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?

 

[JB Lions]

I see that you really have problems to follow me.

I am talking about Sedo as a company. Sedo cannot list on their Sedo MLS network domains registered at the biggest registrar of the world, Godaddy. So this clearly benefits Afternic (Godaddy), Sedo's competitor.

That's nothing new. I'm talking more for domainers who will be missing the coverage at GoDaddy, you can simply list direct with them.

 

[Sutruk]

That's nothing new. I'm talking more for domainers who will be missing the coverage at GoDaddy, you can simply list direct with them.

I know that's nothing new. But still it's a clear anticompetitive and monopolistic practice by Godaddy.

 

[JB Lions]

Well, you essentially have to make an a difficult choice.

1.) You use Etfy landers. The domain is not @Afternic at all.
So you don't have access to Afternic's distribution network.

2.) You use Efty landers. You also list it on Afternic.
It sells on Afternic. You have to pay a 25% commission.

In a way the commission penalty acts like some type of exclusivity, where any choice not to use their namesevers is penalized.

If the name sells via Afternic, I am not sure why the commission should not be the same regardless of what landers you use.

Brad

You can also:
Use Efty landers, handle direct sales yourself, pay a lot less

Use Sedo MLS, pay 20% instead of 25%

List at GoDaddy directly to capture those searches that Sedo can't

It's a bit more work of course, a hassle but doable.

Or just jump in with the biggest ecosystem in the world and pay 15%. Great landing pages, great reach, pretty smooth.

My setup is this:

I have Efty but more for showcase, since I use different landers.

Dan for landing pages. Lease to Own enabled. All domains priced

Afternic for distribution network. All domains priced

 

[Sutruk]

you can simply list direct with them.

They use the same commission structure as Afternic. Do you think it will stay the same structure after Afternic's "update"?

They will use the same "update" or commission structure (and DNS requirement) as Afternic. Or Afternic's move wouldn't serve for nothing.

 

[JB Lions]

They use the same commission structure as Afternic. Do you think it will stay the same structure after Afternic's "update"?

It's 20% now, so it's actually more once Afternic goes to 15%. I have no idea what they will do with that. I don't think they will raise it.

 

[Sutruk]

you can simply list direct with them.

Not to mention that the "payment process" for domains listed directly at Godaddy is not the same as for those listed through Afternic.

For domains listed directly at Godaddy, for transactions over $5k, you go through Escrow.com (it's not the same "smooth" process as when listing at Afternic).

 

[JB Lions]

Not to mention that the "payment process" for domains listed directly at Godaddy is not the same as for those listed through Afternic.

For domains listed directly at Godaddy, for transactions over $5k, you go through Escrow.com (it's not the same "smooth" process as when listing at Afternic).

Like I said, more of hassle. I'm talking about if you're worried about getting coverage. You can list direct with them.

 

[Sutruk]

Like I said, more of hassle. I'm talking about if you're worried about getting coverage. You can list direct with them.

Mor than a hassle, it's a quite different sale and purchase process.

And I repeat, they will use the same commission structure as Afternic. That's for sure. No domain not pointing to Afternic's "network of" DNS will be sold at Godaddy with the "old" commission structure.

 

[bmugford]

It is a clear consensus at this point, on every venue I have seen from NamePros, blogs, Twitter, and others that the primary problem is this 25% anti-competition move.

Look, no one is happy with the Dan.com fee increase. Some are not happy with the removal of the Afternic tier system.

The big issue though is what I think is being considered an abusive move by the 800 pound gorilla against fair competition. That issue keeps coming up.

I was fully expecting GoDaddy to raise fees on Dan. I did not see this type of move coming.

Even as a GoDaddy supporter, I am going to make my thoughts known on it.
In public, in private. It doesn't matter.

Brad

 

[devma]

You removed them from AN?

Yes, I didn't get sales there anyway!
Sedo convert better! Dan only for imported lead is better.

 

[Bob Hawkes]

Again, address Sedo.

As I see it, it could hurt or help Sedo. This is my thinking,..

Right now I tend to list my names at all of Dan, Afternic and Sedo, with not very different prices.

For a variety of reasons, I point DNS for different names to different places, including some at Sedo. Now if I do that, but the name actually sells at Dan or Afternic, I end up paying 25% commission to GD/Aft/NC vs the current 9% at Dan or 15/20% at Afternic.

So I am rethinking whether to point any to Sedo (despite the 10% if it actually sells there and is not MLS), so Sedo might get fewer pointed there. That will hurt them in sales. But, as you say, they may gain in sales as people abandon GD, and some have already said they are doing that.

But the real companies that are more profoundly hurt are the services to allow you to easily run your own landers, the parking companies, and the brandable places. Someone posted numbers showing a huge loss already from yesterday in one of the parking company listings. People who were parking and listing for 9% at Dan, are now faced with 25% if they want to continue parking.

The ending of tiered commissions might help the other places, and probably will help services like Efty.

While there will be some winners and some losers, and it is not entirely clear in my opinion.

Not long ago you had 4 independent choices of large, general purpose marketplaces: Afternic, Dan, Sedo, Uniregistry (or 5 if you count GD as separate).

Now with essentially Dan and Afternic integrating, and Uniregistry largely integrated, you have 2 choices.

-Bob

 

[JB Lions]

Mor than a hassle, it's a quite different sale and purchase process.

