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?

 

[LoveCatchyDomains]

One consideration for alternative to Dan, with it's higher commissions, is the Creative use of URL-forwarding to your registrar marketplace.
As an update to a trial of using the domain-url forwarding to Namecheap, there are some interesting findings so far:

The Good:
1. The speed is very fast for the upload. Almost instantaneously, after typing in the domain name, the listing appears.
2. The SEO information does seem to be readily provided for domains with high searches

The Maybe Not so Helpful:
3.There are distractions that are offered on checkout, such as trying to get additional products or even another similar domain name sold as well. This likely does not help the sale for the domain itself.
4. If someone clicks on the domain checkout, but does not proceed, there is a delay in it rebooting to allow for another person to buy. A message instead comes up to contact sales to complete the purchase. The delay, however, appears to be less than a few hours, perhaps even shorter than that (still testing).

So, that's my update on continued experimentation with "lander-equivalent" potential alternatives to Dan and AN landers. The NC marketplace URL-Forwarding is an imperfect solution, but does have some interesting benefits, especially the automated SEO information.

 

[Dane]

3.There are distractions that are offered on checkout, such as trying to get additional products or even another similar domain name sold as well.

Yikes. That's not good at all.

 

[LoveCatchyDomains]

Yikes. That's not good at all.

Yes, definitely trying to see the extent to which that happens.

In this case, that domain they cited was also owned by me, through GoDaddy. I have the xxme.com version at NC, as well as the xx.me at GD. It's unclear if their system happened to pick up on same ownership (since I have privacy off), and was trying to sell both for me! I very much doubt that, though.

If more incidents are noted, I'll report back to NP. That, admittedly, would be a deal breaker for using the URL Marketplace forwarding.

 

[bmugford]

Yes, definitely trying to see the extent to which that happens.

In this case, that domain they cited was also owned by me, through GoDaddy. I have the xxme.com version at NC, as well as the xx.me at GD. It's unclear if their system happened to pick up on same ownership (since I have privacy off), and was trying to sell both for me! I very much doubt that, though.

If more incidents are noted, I'll report back to NP. That, admittedly, would be a deal breaker for using the URL Marketplace forwarding.

This is something I have complained about for quite some time actually.

It is counterintuitive to offer alternatives for sale on the checkout page via traffic that was generated by the domain lander. In a way, it is kind of hijacking lander traffic to offer buyers alterative domain options.

There should not be distractions in place when it comes to the buyer finishing the checkout process.

Brad

 

[bmugford]

Can you DM me the name (or email [email protected])?

@James Iles

I would like a little more clarification on your position at GoDaddy, if possible.

Generally a liaison is a go-between representing (2) or more parties...In this case GoDaddy and the domain investment community.

This generally involves give and take and discussion.

So, are you here to just collect feedback and forward it on?

Or

Is this more of a give and take, where we can expect updates and discussions regarding the feedback?

I hope it is the second option.

Brad

 

[LoveCatchyDomains]

It is counterintuitive to offer alternatives for sale on the checkout page via traffic that was generated by the domain lander. In a way, it is kind of hijacking lander traffic to offer buyers alterative domain options.

There should not be distractions in place when it comes to the buyer finishing the checkout process.

Oh, boy! Checking this one out, this turns out to be a real whopper of a potential 'bait and switch.' The alternative name, being shown with the checkout options, was one listed on Afternic (not FT). Again, I happened to own the complementary one, which appears to have been a coincidence on it's showing up.

The second domain name was being touted as premium, despite being a .me with a GD appraisal <$100. This is compared to the $1K appraisal for the original domain actually on the NC marketplace. And, this AN "premium name" was being advertised under "improve your site." No premium designation was suggested for the .com name whatsoever.

Wow! So, instead of buying the .com domain valued at over 10x more and at almost 1/2 the price (the original listing), some unwitting individual might buy the "premium" .me domain being offered at the checkout.

Perhaps it's back to drawing board on the landers and marketplace options....And, for other folks, perhaps it's time for you to check to make certain your domains don't have a 'bait and switch.' alternative upsell option being offered instead with whatever lander/marketplace you are using.

 

[Dane]

Oh, boy! Checking this one out, this turns out to be a real whopper of a potential 'bait and switch.' The alternative name, being shown with the checkout options, was one listed on Afternic (not FT). Again, I happened to own the complementary one, which appears to have been a coincidence on it's showing up.

The second domain name was being touted as premium, despite being a .me with a GD appraisal <$100. This is compared to the $1K appraisal for the original domain actually on the NC marketplace. And, this AN "premium name" was being advertised under "improve your site." No premium designation was suggested for the .com name whatsoever.

Wow! So, instead of buying the .com domain valued at over 10x more and at almost 1/2 the price (the original listing), some unwitting individual might buy the "premium" .me domain being offered at the checkout.

Perhaps it's back to drawing board on the landers and marketplace options....And, for other folks, perhaps it's time for you to check to make certain your domains don't have a 'bait and switch.' alternative upsell option being offered instead with whatever lander/marketplace you are using.

Next!

