Afternic Closed Their Marketplace

LoveCatchyDomains said:

Has that been fixed? Multiple issues have been raised in the past on NP, about sellers being unable to find their listings on GoDaddy auctions--even with typing in an exact match in some instances?

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I sure hope so. I randomly checked a few of my domains now and they appeared as they should. But if it's a known issue from the past, people should check and see if their listings are indeed appearing as they should.

Over the last few decades most of my sales come from wherever I point the landing page. I've always preferred Sedo over Afternic as a company. The reason Afternic revived is due to the GoDaddy branding/traffic but prior to that Afternic wasn't really a substantial income generator on my end. Searched a few of my Afternic domains on GoDaddy and ya get the crappy automated appraisal on them.

They got it 50% right, redirecting Afternic a good idea just should have went to Dan instead of GoDaddy as it's clean, payment plans, etc...

This post sponsored by...

Efty=Annual Fee 0% Commission
Domain.io=Annual Fee 0% Commission
SquadHelp White Label=7.5% Commission
Sedo
Etc...

See how long Dan stays alive. Shame to buy that and ruin it.

rh2000 said:

Since Afternic is shutdown are there any other changes coming?

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Godaddy will be partnering with X to begin advertising domains splashed on driverless Tesla CyberTrucks.

Lucky Domain Academy grads can go along for the ride with prepaid 5-year DDC memberships.

SuperBrander said:

Visitors can search the inventory properly if they head over to auctions.godaddy.com and choose the type- 'buy it now' or 'make offer' option together with other filters.

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That is such a royal PITA.

Spot on.

SpareDomains said:

Over the last few decades most of my sales come from wherever I point the landing page. I've always preferred Sedo over Afternic as a company. The reason Afternic revived is due to the GoDaddy branding/traffic but prior to that Afternic wasn't really a substantial income generator on my end. Searched a few of my Afternic domains on GoDaddy and ya get the crappy automated appraisal on them.

They got it 50% right, redirecting Afternic a good idea just should have went to Dan instead of GoDaddy as it's clean, payment plans, etc...

This post sponsored by...

Efty=Annual Fee 0% Commission
Domain.io=Annual Fee 0% Commission
SquadHelp White Label=7.5% Commission
Sedo
Etc...

See how long Dan stays alive. Shame to buy that and ruin it.

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Efty may have 0% commission but I just popped over there and they want $36 per mo to join. So it isn't free

SpareDomains said:

This post sponsored by...

Efty=Annual Fee 0% Commission
Domain.io=Annual Fee 0% Commission
SquadHelp White Label=7.5% Commission
Sedo
Etc...

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And Dynadot, 0% annual fee, 10% commission. Afternic was my #1 sales producer, with Dynadot #2, Sedo #3.

SuperBrander said:

@Sperry8 Godaddy does suggest some purchase options from the aftermarket below, but they're totally random. A mix of random extensions and random words. It's a mess. Visitors can search the inventory properly if they head over to auctions.godaddy.com and choose the type- 'buy it now' or 'make offer' option together with other filters. But how are visitors supposed to know that? The main Godaddy search has to make the inventory... searchable! It's the most basic thing a marketplace needs to do- let people browse and filter through the inventory instead of leaving them clueless or making them jump through hoops. Hopefully @GoDaddy will eventually see the light.

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If GD is doing this on purpose then they clearly prefer people handreg new domains to facilitating sales of regged ones. This may be purposeful and they may have already seen the light they wanted to see.

Based on this, I'll be swapping all my afternic nameservers out tomorrow.

LoveCatchyDomains said:

And Dynadot, 0% annual fee, 10% commission. Afternic was my #1 sales producer. with Dynadot #2, Sedo #3.

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Does Dyanadot require exclusivity? Can we list there and Afternic, Sedo, direct lander, etc?

Sperry8 said:

Does Dyanadot require exclusivity? Can we list there and Afternic, Sedo, direct lander, etc?

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No, Yes
All of my domains are listed on Sedo, Afternic, Dan, SquadHelp White Label, Dynadot etc...

