Afternic - Official Thread

[GoDaddy]

Hello NamePros!
By popular demand, we have launched a dedicated feedback thread for Afternic, the GoDaddy-owned domain name marketplace.

We have created this thread as a way for you to tell us what works, what doesn't work, and what features you'd like to see at Afternic (please be constructive with your feedback). We're looking forward to hearing from the domain investment community to help us shape the future of Afternic.

We will also be sharing Afternic product updates in this thread.

Please note that this thread is not meant for support. Please email our support team at [email protected] for assistance.

 

[411domains]

@GoDaddy

I'm really frustrated with the lead center/broker system.

I'm not receiving any notifications about what's happening with my lead center.
Your brokers are handling all my leads without asking for my opinion or keeping me informed.
I have to constantly check my account and message brokers to find out what's going on.
I've spoken to support and asked about this with five different brokers, but I haven't gotten any results.

While we're wasting time, buyers have the opportunity to change their minds.

Example:

2023-06-20 18:28
Buyer made offer of $324

2023-06-21 09:58
Hello,
why didn't you informed me that the buyer made an offer for $324? I want to receive email notifications for everything that happens in my lead center .I have asked this more than 3 times in different brokers. Please report this again...Thank you

2023-06-21 22:12
We'll ensure we'll update you if buyer has a new offer.

2023-06-22 02:11
Ok, please accept the offer of 324

2023-06-23 10:50
Buyer made offer of $320

2023-06-24 02:38
Hello,
What is happening.
Did the buyer made again an offer of $324?
Did you accepted it?
Why isn’t the domain sold yet?
Also I m still not getting any notification about what happens in my lead center.

2023-06-24 22:02
The buyer came back with a lower offer of $320 USD. We are working to have them honor their previous offer of $324 USD. If by chance you would consider the lower gross offer of $320, please let us know. Otherwise, we are currently waiting for the buyer's response if they can honor the previous offer.


I've skipped over some irrelevant messages.

So, here we can see 3 things :

1. I was never informed about these offers.

2. The broker is trying to save me $4, risking ruining the transaction!

3. I would have accepted this offer four days ago if I were allowed to do so...

If you think that's bad, check this lead out.

I was hesitant to share this, because I prefer using the human element of brokers, but if this is how leads are going to be handled, forget about it.

However, if I can be assigned a hungry, dedicated @GoDaddy / Afternic broker whom I know and trust to field ALL of my leads, I'm all-in.

This "broker" really struck a nerve with me, because not only did they fail to try, their responses contradicted their log actions. Not to mention their "gut feeling" BS as well as suggesting I send them my leads so they can follow-up on my behalf? Are you kidding me? This was insulting to say the very least!

Note: All personal and broker info has been redacted. However everything else is unedited and fully transparent.

For those who are not familiar with the lead center, all leads are in reverse chronological order.

 

[accuname]

TLDR: Initial buyer offer 7 day countdown timer was actually a day behind. Was not informed of this when negotiations stalled on a Friday.

There should be standardized info for when offers expire. Had a situation just now were the initial start of the 7 day offer timer was actually a day before what was shown in the lead center. Something about differences in time zones and the broker not being able to get around to creating the lead same time the offer came in.

To make things worse I got confused about the afternic policy for initial offers. I wasn't sure if my counter negated the buyers initial offer. FYI it doesn't and the initial offer is good for seven days regardless if seller counters.

Even so I do remember counting out 7 days from the initial offer and thinking ok I have at least to the morning of July 4 to make my decision. Nope. By the time the broker responded to my Friday questions on Monday the initial offer had already expired.

Yup. The offer expired a day earlier than expected. To make things even worser still one of the Friday questions I asked was when the offer expires.

 

[Future Sensors]

Hello Afternic,

On June 22, I sold a domain through Afternic for USD 9,500. It was a brokered lead transaction. The funds had already been received from the buyer and I gave Afternic the AUTH code on the very same day.

Since then, the day of June 22nd, the domain is in the "Afternic DNescrow" account with GoDaddy, and Afternic manages the buyer's funds.

Despite this, Afternic refuses to pay the money to me as the seller, stating that the buyer will first have to accept the domain in their GoDaddy account. Afternic Transaction Assurance has reaffirmed this today on July 6th.

Afternic, I kindly request that payment to me (and other payments) be made faster. This payment takes unnecessarily long and it feels very frustrating to be dependent on Afternic in this way.

Thank you.

