Afternic closing down announcement?

[David G]

Stumbled across this news flash on the Web late tonight. It would seem the odd statement they are closing 'Afternic Cust Segment' means they are finally shutting down Afternic, as I first heard in Dec 2001 from insider information on that happening soon. They somehow managed to last a bit longer than the employee thought they would.

What a screwed-up company with terrible communications skill, they can't even word their press release about Afternic's closing properly so we can easily understand it

I think the talk about Goodwill writeoff refers to Afternic's big decline in value. I know they also wrote-off approx' 1/2 of it several mos ago.

Not surprising is it? It's amazing how after paying thirty five million dollars or so for AN they could run it into the ground like they did. What idiots both Register.com and Afternic seem to be!

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Register.com Inc., the second-largest supplier of Web addresses in the United States, on Tuesday warned that it doesn't expect to meet third-quarter revenue and earnings projections, citing slow sales in July, less demand in August and little improvement in September. "Due to the writeoff of goodwill, the softness in revenues, increased penalty fees related to credit card charge-backs and refunds, and a potential increased bad debt reserve, the company does not expect to remain profitable in the third quarter of 2002," Register.com said in a statement.

Register.com also said it expects its deferred revenue balances to decline as of the end of the third quarter rather than the 5 percent sequential increase previously projected. In addition, the company will close its Afternic customer segment and, as a result, will have to write off goodwill in the third quarter.

 

[NamePopper.com]

Originally posted by RealNames
In addition, the company will close its Afternic customer segment

Some people were still holding out hope for the place--but it looks like this may really be the end. I was even considering listing some names over there--if they ever looked like they were getting their act together.

Great post Real--thanks for bringing this to everyone's attention. Did it mention anything about a time frame?
I wonder what will happen to people that are waiting on money from current auctions...

 

[RON2]

Why let it go to waste? I think Greg should step in and buy it. :razz:

 

[Anthony Ng]

I guess the next in the firing line will be GreatDomains.com. They have already closed down their phone support and didn't reply to my e-mail after 4 business days (even when they promise to do so in 2 on their website); and I have a transaction in progress over there, damn it.

 

[NamePopper.com]

Originally posted by -RJ-
Why let it go to waste? I think Greg should step in and buy it. :razz:

If he does RJ--he's going to have to bust out the big bucks to get us to be moderators at that place. :razz:

Originally posted by nameslave

Next station: GreatDomains.com
I guess the next in the firing line will be GreatDomains.com. They have already closed down their phone support and didn't reply to my e-mail after 4 business days (even when they promise to do so in 2 on their website); and I have a transaction in progress over there, damn it.

Yeah--I wouldn't be surprised. Seems like everytime I go there--they have deleted another feature--or cut back on support like you said. Good luck slave--hopefully you will get out in time.

 

[Tippy]

DNforum and DNads, a match made in heaven

Mike

 

[domainduck]

September 24, 2002
Register To Close Domain Reseller Afternic
By @NY Staff
Two years after it acquired domain re-seller Afternic for $48 million, domain name registrar Register.com (Quote, Company Info, News) said it would close the unit.
As a result of the charges for closing down Afternic as well as overall softness in sales this year, the company said it doesn't expect a profit for the third quarter.

The New York-based Register.com said it planned to provide more details on the move when it holds a conference call on its revised third quarter outlook Wednesday.

In a statement about the outlook, Register.com blamed slow sales in July, even less demand in August and scant improvement in top-level domain registrations during September for its slide back to the red. It also said an increase in penalty fees related to credit card charge-backs and refunds contributed to the lowered outlook.

Register.com said it expects sales to come in between $23 million and $25 million, reversing the 5 percent sequential growth it had previously expected from the second quarter. During the same time a year ago, Register.com took in $29.5 million.

Afternic has apparently turned out to be an albatross for the company. A year ago it recorded a $32.5 million write-down in goodwill related to its acquisition of Afternic. Without that charge, Register.com would have recorded a profit of $1.8 million, or 4 cents per share.

Richard Forman, president and CEO, planned to provide more details in the Wednesday morning conference call. "We are disappointed by the results we anticipate for the third quarter," he said in a statement.

"We have been working diligently to deliver better performance to our shareholders, but against the backdrop of the current economy, we have not made as much progress as we had hoped."


Oh Well..... And they recently bought ShoutLoud.com


quack

 

[Fearless]

WOW! I'm a prophet.

 

RealNames has been proven provident in his predictions, and sound in his analysis. Albeit I have no idea the profit picture for him.

In any case, I feel I can rely on the soundness of his facts and the goodfaith of his well-researched opinions.

I would like RealNames to post more on what sites are profitable these days, and why. ALso wich arenot, why, etc. THanks REALNAMES

 

[proproject]

You can guess why I would check this out, but recently, I browsed AN's sold listings (which are conveniently sorted in reverse date order), estimated their sales fee income per day and decided that even if I had 100% of Afternic's business (during that small sample period of a couple weeks), I could not even afford to pay a secretary. That may have been an especially lean sample period, but maybe not.

