together.

@GoDaddy I’d truly appreciate it if you could raise this with the team and work toward a practical solution.

Thank you!

fast transfer is bit new concept tto me.. why exactly does this only apply to lto? or does it?

 

[Maged Khatab]

fast transfer is bit new concept tto me.. why exactly does this only apply to lto? or does it?

It’s not related to Fast Transfer. As I understand it, when a domain is sold with LTO, it must first be transferred to a GoDaddy holding account for the buyer to manage during the LTO period. That’s why, if a domain is under a 60-day transfer lock, the TA team usually cancels the sale.

I’ve already discussed this with @James Iles and we agreed that the following could be the most effective solution:

- Preventing the issue at listing: Since the system already detects 60-day locks and expiry dates, it could automatically disable LTO terms for newly listed domains under lock. Once the lock expires, the LTO option would automatically reactivate if it was set initially.

If anyone has additional ideas or improvements, please feel free to share so we can work together toward the best solution.

Thank you!

 

[alcy]

It’s not related to Fast Transfer. As I understand it, when a domain is sold with LTO, it must first be transferred to a GoDaddy holding account for the buyer to manage during the LTO period. That’s why, if a domain is under a 60-day transfer lock, the TA team usually cancels the sale.

I’ve already discussed this with @James Iles and we agreed that the following could be the most effective solution:



If anyone has additional ideas or improvements, please feel free to share so we can work together toward the best solution.

Thank you!

the matter of 60 day lock is also related to fast transfer on sold names. doesnt the fact it is automatically transferred to gd for the lto imply fast transfer?