@GoDaddy
@James Iles
@Joe Styler

 

[bmugford]

Hello Afternic,

On June 22, I sold a domain through Afternic for USD 9,500. It was a brokered lead transaction. The funds had already been received from the buyer and I gave Afternic the AUTH code on the very same day.

Since then, the day of June 22nd, the domain is in the "Afternic DNescrow" account with GoDaddy, and Afternic manages the buyer's funds.

Despite this, Afternic refuses to pay the money to me as the seller, stating that the buyer will first have to accept the domain in their GoDaddy account. Afternic Transaction Assurance has reaffirmed this today on July 6th.

Afternic, I kindly request that payment to me (and other payments) be made faster. This payment takes unnecessarily long and it feels very frustrating to be dependent on Afternic in this way.

Thank you.

@GoDaddy
@James Iles
@Joe Styler

I have a similar issue with a recent Afternic sale.

I sold a domain on 6/27/2023. It was pushed and accepted to Afternic's account that day.

I contacted support yesterday and asked them why the payout has not been scheduled yet and was told -

"The TA team doesn't release funds until the buyer has accepted the name into their account. That is the last thing we are waiting on but it should be done soon."

In my case the domain is a .US domain, which doesn't offer privacy. I can see the domain is in the buyer's information, and has been since at least 6/29/2023.

So I am not sure what "until the buyer has accepted the name into their account" actually means.

I had a different sale a few days after which was already paid out without a problem.

This has to be some recent policy change, as I have been paid for domains that were still in the "Afternic" GoDaddy account before. In my case, the domain was not even in Afternic's account.

Can you please clarify what is going on?

@James Iles @Paul Nicks @Joe Styler

Brad

 

[GoDaddy]

It is day 6 (six!!!) now and i'm still not able to login at godaddy and afternic.
This is so unprofessional. Did receive an message from the deletion process of the 2SV yesterday morning.
They needed a selfie of me taking a photo with my ID. I answered really quick. And then? Noting heared till now.
In my opinion the error "his phone number can't be used" could be from the third partie who provides the 2SV.
But we will never no - there is absolutly no support or clear statement from godaddy at all.

For those of you who use NS3/NS4 for the most of the portfolio:
Will i receive a mail for an offer which results from a qualified lead? And/or do the broker pick up the phone to give me a call if i do not answer?
I told you about the $14,995 listing i got an qualified lead for and i know who did the price request (well founded enduser registered other matching TLDs the same day the inquiry came in). Would love to have a look at the activities on that transaction but i can't and it would be calming to know that if there is some action i will be informed.

Sorry to hear that you're having issues logging in. Can you email your customer ID to [email protected], and we'll ask our support team to look into it.

What is the use of your "Minimum Bid" value if Afternic brokers can flood your email box with $0 "Price Inquiries"?

If my Minimum Bid on a domain is $10K, then don't even think of contacting me unless you get an offer in that range. Seems pretty easy to understand, otherwise, why even have us waste time filling in that Min Bid field?

This sounds like you've received a few Price Request emails, which are indications that someone is interested in a domain name you own that is hosting a Request Price lander, but there isn't a Buy It Now or a Floor Price listed for our brokers to be able to work the lead effectively. If you'd like to email us an example domain to [email protected], we'll confirm whether this is the case and we can share some best practices with you.

In afternic, in the lead center under "broker activity" if there is a "buyer call logged" status does that mean there was a conversation or is it just an attempt to call buyer?

Would any information ever been disclosed about a conversation with buyer that might actually be relevant to the seller? Such as the buyer saying the initial offer is their final offer? Would a broker ever disclose that even if the buyer never said to tell the seller that?

"Buyer call logged" is a common update in the Lead Center. Our brokers use often use calls as a method of engagement, as our data shows a higher conversion rate when we're able to get a customer on the phone. This is done at the discretion of each broker, though.

The "buyer call logged" status is used when there is either an attempt to call the lead or when our brokers are able to contact the lead successfully.

If you think that's bad, check this lead out.

I was hesitant to share this, because I prefer using the human element of brokers, but if this is how leads are going to be handled, forget about it.

However, if I can be assigned a hungry, dedicated @GoDaddy / Afternic broker whom I know and trust to field ALL of my leads, I'm all-in.

This "broker" really struck a nerve with me, because not only did they fail to try, their responses contradicted their log actions. Not to mention their "gut feeling" BS as well as suggesting I send them my leads so they can follow-up on my behalf? Are you kidding me? This was insulting to say the very least!

Note: All personal and broker info has been redacted. However everything else is unedited and fully transparent.