I think the global trading system for registered domain names is fundamentally flawed and that is why businesses like AN and GD will perform poorly at best. (But that is another thread.)
Cheers,
Roger

 

[Anthony Ng]

To be more exact, AfterNIC.com sold just 16 names (apart from those .es) since the Labor Day and nested $1,820 in commissions, not enough even for small businesses like mine.

http://www.afternic.com/index.cfm?a=auctions&sa=all&range=res

Edited estimated commissions from $1,620 to $1,820 (just found my calculator).

 

[Fearless]

$48,000,000.00 down the drain. If I was a stock holder of Register.com, I'd be pissed.

 

[David G]

Originally posted by NamePopper Some people were still holding out hope for the place--but it looks like this may really be the end. I was even considering listing some names over there--if they ever looked like they were getting their act together. Great post Real--thanks for bringing this to everyone's attention. Did it mention anything about a time frame?
I wonder what will happen to people that are waiting on money from current auctions...

I just read a post at another forum that a different press release on a different news-wire said they will in fact keep the automated auctions and virtual broker, though I did not see that other news flash myself.

If so, I don't see the difference between the past, now and the future as they have not offered any extra services for ages anyway. Very odd.

It's also odd there are multiple press releases saying different things. The one I quoted mentioned nothing about them keeping auctions and virtual broker. How could that release leave out such a critical thing?

Good thing I put a question mark after the closing down comments and mentioned the way the closing was worded seemed odd.

Just another of many demonstrations as to what idiots they are and how poor they communicate.

 

[Anthony Ng]

3 versions of the same story:

http://news.google.com/news?&q=afternic

 

[Domain]

Perhaps Dotster will succeed.

Look at their auctions:
https://secure.registerapi.com/order/resell/index.php

 

[proproject]

Domain, I could not access that (ssl) link.

 

[Domain]

Originally posted by proproject
Domain, I could not access that (ssl) link.

Hmm, works for me.

Go to Dotster.com and click on the auction button.

 

[prasit]

they just started, not many domains on the site and most of them are new extensions.

 

[Fearless]

The Register.com Afternic.com saga started this way.


September 15, 2000
Register.com Snaps Up Afternic.com in $48 million Cash and Stock Deal
By Ryan Naraine
In a bold bid to regain a foothold in the competitive TLD registration marketplace, register.com (NASDAQ:RCOM) today acquired domain name reseller Afternic.com in a straightforward cash and stock deal valued at around $48 million.
With its stock price heading southward since the post-IPO high of $116.00, the Alley-based register.com hammered out a buyout pact with Afternic.com to issue 4.38 million shares and pay $10 million cash. The sum of the transaction is derived from yesterday's closing price of $8.81 per share.

In today's early going, the company's shares were down a shade to $8.75.

Shonna Keogan, a spokesperson for register.com, said the deal is expected to close today. Upon the close of the transaction, Afternic.com will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of register.com.

"We're trying to team up to create a comprehensive domain name marketplace to match our buyers with Afternic's sellers to effectively serve both our customers," Keogan said in an interview this morning. "The more information our customers have, the better off they are. If they have to go to multiple sites to find information on domain names, the more exasperated they'll become," she added.

Keogan said Afternic's co-CEOs will assume management positions in register.com and all employees will be offered positions with this subsidiary. John Whelan, who co-founded Afternic with Chris Maroney, will be managing director of secondary market development and sales. Maroney will manage the secondary market operations.

Afternic, whose services include auctions and appraisals, made headlines recently after a legal skirmish was settled with the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN).

Afternic had applied to be accredited as a domain name registrar after its launch last Fall, but ICANN refused on the grounds that Afternic's auctions violated it's standards. The standards include a practice of registering another company's or person's name with the intent to demand "a ransom" from the company or person. The lawsuit was settled after Afternic agreed with ICANN that a separate company, eXtraActive, would be accredited.

Keogan said the deal with Afternic made sense as register.com looks to expand its services into the secondary domain name marketplace. It essentially means register.com can now offer Afternic's 800,000 names in auction. With a marked drop in actual registrations during the second quarter, register.com's standing as the number two registrar (after Network Solutions) has been on shaky ground.

The deal will enable register.com to realize new business opportunities within the domain name resale market, Keogan said. Register.com currently provides individuals, businesses and ISPs with a suite of domain name services, including registration, renewal, management and Web site development.

 

[adoptabledomains]

Actually afternic has been cutting their own throat. I hear it now costs about $50 to become a "member" in order to even bid. Even if you are unsuccessful! What a way to drive off potential buyers. I've had several people see listings on AN and after finding out it cost $50 just to attempt a purchase, they contacted me as the registrant from whois to deal directly. When the sales went from 4 and 6 figure sales 2 and 3 figures, you need to make it up in speed and volume...not raise prices to reduce volume.

With the average domain selling for maybe $500, it would cost a buyer there at least $50 to register, another $50+ to close making the percentages high. Great Domain is worse yet as they won't even consider small sales with the higher minimum bids, and I'm not sure anything is selling there at all.

I think the better model would be to have free 60-90 day listings (to keep domains fresh) with no listing fees. Buyer or seller could option to pay fees on purchase and use an inexpensive third party escrow service like escrow.com for the closings. Absolutely NO auction or selling site should require the buyer to pay a membership fee before bidding. Looks like now's the time for the second tier sites to move up in the domain aftermarket auction arena.

AN just couldn't decide whether to be an auction site or an escrow service and has not done a good job on either lately.