Elliot J. Silver is an expert in the specialized business of domain name investing. He is also the Publisher of DomainInvesting.com and General Manager of Embrace.com amongst others.

Domain Name Giant, GoDaddy.com gobbled up a smaller competitor, Dan.com and domain investors are worried.  I list nearly all of my domain names for sale on both Dan.com and GoDaddy (via Afternic). The domain names mostly resolve to Dan.com landing pages but are also listed via GoDaddy’s expansive sales network. These are the only two platforms I currently use to sell domain names, beyond my own landing pages.

In a blog post published on Medium this morning, Dan.com announced it is going to be acquired by GoDaddy:

I have become fond of selling domain names on Dan.com because of the ease of transacting. The platform makes it easy to negotiate with a counter party, and once a deal is agreed upon, the automation makes it easy to transact. I think GoDaddy, via its Afternic Fast Transfer network, has the greatest reach of all platforms to sell domain names via its various partnership channels. Independently, I like using both platforms to sell my domain names.

After reading Andrew Allemann’s interview with Paul Nicks regarding this deal and thinking about some of the implications, I have some thoughts:

Positives:

    GoDaddy’s brand is more recognized, particularly in the US. This will give confidence to buyers who are reluctant to use Dan.com / Undeveloped because they don’t know the company. I closed a six figure deal with an end user buyer who insisted on using Escrow.com rather than paying via Dan.com. I was fine with that and sent a commission payment to Dan.com after the deal closed.
    If GoDaddy can help with customer service, Dan.com may have better hours for transactions between US-based customers. I have had deals slow down because they completed in the middle of my work day but after hours in Europe.
    It would be great if I close a deal via Dan.com and don’t have to do anything with the transfer. My GoDaddy-registered domain names can be taken from my account immediately and deals can close faster, similar to the Fast Transfer service on Afternic.
    It will be nice if domain names sold via Dan.com or Afternic are automatically removed from the other platform immediately after selling. Selling a “trend” domain name on two different platforms has always been a distant concern for me.
    If there’s a recession and aftermarket slowdown, having the financial resources of GoDaddy will help Dan.com continue innovating.
    Dan.com customers who do not list on GoDaddy / Afternic will have more reach when their domain names are added to GoDaddy’s sales network and sales channels.

Negatives:

    I would imagine the growth of Dan.com put some pressure on GoDaddy’s aftermarket team to provide value to its customers. Now that Dan.com will become a part of GoDaddy’s aftermarket portfolio, that outside competition will no longer exist.
    GoDaddy’s Fast Transfer does not mean “fast payment.” Dan.com has become known for its lightning fast payments and speedy transaction times. I can’t say the same for GoDaddy’s Afternic.
    In the DNW article, Paul Nicks mentioned “commission alignment.” I don’t want alignment. Dan.com doesn’t get in the way of deals closed via my landing page, and I wouldn’t pay more than I pay now. If I was willing to give up 20% commission on my landing page-generated leads, I would use the GoDaddy-branded landing page and be done with it. If GoDaddy increased the commission to 20%, I would most likely go back to my own Embrace.com landing pages and negotiate via email closing using Escrow.com.

Unknowns:

    Another growing company taken out by GoDaddy will likely lead to an upstart trying to take its place. I have no idea who will jump in nor do I know how that will work out. It could birth an innovative competitor.
    A large competitor might offer a competing service for domain investors to try.
    There could be fewer advertising dollars to support industry tradeshows, news publications, and forums. Less revenue could lead to some departures from industry coverage.

Article by: Elliot Silver from: DomainInvesting.com