For those who are not familiar with the lead center, all leads are in reverse chronological order.


Show attachment 242018

Lead Center does bring transparency to our brokerage, which wasn't there before. That being said, we appreciate you sharing this. Each negotiation is down to the discretion of our individual brokers based on their years of experience and expertise. If you're able to email us at [email protected], our sales team will take a look at this in a little more detail.

TLDR: Initial buyer offer 7 day countdown timer was actually a day behind. Was not informed of this when negotiations stalled on a Friday.

There should be standardized info for when offers expire. Had a situation just now were the initial start of the 7 day offer timer was actually a day before what was shown in the lead center. Something about differences in time zones and the broker not being able to get around to creating the lead same time the offer came in.

To make things worse I got confused about the afternic policy for initial offers. I wasn't sure if my counter negated the buyers initial offer. FYI it doesn't and the initial offer is good for seven days regardless if seller counters.

Even so I do remember counting out 7 days from the initial offer and thinking ok I have at least to the morning of July 4 to make my decision. Nope. By the time the broker responded to my Friday questions on Monday the initial offer had already expired.

Yup. The offer expired a day earlier than expected. To make things even worser still one of the Friday questions I asked was when the offer expires.

Could you email us the domain in question to [email protected]? We'd like to provide a bit more clarity on this for you!

Hello Afternic,

On June 22, I sold a domain through Afternic for USD 9,500. It was a brokered lead transaction. The funds had already been received from the buyer and I gave Afternic the AUTH code on the very same day.

Since then, the day of June 22nd, the domain is in the "Afternic DNescrow" account with GoDaddy, and Afternic manages the buyer's funds.

Despite this, Afternic refuses to pay the money to me as the seller, stating that the buyer will first have to accept the domain in their GoDaddy account. Afternic Transaction Assurance has reaffirmed this today on July 6th.

Afternic, I kindly request that payment to me (and other payments) be made faster. This payment takes unnecessarily long and it feels very frustrating to be dependent on Afternic in this way.

Thank you.

@GoDaddy
@James Iles
@Joe Styler

Congrats on your sale! Please email the domain to [email protected]. We definitely take your feedback about payouts on board, and we're actively working on our payout policy. We'll bring you more information as soon as we're able to!

I have a similar issue with a recent Afternic sale.

I sold a domain on 6/27/2023. It was pushed and accepted to Afternic's account that day.

I contacted support yesterday and asked them why the payout has not been scheduled yet and was told -

"The TA team doesn't release funds until the buyer has accepted the name into their account. That is the last thing we are waiting on but it should be done soon."

In my case the domain is a .US domain, which doesn't offer privacy. I can see the domain is in the buyer's information, and has been since at least 6/29/2023.

So I am not sure what "until the buyer has accepted the name into their account" actually means.

I had a different sale a few days after which was already paid out without a problem.

This has to be some recent policy change, as I have been paid for domains that were still in the "Afternic" GoDaddy account before. In my case, the domain was not even in Afternic's account.

Can you please clarify what is going on?

@James Iles @Paul Nicks @Joe Styler

Brad

Please email us the domain in question to [email protected], and we'll ask our team to look into this for you.

As we mentioned to @Future Sensors, we're actively working on our payout policy, and we'll share more information on that as soon as we can.

 

[DomainRecap]

This sounds like you've received a few Price Request emails, which are indications that someone is interested in a domain name you own that is hosting a Request Price lander, but there isn't a Buy It Now or a Floor Price listed for our brokers to be able to work the lead effectively.

This wasn't my question.

If the brokers totally ignore the "minimum price" (hypothetically $10K) and keep sending me emails from obviously unqualified tire kickers, then what is the use of setting the Afternic minimum price?

I have since contacted the broker(s) and let them know about my minimum price (??) and all the buyers either ghosted or the minimum price was too high for them. The $10K minimum should have been immediately communicated to the "buyers" before I was emailed.

Otherwise you have a pile of hobos with 50-cents in their pockets making inquiries on 1-word .COM domains. And what a good use of my time that is.

The Afternic system seems to run backwards with zero "buyer qualifying" taking place until *after* the seller responds. This is a huge waste of time for sellers who properly set their "minimum price" to dissuade tire kickers, but seem to be forced to do so when Afternic and their brokers totally ignore this number.

Any potential lead should immediately be advised of the minimum bid before any further activity takes place.

 

[bmugford]

Please email us the domain in question to [email protected], and we'll ask our team to look into this for you.

