Thoughts on the new Afternic?

[dbdomains]

I am new here but have used Afternic in the past. I appreciate the normally high-quality threads and posts on DNForum.

I just received an offer for one of my domains through Afternic. I was appalled to see the new owners fee structure. 10% and a minimum $60 sales commission paid by the seller seems a bit steep, especially considering that most of the names I saw listed there were around $200. Also the seller is required to pay the transfer fees.

Has anybody used them in the past few weeks? Has it been a good experience? Is the new afternic going to survive any longer than the old one did?

 

[dbdomains]

Thanks for the input.

The name wasn't listed of Afternic. Thanks for the idea.

I agree with you. I don't think that they are making a killing. An I don't think thay know much about the secondary market either. As I recall, the old Afternic had the buyer pay the fees.

I did notice the 3% fee for credit card transactions. I guess they are just trying to get their discount fee back.

I just don't see their USP for sellers, especially compared to other solutions like the auctions on here, or simple direct marketing. I have tried Afternic, Ebay, Great Domains, and DomainSystems. But my only successes have been with direct marketing.

Originally posted by BigFart


First, was the name listed on Afternic? If so then you knew the fee structure going in and you have no right to complain.

If this was an unsolicated offer then get a page up that the domain name resolves to and give a message to the person interested and tell them how to contact you directly.

Secondly, I have not used the new Afternic and am not interested in doing so.

I have looked over the site and from an interview listed with the new owner, they are not making a killing nor do they seem to know alot about the secondary market.

I would say that 10%/$60 seems a fair commission but obviously not for names that sell for $200. Did you see that on top of the 10% that they charge an extra 3% for Credit Cards?

 

[Anthony Ng]

>dbdomains: I have tried Afternic, Ebay, Great Domains, and DomainSystems. But my only successes have been with direct marketing.

I have sold more than $10,000 worth of names via GreatDomains.com plus 1 (ONE) other via the old AfterNIC.com. Did once with eBay, too costly for failures.

 

[adoptabledomains]

Just got my first sale at the new afternic (high 3 figures). I''ll post comments after the transaction closes.

 

[Duke]

Originally posted by adoptabledomains
Just got my first sale at the new afternic (high 3 figures). I''ll post comments after the transaction closes.

Congratulations Mark. Do let us know how smoothly the process goes. I haven't listed anything there yet.

 

[EM @MAJ.com]

Yes, keep us posted with the new afternic.

cheers,
tw

 

[cjmacd]

I got a funny story for you guys.

I signed up with afternic looking to sell on it some time last year
(oct - nov) I paid $49.95 for it and realized that it was plagued by domains that were just being bid on by the same 3 people
You couldn't trust a domains worth there.
Then afternic was acquired by NameBuySell.com which, my profile was then deleted effectively wasting my $49.95. so I had to pay 1.95 (which any new user could have paid) to start a new account.
I was kind of better from that

Oh well
Haven’t sold anything on it yet - I use it fro parking my names, for that its great. And you always have a for sale page and a showcase that you can send people to.

So I guess its a lot better then it was, but time will tell if its actually good enough.

-cjmacd

 

[adoptabledomains]

Originally posted by adoptabledomains
Just got my first sale at the new afternic (high 3 figures). I''ll post comments after the transaction closes.

I finally closed on this domain. Closing was pretty smooth and well laid out. Check in hand today, about a week after the final closing.

...Better than the old Afternic.

 

[hanogl]

I bought 4 domains through them. There were some problems with the previous owner not sending the needed auth codes, but Afternic was helpful and responded within 24 hours to my questions. Great change from the old afternic.

 

[95degrees]

I have some domains listed there, sort of by default orginally as I had them listed with the new owners' previous site. I can say that the new owners are definitely commendable in the customer support arena. However I also find the fee structure is as said above, quite steep as it means you are forced to make sure your minimum price is high enough to accommodate it. However the site is very easy to use, offers page view stats and some other nice features - and the owners very helpful. I sold a domain through them recently.

 

[proproject]

Mark, glad we didn't mess up your transaction. We usually send checks to sellers same or next business day after transfer is confirmed by the buyer. Our escrow application automatically sends reminders everyday to keep things moving quickly.

Indeed, no one is making a killing in this business - at least not yet. One point missed is how we are turning it into a more partner-driven network. Already, about half of our transactions pay an affiliate 50% of the sales fee. In those cases, and when the transaction is $600 or less, our fees after paying the affiliate are only $30.

We have costs and risks in providing our service that you have probably never thought about. We have to operate extremely efficiently to handle transactions for only $30. In fact, great personal sacrifices are being made now in an effort to grow this exchange dramatically while providing excellent service.

One goal that was achieved much faster than I expected was that our #1 product is now sales fees (not advertising, not listing upgrades, not membership fees, etc.). That was important to me because it means we're making money by doing what is most important to our members - selling domains.

But enough about us. What you should care about is how you can get the most for your domain when you want to sell it. If you just think in terms of the net, it should not matter what fees any exchange charges. As a seller, I will gladly pay a broker 10, 20, even 90% of the price as long as my net is higher than I can get anywhere else. Just price your listing accordingly.

Roger Collins - President, Afternic.com

 

[system0]

good to see a rep from afternic participating

i posted domains there years ago but it might be worth my while dropping by again

 

[oohdale]

Originally posted by proproject
Mark, glad we didn't mess up your transaction. We usually send checks to sellers same or next business day after transfer is confirmed by the buyer. Our escrow application automatically sends reminders everyday to keep things moving quickly.

Indeed, no one is making a killing in this business - at least not yet. One point missed is how we are turning it into a more partner-driven network. Already, about half of our transactions pay an affiliate 50% of the sales fee. In those cases, and when the transaction is $600 or less, our fees after paying the affiliate are only $30.

We have costs and risks in providing our service that you have probably never thought about. We have to operate extremely efficiently to handle transactions for only $30. In fact, great personal sacrifices are being made now in an effort to grow this exchange dramatically while providing excellent service.

One goal that was achieved much faster than I expected was that our #1 product is now sales fees (not advertising, not listing upgrades, not membership fees, etc.). That was important to me because it means we're making money by doing what is most important to our members - selling domains.

But enough about us. What you should care about is how you can get the most for your domain when you want to sell it. If you just think in terms of the net, it should not matter what fees any exchange charges. As a seller, I will gladly pay a broker 10, 20, even 90% of the price as long as my net is higher than I can get anywhere else. Just price your listing accordingly.

Roger Collins - President, Afternic.com

I must say that I am impressed with you posting here. I use to spend about 6 hours a day at the old Afternic but I got used to other forums now. But after seeing you here I may go back and see what all the news is about. I still miss the old forum style they used to have.

 

[Columbia]

Old afternic was better

 

[Columbia]

Here is my final thought:

The best way to sell names is to sell them direct.

Just make a search on google for web sites similar to your domain name. Thgen spam them. If they don't sue you .... you will get a good (or god?) chance to earn some money

 

[oohdale]

Originally posted by Columbia
Here is my final thought:

The best way to sell names is to sell them direct.

Just make a search on google for web sites similar to your domain name. Then spam them. If they don't sue you .... you will get a good (or god?) chance to earn some money

Columbo would be proud. That's some Detective work!

 

[buddy]

One goal that was achieved much faster than I expected was that our #1 product is now sales fees (not advertising, not listing upgrades, not membership fees, etc.). That was important to me because it means we're making money by doing what is most important to our members - selling domains.

I'm glad to hear that you guys are doing well Roger. I bought a few domains there and the transactions were flawless from the beginning to the end for all. Keep up the good work!