news Dan.com to increase comission from 9% to 15% effective Feb 1st 2023

[MadAboutDomains]

Just received this email from Dan.com about commission increases (snippet of email):

Thoughts?

 

[MadAboutDomains]

but then i guess the pandemic hit before the piggy bank could make it... so like every other business during the pandemic... DAN had to bail too.

Sales were up during the pandemic though.

I would argue that given what they did/do that they're probably earning and not losing.

 

[DomainRecap]

There are two kinds of startups and startup leadership.

The first are those who want to create a business that lasts, grows, and potentially becomes a major player in a market segment over the long term - money is nice, but it's not the main criteria. These are builders.

The second are those who just want create something hot and big enough to attract outside interest, with the endgame being a big, juicy buyout by a major player. These are sellers.

I think we've all seen both examples up-close and it's pretty easy to see which side of the stool Dan and its ownership falls on.

 

[DomainRecap]

I just love all the negative votes to my comment above, when Dan and their leadership proved beyond shadow of a doubt that they are SELLERS by "Selling Out to GoDaddy". A Builder says no all day long - it's what they do.

It's not condemnation or praise for either strategy, these are just the two sides of a startup coin. Be proud of who you are and what you do, and don't hide behind false narratives.

Or to paraphrase Robin Williams, "Someone is either a Builder or a Seller. There's no in-between. The trick is to find out which one you are, and be that."

 

[dirk]

I just love all the negative votes to my comment above, when Dan and their leadership proved beyond shadow of a doubt that they are SELLERS by "Selling Out to GoDaddy". A Builder says no all day long - it's what they do.

It's not condemnation or praise for either strategy, these are just the two sides of a startup coin. Be proud of who you are and what you do, and don't hide behind false narratives.

Or to paraphrase Robin Williams, "Someone is either a Builder or a Seller. There's no in-between. The trick is to find out which one you are, and be that."

There's a vast number of reasons to transition from a builder to a seller or the other way around.

Business is like life, a journey. Sometimes you have to take a detour, get off track or need to recalibrate your compass.

 

[DomainRecap]

There's a vast number of reasons to transition from a builder to a seller or the other way around.

Sure, but other than a life-threatening health or very significant financial issue, the rest are just excuses for finally realizing who and what you truly are. After all, it's not like Dan was in business of decades or anything and they sure joined-the-dots by promoting themselves as a "alternative" to the established domain markets and followed the "steps to attract a buyer" blueprint.

And do you know of any life-altering circumstances with the Dan founders that led to the abrupt sellout? if so, it might mellow my perception of the situation.

 

[internext]

abrupt sellout

Not so sure it was as abrupt as you think.

DAN was hinting at becoming a registrar for quite some time, in advance of the GoDaddy announcement

 

[MadAboutDomains]

Sure, but other than a life-threatening health or very significant financial issue, the rest are just excuses for finally realizing who and what you truly are. After all, it's not like Dan was in business of decades or anything and they sure joined-the-dots by promoting themselves as a "alternative" to the established domain markets and followed the "steps to attract a buyer" blueprint.

And do you know of any life-altering circumstances with the Dan founders that led to the abrupt sellout? if so, it might mellow my perception of the situation.

I hadn't heard of the whole builder/seller thing. Very interesting, thanks. I think I'm a builder.... But I wouldn't mind pivoting to being a seller

 

[dirk]

After all, it's not like Dan was in business of decades or anything and they sure joined-the-dots by promoting themselves as a "alternative" to the established domain markets and followed the "steps to attract a buyer" blueprint.

They've been going at it for quite some time hence undeveloped came into existence. It's no coincidence undeveloped was founded when it was. They grew organically, starting in Holland, branching out to Italy, Germany. Funders with ties to registries/registrars (important).

And do you know of any life-altering circumstances with the Dan founders that led to the abrupt sellout? if so, it might mellow my perception of the situation.

Yes, continuing their organic growth and branching out as I mentioned above. At some point you will run into the whale called godaddy. Joining their brand is a perfect acceptable way to secure your existence and extend your growth on a global playing field.

There's only so much Dan could've done to overcome dealing with a competitor the size of GD.

I don't like it myself but it's a wise business decisions considering their past trajectory and business goals.

It's also a big deal for GD. GD uses their tech to improve AN/GD and use the brand recognition/goodwill they bought by acquiring Dan to get a foot on the ground in Europe. Sometimes they haven't really been able to accomplish thus far.

 

[DomainRecap]

I just got the "7 Day Notice" email from Dan and it looks like one of my questions got answered.

1) Afternic Network integration will still be a MANUAL setting but with no change to the 15% Commission rate if you have your NS set to Dan, GD, Afternic, etc.

There is still no information or update on the 4% Paypal fee on payments larger than $2,000.