As we mentioned to @Future Sensors, we're actively working on our payout policy, and we'll share more information on that as soon as we can.

I already contacted my account manager at Afternic. That is when I got the response I posted.

A couple hours ago my sale finally moved to "payout scheduled".

In my case the domain was listed as "transfer complete" for over a week.

However, in general when the owner transfers the domain to Afternic/GoDaddy their obligation is complete.

That is how it works at Dan. That is how it has worked at Afternic in the past.

Again, I have received payments when the domain was still in the Afternic/GoDaddy holding account.

Was there some recent (unannounced) policy change?

@GoDaddy @James Iles @Paul Nicks @Joe Styler

Brad

 

[Traderas]

Sorry to hear that you're having issues logging in. Can you email your customer ID to [email protected], and we'll ask our support team to look into it.




This sounds like you've received a few Price Request emails, which are indications that someone is interested in a domain name you own that is hosting a Request Price lander, but there isn't a Buy It Now or a Floor Price listed for our brokers to be able to work the lead effectively. If you'd like to email us an example domain to [email protected], we'll confirm whether this is the case and we can share some best practices with you.




"Buyer call logged" is a common update in the Lead Center. Our brokers use often use calls as a method of engagement, as our data shows a higher conversion rate when we're able to get a customer on the phone. This is done at the discretion of each broker, though.

The "buyer call logged" status is used when there is either an attempt to call the lead or when our brokers are able to contact the lead successfully.



Lead Center does bring transparency to our brokerage, which wasn't there before. That being said, we appreciate you sharing this. Each negotiation is down to the discretion of our individual brokers based on their years of experience and expertise. If you're able to email us at [email protected], our sales team will take a look at this in a little more detail.



Could you email us the domain in question to [email protected]? We'd like to provide a bit more clarity on this for you!



Congrats on your sale! Please email the domain to [email protected]. We definitely take your feedback about payouts on board, and we're actively working on our payout policy. We'll bring you more information as soon as we're able to!



Please email us the domain in question to [email protected], and we'll ask our team to look into this for you.

As we mentioned to @Future Sensors, we're actively working on our payout policy, and we'll share more information on that as soon as we can.

So this is how it will work from now on?
The answer to every problem is, send mail to "[email protected]"!

What 's the use of Afternic support anymore?
Once again, I m waiting for a response in an email I sent them 9 days ago.

But I just realized it s my fault.
From now on I will just bypass Afternic from day one, and emailing [email protected]

 

[411domains]

@GoDaddy

I brought up this particular concern several times in the past and either the messages were not relayed to the team or they fell upon deaf ears.

Now that someone is actively listening, I thought this might be the opportune time to revisit this concern.

This is a screenshot of a premium domain checkout.

It looks great except for one little hitch.

Look closely at the highlighted renewal date...Renews July 2024 (One year from the date the domain was added to the cart, exactly like a domain registration.)

The problem is, this particular domain is registered through 2030.

These are not domain registrations, they are premium purchases.

For the sake of simplicity, it should state nothing more than the renewal price.

Simply put, the premium domain purchase renewal dates are inaccurate.

While it may all work out once the order has been processed, it may cause buyer hesitation and/or confusion prior to that point.

Since they're using the same path and code, the simplest solution would to remove the date.

For the sake of accuracy, it would be greatly appreciated if we could get this looked into and corrected.

 

[GoDaddy]

I already contacted my account manager at Afternic. That is when I got the response I posted.

A couple hours ago my sale finally moved to "payout scheduled".

In my case the domain was listed as "transfer complete" for over a week.

However, in general when the owner transfers the domain to Afternic/GoDaddy their obligation is complete.

That is how it works at Dan. That is how it has worked at Afternic in the past.

Again, I have received payments when the domain was still in the Afternic/GoDaddy holding account.

Was there some recent (unannounced) policy change?

@GoDaddy @James Iles @Paul Nicks @Joe Styler

Brad

Afternic's standard policy is that the seller's funds are disbursed after Afternic transfers the domain name to the buyer. This hasn't changed. However, we are actively reviewing our policy.

 

[Future Sensors]

@GoDaddy Payment not yet received, but I can see that things are moving. Thanks.

Also appreciate that you are actively reviewing your payment policy to Sellers. Inaction by the Buyer should never frustrate the payment process to Seller.

Another thing that is related to this:

In Afternic's Membership Agreement you state that "You further acknowledge Afternic is not acting as a trustee, fiduciary or escrow with respect to your funds."

Why is your holding account called "DNescrow"?

