5/30/01
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Help: Auctions

Buyer's Frequently Asked Questions

How do I become an Exchange Member?

What are the two types of auctions?

Once I've joined, placed a valid credit card number on file, and logged in, how do I bid on a domain name?

What is the Reserve Price?

What is the Minimum Bid?

Can I retract a bid after I have placed it?

Is my bid legally binding?

How can I bid without staying on the site? Can I have my bid increase automatically?

Can I update or change my Proxy Bid?

Where can I get more details on the auctions in which I am participating?

What happens if I win (or lose) an auction?

How will the domain name be transferred to me?

Where do I pay?

The Seller is not responding to the terms of the auction! What now?

How will I know when new domain names are available on Afternic.com?

What is Quick Close and how does it work?

What are the Progress Bars?
The Story of a Buyer & a Seller
This tour outlines the process sellers and buyers go through at Afternic.com.


Find out how you can too

How do I become an Exchange Member?

To bid on an Afternic.com auction, you must complete three steps:

1. Register.
2. Confirm your registration by accepting our User Agreement.
3. Go to the Member Info section of My Afternic, and click on 'Credit Card Info.' Please enter your credit card information.

What are the two types of auctions?
Afternic.com offers two different auctions types to sell your name. The first is a Consignment Auction which becomes active only when the first bid is placed on the domain. The duration of a Consignment Auction is determined by the seller and can range anywhere from 1 to 30 days. The second auction type is Make Offer. Make Offer is an auction type that allows sellers to solicit offers from members for a domain name while concurrently making members an offer, known as the Asking Price, to buy the name for a fixed amount. The Make Offer auction ends when the seller accepts a member's offer or a member accepts the seller's Asking Price, whichever comes first.

Once I've joined, placed a valid credit card number on file, and logged in, how do I bid on a domain name?
On our Home page, you'll see a Featured Auction as well as a short list of some of the hottest auctions currently under way; you can click on any of those to join the bidding. Or, if you'd like to browse through our extensive domain name listings, click on the Auctions tab located in the Navigation Bar at the top of any page. On the Auctions page, you will find simple directions for browsing or searching through our domain name categories. Click on any domain name that interests you; if it is currently on auction, you will be taken to the Bidding Page, where you find instructions as to how to enter your bid. If you have joined but not logged in, you will be transferred to a login page before your bid can be entered. Similarly, you must have a valid credit card number on file in order to place a bid. Use these links:

Login page
Credit Card listing page

What is the Reserve price?
This amount is the lowest winning bid the Seller will accept for the domain name. The Seller establishes this figure when he or she lists a domain name for auction, but can also lower it to a price in the range between the next minimum bid and four times the starting bid up until the bids reach 85% of the total---at which point the Reserve price "freezes" and can no longer be changed. The Reserve price may never be raised.

What is the Minimum Bid?
This amount is the next possible bid you can make on an auction. Before any bid has been made, the Minimum Bid is equal to the Starting Bid. After each successive bid, the Minimum Bid is equal to the previous bid plus a pre-determined increment. This increment is a percentage of the Starting Bid, as determined by Afternic.com's auction engine.

Can I retract a bid after I have placed it?
No. Once placed, your bid stands for the duration of the auction.

Is my bid legally binding?
Yes. A bid is a binding contract. Please consider carefully whether you want to submit the bid before your reach the bid confirmation screen.

How can I bid without staying on the site? Can I have my bid increase automatically?
You can place bids while you are offline or away from the site using our complimentary Proxy Bid function. Each time you are outbid, the Proxy Bid function will raise your bid to one increment above the current bid, until a maximum you specify is reached or until the auction is concluded. Be careful about the amount you allot to the Proxy Bid, as competitive bids may elevate the price to your maximum bid during the course of an auction. The Proxy Bid increases your bid only enough to become the winning bid. The Proxy Bid function ensures that you cannot 'overpay'.

Can I update or change my Proxy Bid?
Yes. Return to My Afternic, and click within your Portfolio on Proxy Bid. You will be viewing your current instructions; at this point, you may change them. However, any bids already placed will be considered active, and if your bid is the winning one you will be responsible for the subsequent payment.

Where can I get more details on the auctions in which I am participating?
Go to My Afternic, and within your Portfolio you will note the 'For Sale' viewing option. Choose this view and you will see an overview of all the auctions in which you are currently a participant. Click on any individual auction to see details pertaining to that auction.

What happens if I win (or lose) an auction?
In either case, you will receive an email from Afternic.com informing you of the auction outcome. Winning bidders will receive instructions on how to proceed through the domain name registration transfer process. For more details, see

Closings help.

How will the domain name be transferred to me?
Afternic.com will guide you through the paperwork required by your registrar to complete the domain name transfer. You and the Seller will be asked to provide administrative, billing, and technical information for the transfer forms. Afternic.com will complete the forms and make them available on our site. We will also instruct you on your action steps, as these differ among registrars. For more details, see

Closings help.

Where do I pay?
When the auction officially concludes, you will receive instructions via email. This email will detail the amount due, which is the total of your winning bid plus Afternic.comís applicable

Closings fees, and tell you how to remit funds to Afternic.com. For more information, see Closings help.

The Seller is not responding to the terms of the auction! What now?
Afternic.comís Closings process includes a measure of protection for your funds, just in case. Afternic.com's DNescrow Agent will hold the winning bid amount until the Seller has sufficiently met all of the terms and conditions of sale. You will be asked to confirm that the domain name registration has been transferred to you, and to authorize the release of your payment to the Seller. If the Seller fails to transfer the domain name registration to you, Afternic.com will return your money.

How will I know when new domain names are available on Afternic.com?
Our Home Page has a Featured Auction box which tells you about some of the hottest auctions under way; often, these are recently listed domain names. You can also click on Auctions, located in the Navigation Bar at the top of every page. When the Auctions detail page appears, choose 'View All Auctions' and then select 'New' as a search parameter.

What is Quick Close and how does it work?
When a seller believes that all interested buyers have made their bid or have been made aware of the sale of their domain they can reduce the amount of time left on their auction to 24 hours. This allows sellers to close a sale quickly and may encourage dormant bidders to come forward. The feature also helps buyers who have made their bid but want to resolve a sale immediately. Any consignment auction can be Quick Closed unless there are less than 24 hours left in the auction. Make Offer Auctions cannot be Quick Closed. An auction cannot be extended once it is Quick Closed. If bidding is active, Afternic.com's Going, going gone feature will automatically extended until there are no bids for a 15-minute period. All members that have bid on your domain or are tracking your domain are notified that the auction only has 24 hrs left when you Quick Close an auction.

What are the Progress Bars?
The Progress Bars (also called 'Status Bars') are an at-a-glance visual aid that inform you of the status of an ongoing auction. As each 'landmark' is met - Starting Bid, 15% of Reserve price, and Reserve price - the bar 'progresses' on your screen, illustrating exactly which phase the auction is in.

STILL HAVE QUESTIONS? Send an email to

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