information My frustrating first experience with Afternic Custom Checkout Link.

[bmugford]

This thread is going to detail my first experience with Afternic Custom Checkout Link.

This involves a relatively small $1,800 sale.


11/4 (morning) -

After agreeing to terms with the buyer, I created a Custom Checkout Link via my Afternic account.

I had to confirm with @GoDaddy that this was still a valid method, as the link created was a Dan.com link not Afternic.


11/5 (morning) -

The buyer used the link to pay for the domain.

(I would not know about this for a few days.)


11/8 (morning) -

The buyer reached out to me and asks for a status update. They provide proof of payment from 11/5.

Up until this point, I had no idea that the buyer had paid.

There were no updates provided to me or the seller by GoDaddy/Afternic. There were no status updates on the domain in my Afternic account.

At this point I reached out to my contacts at GoDaddy, including James and my GoDaddy account rep.

James escalated the issue, and finally later that day the domain appeared as "SOLD" in my Afternic account.

Like with normal sales, I was instructed to unlock the domain and provide the AUTH code.

I did that. Then nothing happened.

The domain was not transferred. The domain didn't go into pending transfer.

I called my GoDaddy account rep and was told they were looking into it. Towards the end of the day, I was updated that nothing is likely to happen over the weekend.

So, I contacted the buyer myself and apologized for GoDaddy's slowness and lack of updates.

As expected, nothing happened over the weekend.


11/11 -

I followed up with GoDaddy about what was going on. There were no updates.


11/12 -

Finally, I was contacted by Afternic TA and asked to manually start a push to their account.

I did that, and the push was accepted by Afternic TA towards the end of the day.

I contacted the buyer and let them know.

At this point, I asked the buyer if GoDaddy had any communication with them via the entire process.

Their response -

"No - We haven't received any correspondence from GoDaddy."

So, in over a week after submitting payment GoDaddy had no communication with the buyer.

Meanwhile, I had many contacts with the buyer reassuring them the transaction is in process and apologizing on behalf of GoDaddy.

If I was the buyer in this situation, I probably would have felt like I was getting scammed after a week with no communication.


11/13 -

Afternic confirmed they sent the funds. I expect them to arrive tomorrow.

From start the finish this transaction will have taken almost 10 days.



Overall Thoughts -

• It's odd that Dan.com was shut down, but they are still using a Dan.com link for an Afternic transaction. GoDaddy confirmed that they will be replacing the Dan.com links with Afternic.com in the near future.
  
  
• The lack of communication with the buyer and seller is unacceptable. I had to take the role of communicator, because GoDaddy didn't do it. I found myself apologizing on behalf of GoDaddy several times.
  
  
• This type of transaction could have been completed in hours via Dan.com. Meanwhile, Afternic seems to add inefficiency to the process.
  
  
• The Custom Checkout Link has been a disappointing process that reflects poorly on me as a seller. It looks like I am dragging my feet, when it is @GoDaddy.
  
  
• The support tries to be helpful, but I think GoDaddy, Afternic, and Dan.com (the checkout link) seem to have poor communication with each other regarding the transaction status.
  
  
• I think it's reasonable to say that GoDaddy didn't really do much to earn a commission on this sale, not even 5%.
  
  
• I would have just closed some other way if I knew it was going to be such a pain.
  
  
• GoDaddy is a multi-billion dollar company. It's well within their resources to actually have employees working on weekends. People are online all days and times now from around the world. The entire world doesn't shut down just because it is a weekend.
  

I hope @GoDaddy makes the required changes to improve this process.

Brad

 

[biggie]

DaaZ easily earned their commission

Hi

they (daaz) should send you a marketing check, b-cuz of your referral, their biz is going to see an uptick


imo...

 

[bmugford]

Hi

they (daaz) should send you a marketing check, b-cuz of your referral, their biz is going to see an uptick


imo...

It might, but I don't even really want anything. Any incentive could cloud objectivity.

The review is completely unsolicited. It is not meant to be some marketing effort.

My goal was simply to leave an honest review about a similar service for comparison's sake.

Daaz was not even on my radar screen until the buyer recommended it.

It should also be a wakeup call to @GoDaddy. Even if you have a large reach, customers are not willing to just accept subpar service. There is eventually a tipping point where customers are willing to look at other options.

If my experience with Afternic's similar service was positive, I would have just insisted on using them. The poor service is what lead me to even consider using a different option.

Brad

 

[bmugford]

I am open to giving Afternic Custom Checkout Link another shot, when (if) they make the improvements needed. Even if there was some specific issue with my transaction, the general slow communication and transactions dying over weekends are still a problem.

Brad

 

[bmugford]

Duplicate post removed.

 

[Future Sensors]

If my experience with Afternic's similar service was positive, I would have just insisted on using them.

The poor service is what lead me to even consider using a different option.

It must be noted that you were always one of GoDaddy's most loyal customers, both for their registrar services and the aftermarket part. I was genuinely surprised that you still had so many domains registered with GoDaddy when other Sellers had already started moving all their domains elsewhere. Back then, Afternic was still a legacy service, but it worked. You knew its capabilities and limitations, and it was actually quite reliable. Not in 2024. Now, even the most loyal customers have noticed that GoDaddy has completely dropped the ball.

