warning Unfair Afternic commission

[Igor Gabrielan]

I was contacted by an Afternic broker to buy a domain for his client. I wasn't even registered on the website afternic.com. Naturally, this domain was not in their listings or marketplace. The domain was sold for $25,000. Afternic wants to keep a 30% commission from me. Their rules are that the buyer pays the broker $99 + 20% of the sale price.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1953750227581546632

 

[domainer8888]

Congrats on your sale.

And congrats on not losing it via UDRP fast transfer

 

[DomainBFF]

And congrats on not losing it via UDRP fast transfer

Lol - as I've been looking at this guys names so far I've seen wix and cnn - surprised how in the world have these not been scooped up by UDRP/court

 

[Igor Gabrielan]

Firstly, CNN — is Convolutional neural network , secondly after that https://www.adrforum.com/DomainDecisions/2157805.htm unlikely that anyone will want to fight with John Berryhill and embarrass themselves.

I would like to say that thirdly, according to the rules of Anguilla, UDRP does not conduct proceedings with three-character domains, but now this is in doubt.

 

[DomainBFF]

Firstly, CNN — is Convolutional neural network , secondly after that https://www.adrforum.com/DomainDecisions/2157805.htm unlikely that anyone will want to fight with John Berryhill and embarrass themselves.

I would like to say that thirdly, according to the rules of Anguilla, UDRP does not conduct proceedings with three-character domains, but now this is in doubt.

I'm not knocking you, just said I was surprised.

 

[Future Sensors]

I saw in your screenshot that the email exchange started a few months ago. Here's a very recent article about Wix, which seems to be losing the AI battle in the eyes of investors.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/arti...eing-stocks-feared-to-be-under-threat-from-ai

Also:

https://www.cryptopolitan.com/ai-disruption-hits-markets-sooner-than-expected/

 

[DomainBFF]

I saw in your screenshot that the email exchange started a few months ago. Here's a very recent article about Wix, which seems to be losing the AI battle in the eyes of investors.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/arti...eing-stocks-feared-to-be-under-threat-from-ai

Interesting. The article is paywalled and didn't feel like pulling up a proxy, but based on the title, I see it as more of an AI is going to very soon be able to completely build websites with full functionality and be able to easily be designed very nicely and easily with prompting.

Then once things go fully agentic, agents will build full-scale websites with ease. So I personally trimmed a lot from my portfolio (stock) that I think will struggle with the future AI landscape. I'm not sure what Wix will be able to salvage by integrating AI in the long-term (even with agentic here, mass-adoption will still take several years for end-users imo), but I would wager it was them who purchased it.

 

[Future Sensors]

@newna.me I've added a second article, that one should work. Both articles are about research done by Bank of America.

 

[bmugford]

The bottom line here is whatever happened, a 30% commission is simply not justified when a broker contacts you regarding an unlisted domain. IMO.

Brad

 

[DomainBFF]

@newna.me I've added a second article, that one should work. Both articles are about research done by Bank of America.

About what I imagined the article would be about! It's wild to see how many industries are going to crumble very very soon.

My day job isn't at risk fortunately..yet..but I manage a team of 28 that will likely look more like 10 in the very near future. And we have already implemented proprietary internal agents company-wide. This stuff is moving FAST.

I also thank my lucky stars I got out of owning my own agency years ago and moved to consulting on the side. I worry for so many of my peers, and likely many users here, what is going to happen to the entre agency sector from design/graphic/dev to media buying it's looking grim.

All of this to say Godaddy better explain themselves quick because this is messed up. I hope they find their stock price slipping soon so they start taking into account these anti-consumer and borderline monopolistic practices.

 

[Igor Gabrielan]

 

[DomainBFF]

Show attachment 280778

Wow how did I not know this. Probably because I own 0 and never will, but that's nuts.

They just reported a beat on all fronts in their Q2 earnings like 2 days ago IIRC so I thought everything was fine and dandy. Love to see it.

 

[xwat]

I saw in your screenshot that the email exchange started a few months ago. Here's a very recent article about Wix, which seems to be losing the AI battle in the eyes of investors.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/arti...eing-stocks-feared-to-be-under-threat-from-ai

Also:

https://www.cryptopolitan.com/ai-disruption-hits-markets-sooner-than-expected/

Well I am not sure where to put my 401K anymore. My portfolio is up 5-6% on the year but if I take it out of the SP500 I am not sure where to put it. I do not want to put it in bonds as I am scared of a weakening dollar or not keeping up with inflation.