 

[MasterOfMyDomains]

Its sure different with joe joe styler out of the picture. He would say email [email protected]
Surprised namepros not dinged for that duplicate content.
Still amazes me that we allow our competitor to manage our portfoliö

 

[Rhinnnn]

I sold a domain via Fast Transfer 9 hours ago and it moved from my Namecheap account to another Namecheap account -- pretty sure it's the buyer's account since they also renewed the domain.

But right now my Afternic dashboard says the sale is "Pending buyer payment approval."

Not sure this is the right approach for Fast Transfer sales. What if the payment isn't approved? Someone has my domain and can already use it. Meanwhile, I don't know when or if I can use the money.

P.S.: That last part with "instructions to begin the domain ownership transfer" makes no sense. The domain is no longer with me, the transfer is already complete.

 

[bmugford]

I think it is clear that GoDaddy, a company with a $12 billion dollar market cap, could do a lot better job streamlining their systems.

Brad

 

[Future Sensors]

@Rhinnnn That's another point of concern, indeed.

There is (always has been) a big discrepancy between the actual status and the status as stated in the dashboard. Often what is in the dashboard does not match the emails that Transaction Assurance has sent.

Even within the dashboard you can come across different statuses in different places, for the same transaction.

 

[Rhinnnn]

There is (always has been) a big discrepancy between the actual status and the status as stated in the dashboard. Often what is in the dashboard does not match the emails that Transaction Assurance has sent.

Even within the dashboard you can come across different statuses in different places, for the same transaction.

I think I noticed something similar during a previous (manual transfer) sale.

So basically we can't be sure of anything until the money actually hits our PayPal/bank account. Whenever and if that happens.

 

[bmugford]

I think I noticed something similar during a previous (manual transfer) sale.

So basically we can't be sure of anything until the money actually hits our PayPal/bank account. Whenever and if that happens.

Between GoDaddy, Afternic, and Dan it seems like the left hand doesn't know what the right hand is doing.

I often run into issues with listings already existing, and not being able to figure out where they are feeding into the system from or knowing how to remove them.

I understand it not being easy for GoDaddy to keep this stuff straight. There are just so many different distribution paths, systems, processes, etc.

Brad

 

[Future Sensors]

Between GoDaddy, Afternic, and Dan it seems like the left hand doesn't know what the right hand is doing.

I often run into issues with listings already existing, and not being able to figure out where they are feeding into the system from or knowing how to remove them.

I understand it not being easy for GoDaddy to keep this stuff straight. There are just so many different distribution paths, systems, processes, etc.

A few years ago I changed the email address for my Afternic account. And yet, at times, I still get emails at that old address. Afternic has said several times during the years that they finally found the cause and fixed it, but on the last transaction it happened again. So for one single transaction, most emails will go to the new address, and a few to the old one. Afternic can't find where the email is coming from. Still not resolved.

 

[M999]

When a leader is unable to lead, they should be replaced. Charles Beadnall never fixes anything. It is the same friggin problems at GD and Afternic day after day, month after month, year after year.

#End10yearsofGDmadness_fireCharlesBeadnall

 

[DomainBarracksRob]

@GoDaddy Why is it just about ever time I update/change a price on a name already listed, it put's the name in review...and sits in review for days, unless I take the time to reach out to have it fixed?.......This a a time consuming and a hassle that I did not notice before all these recent changes you and Dan have made.

Can this please be improved ? Thanks. @James Iles

 

[Jeff_Libert]

Afternic Login is producing a "White Screen of Death", reminiscent of Microsoft's "Blue Screen of Death".

When I attempt to login at sso.afternic.com all I'm getting is a white screen. So, I have to ask, "Is it me or is it Memorex"? (Oldsters need only . . groan. :p )

Am I being IP blocked or is the login system borked?

 

[DomainBarracksRob]

Afternic Login is producing a "White Screen of Death", reminiscent of Microsoft's "Blue Screen of Death".

When I attempt to login at sso.afternic.com all I'm getting is a white screen. So, I have to ask, "Is it me or is it Memorex"? (Oldsters need only . . groan. :p )

Am I being IP blocked or is the login system borked?

Same thing here!

I've not been able to login for last 15 mins

 

[M999]

Same difficulties here….
#End10yearsofGDmadness_fireCharlesBeadnall

 

[Traderas]

Down for me as well.
Not even 1 day can pass with no problems

 

[GoDaddy]

Thanks for the messages, our team is aware, and we're actively working to resolve this as quickly as possible.