AfternicReviews of afternic.com

They NEVER answer the phone. Not sure whether this started after GoDaddy purchased them or before.... but it's a waste of customer time. Godaddy answers rather promptly. Moving my domains where I can get response.

They buy up domains to extort small businesses. After making an initial enquiry, they upped the price of a domain from $200 to over $8500.

I must admit I was pleasantly surprised! In spite of seing many negative reviews, AFTERNIC came through for me "big time"! Communication was fast and efficient and the payment for the domain sold came through seamlessly and instantly! They also converted USD into Euros, making the payment in Euros at a fair rate of exchange so there was no need to put up with local bank fees and commissions. Good job!!

They only care to take your money and will drag out payments for as long as they can. Poor support! Poor online user experience! - all done deliberately so the processes takes forever! Shame on Afternic and Godaddy, this is a HOAX!

This website is a total scam

I placed a bid for a domain on 11MAY2021 which was listed by Afternic. I was contacted by a broker on 12MAY2021 and I placed my bid for the domain. The broker responded within an hour that the domain owner has accepted my bid. Upon my prompt payment I received an invoice/sales receipt in my email followed by an email from their Transaction Assurance team congratulating me on my purchase and stating that I will be able to transfer the domain in 5-7 business days. Based on this confirmation of sale, I paid a web development team a down payment of $1500 and began printing and advertising in excess of $7500 to get to a June 1st launch date. I waited until 24MAY2021 (business days) to send a support message asking why I have not yet been able to access my domain. On 24MAY2021, I receive an email from Afternic-Service stating that the Transaction Assurance Team is finalizing the move from the seller side and that it will be released within the next 3-4 days. On 28 May, I receive an email from Afternic Transaction Assurance that they could not verify ownership of the seller and that I can expect a refund in 5-10 business days. I was given no option in the outcome of this situation, and frankly I was surprised to learn that Afternic does not verify domain ownership for domains they are selling on their site PRIOR to listing them. I feel as though I was duped and in turn had spent over $9k in nonrefundable purchases relating to the verified "sale" of this domain. BUT WAIT, it gets worse... When I responded to the email on 28MAY2021 explaining my situation and that I was willing to repurchase and wait longer to ensure that I get this domain, I received an email from Afternic-Service on 31MAY2021. The email says, "Thank you for contacting Afternic Support. We have checked with our Transaction Assurance department and the sale has been cancelled. We had to issue you a refund. What we would advise you to do if you really insist on this domain is to purchase the Afternic Agent service so they can try to track the current registrant of the domain for you and possibly negotiate the sale." So, in addition to having to negotiate the sale (possibly for a higher amount than the last purchase amount), Afternic is wanting me to pay an additional $69 plus an additional 10% commission on the sale price of the domain I want once negotiated. I feel as though I was scammed into identifying a domain I wanted so they could see what I was willing to pay, then turn around and bank an extra $69 + 10% of the cost I would agree to purchase it. It blows my mind that they are allowed to offer for sale domains for which they do not verify the ability to transfer. I will not be using their services nor their parent company's services again (search for Afternic parent company and it pops up immediately).

THE WORST EVER I CAN'T BELIEVE SUCH COMPANY EXIST IN 2021

Their customer service is atrocious. I spoke with 3 phone reps, none of whom were qualified/authorized to deal with my issue, all of whom refused to allow me to speak with someone at a higher level.