 

[Ostrados]

@LoveCatchyDomains

I complained before about showing alternative cheap domains at Afternic NS5/NS6 landers:

By the way there are many other bad things in Afternic BIN landers, here are few:


1- No camel case for domain names:

Why I can't show MyDomainName.com instead of mydomainname? Is it so hard to implement?


2- Search field shows up at checkout (bad)

Show attachment 229784


3- Suggested cheap Alternative at checkout

Show attachment 229785

So before you ask us to use your landers or else we pay 25% please first fix your landers and make them worth it.

And regarding DAN, for me it is now less desirable option because I will now Pay 15% + 21% VAT (EU) so I will pay 18.2% for just pointing my traffic to a landing page and using your escrow service!!

The inclusion of search field at checkout is particularly puzzling!

The buyer is ready to pay, so why show anything other than a payment form?!

I even sent an email to @James Iles about it, he promised to forward it, but still no feedback yet.

 

[Ostrados]

@James Iles can you please give us a definitive feedback on the following:

https://twitter.com/x/status/1615021854565232642

Is it true that credit card payment is capped at $2500 at Afternic? And does that apply to NS5/NS6 landers as well?

 

[bmugford]

@James Iles can you please give us a definitive feedback on the following:

https://twitter.com/x/status/1615021854565232642

Is it true that credit card payment is capped at $2500 at Afternic? And does that apply to NS5/NS6 landers as well?

CC payments are capped at $2,500? You can't be serious.

The average person is not going to do a wire transfer when they could just use their CC.
Wires can be confusing. They can be expensive.

I see that being a failure point for a lot of potential sales.

Brad

 

[Ostrados]

CC payments are capped at $2,500? You can't be serious.

The average person is not going to do a wire transfer when they could just use their CC.
Wires can be confusing. They can be expensive.

Brad

That is particularly bad for a BIN landing page like ns5/ns6.

In comparison Squadhelp accept up to $100k by credit card (which was confirmed to me by SH support).

 

[Dane]

CC payments are capped at $2,500? You can't be serious.

The average person is not going to do a wire transfer when they could just use their CC.
Wires can be confusing. They can be expensive.

I see that being a failure point for a lot of potential sales.

Brad

TOTALLY agree. Let's see... just take out my credit card and be done with this. Or, get involved with a wire transfer (that many people have never done before in their lives). Could be the difference between a sale, and a "Nah, I'll pass."

 

[bmugford]

I assume this would be because of potential chargebacks.

Chargebacks are a potential cost of doing business. You have a healthy 15%-25% commission to protect against it.

Brad

 

[LoveCatchyDomains]

I complained before about showing alternative cheap domains at Afternic NS5/NS6 landers:

Unbelievable! Why risk losing a much larger potential sale for the sake of adding on a $10 potential domain sale as well. Not smart.

 

[bmugford]

TOTALLY agree. Let's see... just take out my credit card and be done with this. Or, get involved with a wire transfer (that many people have never done before in their lives). Could be the difference between a sale, and a "Nah, I'll pass."

The good news is the $2,500 cap does not appear to be true.

This information is directly from the section that says -
"What payment methods do you accept?"

https://afternic.com/domain-help

Afternic appears to just have an outdated FAQ.

GoDaddy is worth $12B. You figure they would have the resources to keep it updated, so it doesn't lead to this confusion.

Brad

 

[Ostrados]

The good news is the $2,500 cap does not appear to be true.

This information is directly from the section that says -
"What payment methods do you accept?"

https://afternic.com/domain-help

Afternic appears to just have an outdated FAQ.

GoDaddy is worth $12B. You figure they would have the resources to keep it updated, so it doesn't lead to this confusion.

Brad

I hope it is incorrect info.

The $1B question why GD don't update their websites?!

 

[James Iles]

@James Iles

I would like a little more clarification on your position at GoDaddy, if possible.

Generally a liaison is a go-between representing (2) or more parties...In this case GoDaddy and the domain investment community.

This generally involves give and take and discussion.

So, are you here to just collect feedback and forward it on?

Or

Is this more of a give and take, where we can expect updates and discussions regarding the feedback?

I hope it is the second option.

Brad

Sure... my role at GoDaddy is as the domain investment community manager. It's a newly created position at GoDaddy, and I started in December, so I'm still finding my feet.

Obviously, part of my early role has been to collect feedback from the commission alignment, but my role will go far beyond that. I'll be providing content, I want to get more data and insights to the community, and I want to implement plans to give domainers a louder voice at GoDaddy (my duties will go beyond this, too, but this is to give an overview into what I'll be doing).

Already feedback has helped to shape a few updates and features to GoDaddy products that will be coming this year.

This is the start of a long road for GoDaddy in the domain community.

@James Iles can you please give us a definitive feedback on the following:

https://twitter.com/x/status/1615021854565232642

Is it true that credit card payment is capped at $2500 at Afternic? And does that apply to NS5/NS6 landers as well?

Thanks for tagging me. Already seen that and replied on Twitter. I don't know the answer, but I'm working to get better clarity and I've raised this with the Afternic team.

 

[topdom]

Point to Dan servers but don't list there, list on Afternic only, then you should only pay 15 percent commission.
I mean, Dan landing pages still very slow. Why use it, except for paying less commission .