It should also be a wakeup call to @GoDaddy

It should. If only they hadn't been hitting the Snooze button every seven minutes for years, ignoring the harsh realities that their customers have been facing.

Sleep well, GoDaddy.

 

[bmugford]

It must be noted that you were always one of GoDaddy's most loyal customers, both for their registrar services and the aftermarket part. I was genuinely surprised that you still had so many domains registered with GoDaddy when other Sellers had already started moving all their domains elsewhere. Back then, Afternic was still a legacy service, but it worked. You knew its capabilities and limitations, and it was actually quite reliable. Not in 2024. Now, even the most loyal customers have noticed that GoDaddy has completely dropped the ball.

I still have the vast majority of my portfolio there. It makes it easier when dealing with end users as so many have accounts there.

I sell domains via Afternic frequently.

However, at the same time there is a limit to what I want to deal with.

I am starting to get flooded now with these "Price Requested" emails from Afternic, which is another reason I prefer self-brokerage. That of course is not an option.

I have a long list of other lander options I am considering. I have not decided yet.

Brad

 

[NicTraders]

So, I want to review a similar service to show what the Afternic Custom Checkout Link should be.

I agreed to buy a domain and the seller recommended using @DaaZ, so I gave it a shot and was very impressed.

https://daaz.com/blog/daaz-secure-domainnames-with-daaz-domain-marketplace

There is a 5% transaction fee. Either party can cover it or it can be split.


11/21 12:42AM -

Buyer starts the transaction.


11/21 12:46AM -

I agreed to terms and submitted payment via credit card.


11/21 12:50AM -

DaaZ contacts me and asks for my transfer preference (push or AUTH code). I choose AUTH code.


11/21 1:04AM -

DaaZ provides the AUTH code and I start the transfer.


11/21 1:30 AM -

The transfer completed. The domain is in my account.

The entire process from start to finish took 48 minutes.

Afternic took around 10 days from start to finish with basically no communication.


Overall Thoughts -

• These service offerings are very similar, but the difference between Afternic and DaaZ was night and day. One took 10 days and one took under an hour.
  
  
• The communication between DaaZ and me (the buyer) was great.
  
  
• If small players in the field can figure it out, why can't the multi-billion dollar company?
  
  
• DaaZ easily earned their commission.
  
  
• DaaZ offers better support hours. Transactions don't die over the weekends like with Afternic.
  
  Great Customer Support: 7 Days a Week
  Our service hours are as follows:
  Monday to Saturday: 04:00 AM GMT to 5:00 PM GMT
  Sunday: Only domain transfer assistance.

This is the level of service you should be striving for @GoDaddy.

Brad

Yes, I have used DaaZ multiple times and they're very good. And they can also facilitate the purchase of a portfolio of domains, which is very handy.

 

[Future Sensors]

I still have the vast majority of my portfolio there. It makes it easier when dealing with end users as so many have accounts there.

Let us know how your next inventory check goes.

 

[Kyle Tully]

“We are excited to announce that due to lack of use we’re retiring the 5% customer checkout links and in 2027 are introducing turbo boost checkout links at just 30% commission with guaranteed turnaround times of 1 hour or less*

*not a guarantee”

 

[BigTree]

I have a long list of other lander options I am considering. I have not decided yet.

Brad

Which ones if I can ask?

 

[Zavian]

I mean, the market cap of GD is something like US$25bil. If I even had one thousandth of that amount I would not be buying GoDaddy. I would be retiring. But yes, if you decided to buy GoDaddy in order to fix it, you'd have your work cut out for you for a very long time.

The market cap of GoDaddy is around $28 billion, and you would likely need to buy at a premium for the offer to be accepted. But if you got every single domainer together and put a bid on it, there would be more than enough money to buy out the entire company.

 

[bmugford]

The market cap of GoDaddy is $25 billion, and you would likely need to buy at a premium for the offer to be accepted. But if you got every single domainer together and put a bid on it, there would be more than enough money to buy out the entire company.

I'm in for $100.

Brad

 

[Dane]

I'm in for $100.

I got 20 bucks.

 

[Zavian]

I'm in for $100.

Brad

Then the domainer investors can cut out the investor dinners to focus on the website issues.

 

[UncleBrand]

you can create a payment link inside your paypal account, or a direct invoice link

and then you push the domain after 3 business days ( just to be sure the funds are clean)

you would have saved on the Afternic commission, even after paypal fees you will get more money

 

[silentg]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1862176011061952987

 

[alcy]

like all on gd and afternic this is predictable. meanwhile they shut down dan where best case for add lead was 2hours to get paid for seller and a day or 2 in bad case.

 

[silentg]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1863850976312279078

 

[JHurk]

Thanks Brad for sharing this experience. I've used the custom checkout link twice now. Once with Dan and the other with Afternic. Of course dan was much easier to deal with than Afternic. Both transactions were processed accordingly and in a timely manner.

 

[yueding]

In fact, as we enter December, everything seems to be getting better for Afternic. I am very happy that three transactions have been reached. Currently, Afternic's shortcomings are that its communication with Dan regarding domain transfer seems to be not smooth, and the status of domain transfer cannot be updated and synchronized in a timely manner. Sellers need to follow up step by step because it seems that no one will actively update the order status. In addition, in terms of payment and remittance, compared to Dan's almost one-day receipt, it is obviously much slower, possibly due to a large number of orders or insufficient personnel. I guess