Afternic

You’ve probably already heard (or seen) that Afternic  underwent a major upgrade at the end of last week. The new website looks sleek, and it makes searching for domain names far easier than before.

In the company’s words, here’s some information about the upgrade provided in the press release distributed on October 5:

The new Afternic is a clean, simplified, improved user experience that facilitates premium domain transactions for both buyers and sellers.  New seller profiles allow members to promote themselves and their domains through unique URLs, searchable profile pages, featured listings, and social media sharing. A customizable dashboard enables easy editing, offer management, and personalized reporting to easily track transactions. Both buyers and sellers will benefit from more structured and transparent communication, ensuring that more leads translate into sales.   In addition to these upgrades, the new Afternic features a simplified escrow process and an improved shopping cart experience.

One thing I noticed when I tried out the new Afternic is that I didn’t have the ability to search for a particular keyword at the end of the domain name… i.e. Management.com domain names. I’ve already emailed them to ask where this functionality is (or if they could add it).

One thing which I’ve come to appreciate about NameMedia properties is that when I’ve found something buggy or had a suggestion to make something easier, the company has always seemed to appreciate the feedback.

I welcome you to submit your feedback here about the new website, and I will make sure it gets in front of the right person. Let me know if you see something buggy or want to make a feature easier to use. Ultimately, what do you think of the new and improved Afternic website?

Over the years, I’ve inquired about many domain names that are owned by Buy Domains and listed for sale on Afternic. There are many names I’ve tried to purchase but I couldn’t reach an agreement on price with the company.

I am planning to test out a unique type of domain auction on my blog in conjunction with Afternic, and I would like your feedback before I start them.

I am going to choose several domain names that I’ve wanted to purchase from Buy Domains, and I will put them up individually for auction. I will place an agreed upon “stalking horse” bid on the domain name, which is essentially the reserve price. Readers of my blog can outbid me, but I cannot bid any higher than my opening bid. If nobody outbids me, I will get to purchase the domain name at my offer. If I lose, the person with the high bid will get to purchase the domain name. Bid increments and payment terms will be specified at the time of the auction.

Here’s an example to illustrate how this will work:

I saw XXXXXXXXX.com at Buy Domains last week, but the $4,088 asking price was higher than I wanted to spend for this name. I will place a $1,000 stalking horse bid on this domain name, and it will be on auction on my blog for three days (perhaps a week). If I am outbid, the winner will get to buy the name. If I am the high bidder, I will be able to buy the domain name for $1,000.

Essentially, I am putting my money where my mouth is, and Afternic is taking a gamble that there will be interest in the domain name beyond my offer.

I would like to know what you think of this idea. Please comment below.