Sperry8 said:

Does Dyanadot require exclusivity? Can we list there and Afternic, Sedo, direct lander, etc?

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Dynadot does not require exclusivity. And, they now even allow you to list domains that you have with other registars.

Dynadot also has a direct interface for listing to Sedo and Afternic. But there were ongoing issues with unexpected Fast Transfer requests and unauthorized Afternic and Dan listings (that were issues on GoDaddy's end).

Ultimately, I removed all my Afternic listings, and, at this point, am sticking with exclusively with Dynadot for landers and their marketplace--at least until mandatory upfront domain ownership verification is implemented on ALL Godaddy platforms.

Sedo has an incredible opportunity. They were once the go-to marketplace. If they could just bust out of their 2003 dreamscape (and perhaps be less euro-focused) they could probably own the domain aftermarket.

Or is it simply too late for existing players?

For me, I wish SquadHelp would make a drop-dead simple UI like Dan has. For some reason, I get confused by it. At best, it's not very intuitive to me. I probably need to spend more time familiarizing myself. I love the enhanced marketing capabilities along with all the basics I get from Dan. No drawbacks vs Dan that I can see, short of the simplicity when it comes to just selling domains.

forge said:

Sedo has an incredible opportunity. They were once the go-to marketplace. If they could just bust out of their 2003 dreamscape (and possibly quit being so unflinchingly eurocentric) they could probably own the domain aftermarket.

Or is it simply too late for existing players?

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I was also wondering about Sedo. The opportunity is there but they just don't seem innovative or flexible enough these days to move in a meaningful way. They still might benefit a bit from other registrars becoming less comfortable with Afternic no longer being anything more than the name for GoDaddy's listing and syndication service. At this point, Afternic is not an entity. It's just the name of a GoDaddy feature.

forge said:

Sedo has an incredible opportunity. They were once the go-to marketplace. If they could just bust out of their 2003 dreamscape (and possibly quit being so unflinchingly eurocentric) they could probably own the domain aftermarket.

Or is it simply too late for existing players?

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Good question.

One might wonder if the presence of descriptive landers is contributing to marketplace survival. Dynadot, Sedo, and Dan permit descriptions on the landers. Afternic did not do so until recently adopting the Dan Lander option.

Sedo, BTW, I liked for their integrity. They mandated ownership verifications up front. And they were the only marketplace that refused a listing, based on a "conflict of interest." I admire a company that is respectful of other customers, past or present. Overall, Sedo seemed like a nice marketplace, However, even after trying Sedo landers pointing to them, for me Afternic produced more sales at higher prices.

what a disaster

SpareDomains said:

No, Yes
All of my domains are listed on Sedo, Afternic, Dan, SquadHelp White Label, Dynadot etc...

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Sedo claims to show their domains at Dynadot... so do I need to list there directly? That is, wouldn't my names already be listed there? Is there any benefit to listing directly with Dynadot? 0% commission it appears... anything else?

internext said:

For me, I wish SquadHelp would make a drop-dead simple UI like Dan has. For some reason, I get confused by it. At best, it's not very intuitive to me. I probably need to spend more time familiarizing myself. I love the enhanced marketing capabilities along with all the basics I get from Dan. No drawbacks vs Dan that I can see, short of the simplicity when it comes to just selling domains.

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Agree! Will be a smart move...but maybe don't have money to do this or afraid

Armageddon said:

Agree! Will be a smart move...but maybe don't have money to do this or afraid

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I have been recently listing brandables with Squadhelp. Yes, the learning curve takes some time. But their CS is truly excellent, no matter when I email they respond within minutes. Truly impressive at answering questions.

Further, using coins, I'm able to get names approved with them and have them listed at Afternic and Sedo. I don't know if SH will actually sell any names for me - but as brandables their landing page with logo and brandable description was better than my generic sales lander - and I didn't lose Afternic or Sedo marketing. Seems a win all around (I'm surely no worse off except for paying a few dollars to get the better landing page - which for a brandable is important imo).

Sperry8 said:

Sedo claims to show their domains at Dynadot... so do I need to list there directly? That is, wouldn't my names already be listed there? Is there any benefit to listing directly with Dynadot? 0% commission it appears... anything else?