 

[internext]

give domainers a louder voice at GoDaddy

We all hate the 25% punitive commission rate. There's your chance to show us GD hears us

 

[bmugford]

Sure... my role at GoDaddy is as the domain investment community manager. It's a newly created position at GoDaddy, and I started in December, so I'm still finding my feet.

Obviously, part of my early role has been to collect feedback from the commission alignment, but my role will go far beyond that. I'll be providing content, I want to get more data and insights to the community, and I want to implement plans to give domainers a louder voice at GoDaddy (my duties will go beyond this, too, but this is to give an overview into what I'll be doing).

Already feedback has helped to shape a few updates and features to GoDaddy products that will be coming this year.

This is the start of a long road for GoDaddy in the domain community.

Thanks for clarifying that.

Collecting feedback and suggestions is obviously an important part of the job, but it will work a lot better if it is a two-way street.

People generally want updates and discussion around their concerns, suggestions, feedback, etc.

I think there are some concerns here about the timing of the hiring.

It is right before dropping this commission bombshell. The timing makes it look like you are here to take the bullets for the changes.

I hope that is not the case though. I am willing to give the benefit of the doubt while you find your footing.

Brad

 

[WillW]

This is the start of a long road for GoDaddy in the domain community.

A road quite frankly I'm not sure I want to be on, at least with the way 2023 has begun for GD.

 

[James Iles]

Thanks for clarifying that.

Collecting feedback and suggestions is obviously an important part of the job, but it will work a lot better if it is a two-way street.

People generally want updates and discussion around their concerns, suggestions, feedback, etc.

I think there are some concerns here about the timing of the hiring.

It is right before dropping this commission bombshell. The timing makes it look like you are here to take the bullets for the changes.

I hope that is not the case though. I am willing to give the benefit of the doubt while you find your footing.

Brad

Yep, totally agree re- the two way street, that's certainly one of the challenges that I want to overcome. I also understand your concerns about the timing of the hiring (I really do!) - but as I said, it's a long road for GoDaddy in the domainer community, and there's plenty that I want to give to the community.

I truly love the domainer community - as I hope has been evident by the years of contributions I've made.

 

[bmugford]

Yep, totally agree re- the two way street, that's certainly one of the challenges that I want to overcome. I also understand your concerns about the timing of the hiring (I really do!) - but as I said, it's a long road for GoDaddy in the domainer community, and there's plenty that I want to give to the community.

I truly love the domainer community - as I hope has been evident by the years of contributions I've made.

So outside the commission changes, there is some other valuable feedback in this thread.

Specifically, when it comes to the domain landers. There should not be alternative domain options or a search box during the checkout process.

If someone is using Afternic landers, this is traffic that their domain captured. It is not right for GoDaddy to use that traffic during the checkout process to offer the buyer alternative options, that are owned by other parties.

Also, the Afternic FAQ should clearly be updated. There is really no excuse for a company of GoDaddy's size to have outdated websites.

There are other good suggestions as well.

I still think you should create a more general thread where people can bring up their concerns, suggestions, and feedback about GoDaddy.

Brad

 

[bmugford]

I truly love the domainer community - as I hope has been evident by the years of contributions I've made.

So do I. That is why I spend so much time here, and other domain forums, blogs, groups, etc.
It's probably way more time than I should.

It is also why I have a major issue with the 25% penalty GoDaddy has designed to target competition and limit customer choices. It is a shot fired at other companies in the field IMO.

While I am not real thrilled about the Dan.com changes, the 25% part is what really has me peeved as the intentions are obvious.

Brad

 

[Sedo]

@Sedo

Thanks for commenting on this thread.

I have few questions:

1- Do you plan to expand your MLS partners network?

2- You mentioned that NameCheap are part of your MLS, but when adding a domain to Sedo, NameCheap do not appear as MLS partner with (S) in the list.

3- Does it make difference to select Euro vs Usd when pricing domains at Sedo? I heard that most of your customers are from Europe so maybe Euro is better at Sedo?

Thank you for addressing the questions here. Please find enclosed the answers:

1- Do you plan to expand your MLS partners network?

Yes, we are constantly expanding our SedoMLS partner network so that our sellers have the biggest reach for their domain portfolio. Which registrars would you like to see joining the SedoMLS network?

2- You mentioned that NameCheap are part of your MLS, but when adding a domain to Sedo, NameCheap do not appear as MLS partner with (S) in the list.

Users who are searching for domains on NameCheap’s website, can purchase domains which are listed for sale on Sedo. NameCheap did not integrate the functionality, allowing Sedo users to activate their domains for SedoMLS Premium, as of yet. As soon as this option will be available, we will make sure to inform you.

3- Does it make difference to select Euro vs Usd when pricing domains at Sedo? I heard that most of your customers are from Europe so maybe Euro is better at Sedo?

You will need to decide which currency best suits you and there is no best currency that we can recommend. The only impact could be the currency conversion rate, maybe you could check out which currency will get you the most money out of your sale. Having a domain listed in Euros or USD will not be detrimental to the sale. Also with regards to the customers, there is no dominance in sales towards either the American customers or European customers.