 

[DomainRecap]

Yes, continuing their organic growth and branching out as I mentioned above. At some point you will run into the whale called godaddy. Joining their brand is a perfect acceptable way to secure your existence and extend your growth on a global playing field.

Come on, you make it seem like there are only two options open to businesses, 1) Accede to Number 1 in your market, or 2) Sell out.

Lots of businesses thrive and make tons of money as #2 or #3, 4, 5, 6... etc. in their market sector, and it really seems you are promoting monopolization. You're either #1 or you need to sell out, right?

And I'll throw some cold water on your "secure your existence" BS - Dan is dead, there is only GoDaddy and an outdated logo on the Dan.com site that could change tomorrow.

 

[Dane]

and an outdated logo on the Dan.com site that could change tomorrow.

GoDanny ??

 

[karmaco]

The second paragraph of the email says Initially instead of previously. It makes it unclear exactly what it means. There are grammatical errors and punctuation errors ie two commas. Why does everything GoDaddy touches turn to ? Who wrote this?

 

[Dane]

The second paragraph of the email says Initially instead of previously. It makes it unclear exactly what it means. There are grammatical errors and punctuation errors ie two commas. Why does everything GoDaddy touches turn to ? Who wrote this?

I was thinking the exact same thing. Doesn't look very professional.

 

[James Iles]

There is still no information or update on the 4% Paypal fee on payments larger than $2,000.

Thanks for the extra info you gave me through DM, @DomainRecap... This is staying as it is for now.

 

[Next Names]

I use Cloudflare as a registrar and the use of the Cloudflare nameservers is mandatory. So far, as originally instructed by DAN, I have referenced the DAN lander via A-records.

So I would automatically pay the fines even though all domains point directly to the DAN lander.

Godaddy/DAN just informed me that I am paying 25%.


Godaddy is easily the most user-friendly and customer-centric company I've worked with.

 

[dirk]

Come on, you make it seem like there are only two options open to businesses, 1) Accede to Number 1 in your market, or 2) Sell out.

Lots of businesses thrive and make tons of money as #2 or #3, 4, 5, 6... etc. in their market sector, and it really seems you are promoting monopolization. You're either #1 or you need to sell out, right?

And I'll throw some cold water on your "secure your existence" BS - Dan is dead, there is only GoDaddy and an outdated logo on the Dan.com site that could change tomorrow.

That's your interpretation. I chose my wording carefully but read into it what you like. I don't believe there's just 2 options, builder Vs seller. Nothing in life is that black or white. For dan, it was the right match and it fits their roadmap perfectly, accomplishing things they've been planning for years at an accelerated speed. Not surprised at all when you look at what they've been doing... Up close.

I don't like it either. I've been a fanboy since they launched but time may have come to end our relationship. Not because of a sellout, but because I feel 25% for leads I bring in and negotiate is too much.

And no, there will always be room for small players. They can exist but in this specific industry you'll have to watch your back as it's a cutthroat one. There are just a couple of small (meaningful and known) hosts/registrars left. Most have been acquired by huge parent companies.

There's been an ongoing "fight" for at least over a decade. It starts at a regional level, they grow and grow, consume the small fish. Then there's the clash of the titans on a global playing field. It's an ongoing war and we haven't seen the end of it yet. Domainers are collateral damage.

GD is relentless considering they're aiming to control both registrars and registries. Dangerous and not to be underestimated.

As for dan being dead. Who knows... It's likely once their tech is fully integrated. GD moves slow though. Uni's backend is far superior and we're still stuck with the outdated and buggy GD UI, go figure.

Then there's always the option they'll use Dan to try and kill off sedo. GD simply lacks the brand recognition so it could come in handy to have a superior brand and service to tackle that issue, hence Dannyboy may be able to survive as a seperate brand for quite a while.

Interesting times... The future will tell.

 

[DomainRecap]

Thanks for the extra info you gave me through DM, @DomainRecap... This is staying as it is for now.

Well, I'm not a big fan of the answer, I do appreciate you posting it for us.

 

[dirk]

@James Iles

I have an active lead where the sale will not be completed before February.

As I don't use Dan's dns, does that mean I will pay 25% commission?

What's the time of determining what DNS is being used? When the lead comes in or when the sale is closed?

What about ongoing negotiations on leads that came in before Feb 1st?

I would update to dan dns if it wasn't part of the agreement between me and the buyer to use his dns for development.

Buyer has my details so wondering if it's best to close at dan or just take it to sedo.

 

[Gorilla]

Not so sure it was as abrupt as you think.

DAN was hinting at becoming a registrar for quite some time, in advance of the GoDaddy announcement

Maybe they "hinted" at becoming a registrar as a marketing stunt to get GoDaddy's attention to buy DAN.

 

[Gorilla]

GoDaddy was smart to hire two of the most liked people in the domaining community, Michael and James before increasing the commission, as if GD knew the backlash was coming, they were preparing. I wouldn't like to start working for a company knowing what was coming.