 

[Future Sensors]

Wix Reports Second Quarter 2025 Results

August 6, 2025

"Looking ahead, we’re thinking bigger – not just transforming website building, but unlocking new markets enabled by AI, such as vibe coding."

"We’re laying the foundation for the next era of creation – visual-first editing for simplicity and speed coupled with AI-powered coding capabilities for flexibility and depth, empowering users to create and build in ways not previously possible."

Source (PDF)

https://4f4a3186-9467-4c09-aa74-51f...d/4f4a31_55d137760e8a4600891304ecf3e85e04.pdf

 

[domainer8888]

Firstly, CNN — is Convolutional neural network , secondly after that https://www.adrforum.com/DomainDecisions/2157805.htm unlikely that anyone will want to fight with John Berryhill and embarrass themselves.

I would like to say that thirdly, according to the rules of Anguilla, UDRP does not conduct proceedings with three-character domains, but now this is in doubt.

You have already embarrassed yourself enough. We all know your shopify ai thread and the bloomberg ai case.

 

[DomainBFF]

Well I am not sure where to put my 401K anymore. My portfolio is up 5-6% on the year but if I take it out of the SP500 I am not sure where to put it. I do not want to put it in bonds as I am scared of a weakening dollar or not keeping up with inflation.

I wouldn’t worry about any of that with regard to your 401k. I don’t know your age, but if you’re under 40 I personally wouldn’t move anything and hold 0 bonds.

I’m 34 and still contributing 80/20 US 500 index & International. The amount my 401k has compounded the past 10 years is ridiculous. Once I’m 40 I plan to slowly add 1% to bonds for each year over the age of 40.

Applying same balance to self-directed solo 401k for my LLC and only playing with individual stocks in my Roth-Ira .

IMO

 

[Igor Gabrielan]

Hello Igor,

Thank you for your patience and for sharing your experience with us regarding the sale of your domain, wix.ai. We appreciate your candid feedback and the opportunity to clarify any misunderstandings that may have occurred during the process.

We understand there was some confusion regarding the commission structure, specifically the meaning of “gross” in relation to your sale price of $25,000. Our intention was never to mislead you, and we sincerely apologize for any lack of clarity in our communications.

After reviewing your case and taking your concerns seriously, our leadership team has agreed to reduce the commission on your sale to 15%. This means that from the $25,000 sale price, your net proceeds will be $21,250. As the initial payment has already been made based on the previous commission rate, we will be issuing a second payment to you to reflect the commission adjustment. You will receive a separate notification once this payment has been processed.

We value your business and want to ensure your experience with us is positive and fair. If you have further questions or would like to discuss this matter in more detail, please feel free to reply to this email.

Best Regards,
Rebecca

 

[Igor Gabrielan]

Somewhere around 1992, I decided to start a business. In the USSR, all prices were the same, but after the collapse of the USSR, neighboring Belgorod became a foreign city, and a difference in prices arose. Having received my salary at the Institute of Ionosphere in the form of new and beautiful Ukrainian currency, coupons, I decided to exchange them for rubles at the Central Bazaar of Kharkiv to buy cellophane bags in Belgorod and sell them in Kharkiv. But when I gave the illegal money changer a hundred coupons, he decided to keep them for himself. When I raised a scandal, he gave me half.

 

[Future Sensors]

The leadership team decided that it was gross.

 

[alcy]

Somewhere around 1992, I decided to start a business. In the USSR, all prices were the same, but after the collapse of the USSR, neighboring Belgorod became a foreign city, and a difference in prices arose. Having received my salary at the Institute of Ionosphere in the form of new and beautiful Ukrainian currency, coupons, I decided to exchange them for rubles at the Central Bazaar of Kharkiv to buy cellophane bags in Belgorod and sell them in Kharkiv. But when I gave the illegal money changer a hundred coupons, he decided to keep them for himself. When I raised a scandal, he gave me half.

nice
so u became an oligarch

of domains

haha

 

[Igor Gabrielan]

The leadership team decided that it was gross.

I wonder if you're playing with some additional meaning of the word 'gross'?
Google translates into Ukrainian your phrase "Керівна команда вирішила, що це огидно."
Reverse translation:
The management team decided it was disgusting.