Thu 19. Sep 2024, 20:22
Two become one: the two domain trading platforms Afternic and Dan.com will soon merge. It will no longer be possible to open new customer accounts under dan.com from September 12, 2024.
Launched in 2013 in Amsterdam under founder Reza Sardeha, Dan.com has quickly developed into a popular marketplace for registered domain names. The introduction of the “installment plan” model, better known as “lease to own”, was particularly innovative. This allows the buyer of a domain to pay the purchase price monthly on predetermined terms instead of having to pay it in one lump sum at the beginning; it also gives them the flexibility to use the domain they want immediately. Once the last installment has been paid, the domain is finally transferred to the buyer and he can move it to a registrar of his choice. Other domain trading services such as “Custom Checkout Link”, “Custom Lander” and “Ownership Verification” complement this offer. Interest from competitors was not long in coming; in June 2022, Dan.com announced its acquisition by GoDaddy, with the purchase price reportedly amounting to USD 71.4 million. GoDaddy was already very familiar with the secondary domain market at the time, having acquired the Afternic trading platform in fall 2013; the amount of this purchase price is not publicly known.
After two years of preparation, the next logical step now follows: Dan.com and Afternic merge. On September 12, 2024, Dan.com published a migration plan, which begins with the fact that new customer accounts can no longer be opened from that day on, but are instead recommended to register at afternic.com. This will soon be followed by the launch of a “Migration Center”, which will give customers the options of “self-migration”, “auto-migration” or “opt-out” - the latter meaning a voluntary departure and, for example, a move to other trading platforms such as sedo.de. Anyone who currently still has a “lease to own” via Dan.com will also be transferred to Afternic in November 2024 without a declaration to the contrary. However, anyone who is currently still in contract negotiations should hurry to avoid being disadvantaged by the platform transfer: “For a smooth process, we recommend concluding all active negotiations as soon as you can.” reads the FAQs published by Dan.com.
This continues the trend towards consolidation in the domain name industry, which should ultimately lead to the world of domains stabilizing. At the same time, however, GoDaddy's market power is growing. With over 62 million registered domain names for 21 million customers, the company manages significantly more Internet addresses than any other registrar worldwide. It also provides registry services for around 30 nTLDs, including .vip, which currently has 1.1 million registered domains. It remains to be seen whether and, if so, how the renewed concentration will affect prices and fees.
The FAQs of Dan.com can be found at:
https://news.dan.com/240812-seller-migration-faqs