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Sedo MLS covers dynadot but sedo mls costs 20%
Listing in dynadot market costs 10%

Sedo, Afternic, Dan should be step #1
Step #2 should be expanding past the main 3 which for me is SquadHelp White Label 7.5%, Dynadot Market 10% etc...

SpareDomains said:

Sedo MLS covers dynadot but sedo mls costs 20%
Listing in dynadot market costs 10%

Sedo, Afternic, Dan should be step #1
Step #2 should be expanding past the main 3 which for me is SquadHelp White Label 7.5%, Dynadot Market 10% etc...

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OK, so I can definitely see saving 10% by listing with Dynadot is of benefit (although I have to manage yet another registrar). Still, at a 10% savings, might be worthwhile.

As for Dan - what is the benefit there? Aren't they now part of GoDaddy? How will marketing directly with them be beneficial/incremental beyond Afternic/Sedo and direct landers (or SH/BB/BPa landers where approved)?

As for SH White Label - what is the benefit to that over listing via a Premium listing with SH? Who markets the names via the White Label website? If it's me - no one will every find me. If SH markets WL names within their search results, then I can see the incremental value (although I assume the 7.5% commission means they promote these names much less than they would a Premium name, correct?)

Sperry8 said:

I have been recently listing brandables with Squadhelp. Yes, the learning curve takes some time. But their CS is truly excellent, no matter when I email they respond within minutes. Truly impressive at answering questions.

Further, using coins, I'm able to get names approved with them and have them listed at Afternic and Sedo. I don't know if SH will actually sell any names for me - but as brandables their landing page with logo and brandable description was better than my generic sales lander - and I didn't lose Afternic or Sedo marketing. Seems a win all around (I'm surely no worse off except for paying a few dollars to get the better landing page - which for a brandable is important imo).

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Yeh...& No problem with land page
Others give errors like page cant display or 500 error , 400 , 300 or what error you want

SpareDomains said:

Sedo MLS covers dynadot but sedo mls costs 20%
Listing in dynadot market costs 10%

Sedo, Afternic, Dan should be step #1
Step #2 should be expanding past the main 3 which for me is SquadHelp White Label 7.5%, Dynadot Market 10% etc...

Click to expand...

I just realized I'm already listed with Dynadot via Sedo and Sedo is not one of my primary movers of names. Therefore while I could theoretically save commissions by a direct Dynadot listing, it wouldn't increase my volume. Unless Dynadot promotes their direct listings more heavily than they do the SedoMLS ones. Do they?

LoveCatchyDomains said:

Good question.

One might wonder if the presence of descriptive landers is contributing to marketplace survival. Dynadot, Sedo, and Dan permit descriptions on the landers. Afternic did not do so until recently adopting the Dan Lander option.

Sedo, BTW, I liked for their integrity. They mandated ownership verifications up front. And they were the only marketplace that refused a listing, based on a "conflict of interest." I admire a company that is respectful of other customers, past or present. Overall, Sedo seemed like a nice marketplace, However, even after trying Sedo landers pointing to them, for me Afternic produced more sales at higher prices.

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At Sedo, descriptions are permitted on offer pages, not on landers. Not shown for BIN priced domains.

I'm going to give DaaZ a go.

Jannes said:

At Sedo, descriptions are permitted on offer pages, not on landers. Not shown for BIN priced domains.

I'm going to give DaaZ a go.

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Are there any companies providing landers (other than BB/SH/BPa) that allow us to provide descriptions on landers? I know Sedo, Afternic, and Bodis do not.

Sperry8 said:

Are there any companies providing landers (other than BB/SH/BPa) that allow us to provide descriptions on landers? I know Sedo, Afternic, and Bodis do not.

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I don't know comprehensively, but at least DAN and DaaZ.

I would (and will) only put descriptions if I have something special to say, for instance if I'm accepting offers for combo deals (domain's singular+plural versions, ai+keyword/keyword+ai pairs etc). Other than that, perhaps very short unique descriptions might work, but AI generated sales pitches, where every single domain name is "catchy and memorable", are worthless imo.