And I repeat, they will use the same commission structure as Afternic. That's for sure. No domain not pointing to Afternic's "network of" DNS will be sold at Godaddy with the "old" commission structure.

I don't see that happening, there is nothing anywhere about that, they would lose a ton of business. And you said commission structure at Afternic? That would mean they would lower the prices, that's not going to happen. Again, it's 20% at GD, will be 15% at Afternic, why would they lower it to 15%?

"Mor than a hassle, it's a quite different sale and purchase process." That's the hassle part. Again, you can use Sedo MLS plus list at GD, get the same coverage.

 

[Sutruk]

I don't see that happening, there is nothing anywhere about that, they would lose a ton of business. And you said commission structure as Afternic? That would mean they would lower the prices, that's not going to happen. Again, it's 20% at GD, will be 15% at Afternic, why would they lower it to 15%?

Godaddy have already updated their commission fees to align it with that of Afternic.

See this, from GODADDY:

https://www.godaddy.com/help/what-is-list-for-sale-27761#rates

 

[Bob Hawkes]

It is a clear consensus at this point, on every venue I have seen from NamePros, blogs, Twitter, and others that the primary problem is this 25% anti-competition move.

I agree that is the most concerning part.

I do not see any strong logic except to try to make their already dominant position even more so, and perhaps drive some of the players competing in other parts of the space out. Remember GoDaddy also does parking, so doing something that hurts parking companies helps their competitive position.

I really had hoped they would keep Dan more or less as it was. A lower cost alternative without the expense of a huge agent network. Let people pay differently for better traffic and the agent network at Afternic, or lower commission and some of the other advantages at Dan.

-Bob

 

[bmugford]

Woohoooooo. So Godaddy have already updated their commission fees to align it with that of Afternic.

See this, from GODADDY:

https://www.godaddy.com/help/what-is-list-for-sale-27761#rates

What are your commission rates?​

When the domain is sold, the seller pays a commission to GoDaddy.

Before Feb 1, 2023:

The commission rate is dependent on the price the domain sold for.

• Sale price: $0 to $5000 — Commission rate: 20% ($15 minimum)
• Sale price: $5,001 to $25,000 — Commission rate: $1,000 plus 15% of amount over $5k
• Sale price: $25,000 and over — Commission rate: $4,000 plus 10% of amount over $25k

After Feb 1, 2023:

The commission rate is dependent on where the domain’s nameservers are pointed to at the time of sale (US$15 minimum)

• Domains using GoDaddy brand aftermarket nameservers that point to a GoDaddy For Sale Lander: Reduced flat, 15% commission rate
• Domains not using GoDaddy brand aftermarket nameservers: Standard flat, 25% commission rate

GoDaddy brand aftermarket nameservers will end with the following:

• afternic.com
• smartname.com
• uniregistrymarket.link
• dan.com
• undeveloped.com
• internettraffic.com
• cashparking.com

Domains not using GoDaddy brand aftermarket nameservers: Standard flat, 25% commission rate

This is the biggest issue, by far, to me and most others it seems.

Brad

 

[JB Lions]

Godaddy have already updated their commission fees to align it with that of Afternic.

See this, from GODADDY:

https://www.godaddy.com/help/what-is-list-for-sale-27761#rates

Scroll up, that page is for Afternic -

What is Afternic?​

What is List for Sale?​

List for Sale (LFS) with Afternic is a way to put your domains to work and earn some money along the way. If you have domains in your account you aren't actively using, or don't plan to use at all, you can list them for sale. GoDaddy's List for Sale service puts your domain listing on Afternic partner sites for registration.

 

[Sutruk]

I really had hoped they would keep Dan more or less as it was.

Godaddy didn't pay $71M to keep it as it was. They bought it because it was a competitor with lower prices.
Now they have to refill the $71M hole by raising its price. It was all about ending with a competitor (and with innovation by the way) and increasing their monopoly on the domain aftermarket industry.

 

[JB Lions]

Godaddy didn't pay $71M to keep it as it was. They bought it because it was a competitor with lower prices.
Now they have to refill the $71M hole by raising its price. It was all about ending with a competitor (and with innovation by the way) and increasing their monopoly on the domain aftermarket industry.

They'll get the money back by getting all the sales they were getting and now at 15% instead of 9%.

What do you mean by ending innovation? They could still add things. And what more would you want to see at Dan? I can't think of anything at the top of my head, it already runs pretty smooth, it's why I use them for my landing pages. What would you like to see Dan add?

 

[Bob Hawkes]

Godaddy didn't pay $71M to keep it as it was.

You are probably right, although at least from Dan at the time of the acquisition I recall assurances that Dan would continue to operate as is.

I guess I had hoped that they bought it because it was profitable, and projected to become more profitable. It did many things well. It could make sense at $71 million and keep as-is, but only if it has profitable future likely. I don't know the Dan balance sheet to know that.

I guess, as others have said, the real elephants in the room are is this the final step, or will full integration eventually mean a surcharge if your name is not registered at a GD linked company. In a way that could be justified more than the 25% re DNS pointing, as there are probably some savings dealing with registrations within the company on closing of names.

And will Dan 5% closing stay. For now, yes. It is good that Sedo and Escrow both offer competitive closing services so there is competition to keep it probably.

-Bob

 

[Sutruk]

What do you mean by ending innovation? They could still add things.

Oh yes, we have seen their innovation at Afternic during the last years... so much innovation that they had to pay $71M for a clean landing page.