Afternic.com Reorganizes From Independent Domain Name Marketplace to Registrar Network Model
Vancouver, BC - June 20 2003
Signs ICANN-Accredited Registrars DomainPeople.com.
Afternic.com, already the most popular website for buying and selling existing domain names, is restructuring from an independent portal to a registrar network model. Afternic will offer its domain name registrar partners a co-branded marketplace for those wishing to sell their domains and buyers looking for names that are currently registered. This change will make previously registered domain names available where buyers typically search for new domains and renew existing ones -- at the major domain name registrar sites.
Afternic recently signed a partner agreement with leading ICANN accredited domain name registrar DomainPeople.com, with 300,000 registered domain. The DomainPeople co-branded site went live on June 10. Afternic.com lists almost 300,000 domains that are for sale by owner.
"We plan to leverage our large aftermarket inventory to secure additional domain name registrar partners before Verisign's competing SMP service comes online," said Roger Collins, president of ProProject, Inc. d/b/a Afternic, which purchased the Afternic.com trademarks and domain name at the end of 2002. "In the past, people had to search multiple brokers and sites to find available names -- for sale. Now they can access existing domain names at registrar partner domain sites."
How It Works
Domain name owners can list the names they have for sale with an asking price or on a make an offer basis. An Exchange Membership costs $9.95 per year giving sellers an unlimited number of listings. Sales fees are 10 percent -- minimum $60 per transaction and include a secure escrow service. The site offers both metric and research domain name appraisals. Afternic is bonded and insured and accepts PayPal, wire transfers and checks as payment.
Founded in 1995 as a software consulting firm, ProProject developed ProProject ASP, an online project accounting for small to mid-size consulting organizations. ProProject, Inc. d/b/a Afternic purchased the Afternic.com trademarks and domain name in December of 2002. Afternic.com partners with top domain name registrars to sell aftermarket domain names on a co-branded basis. The revitalized site went live on December 27, 2002.
About DomainPeople, Inc.
DomainPeople (http://www.domainpeople.com) is one of the oldest ICANN-accredited domain name registrars offering all the major domain extensions — .com, .net, .org, .info, .biz, .pro, .us, .ca, .co – and many others since 1999. DomainPeople also delivers reliable and secure hosting and email solutions to customers and resellers in more than 130 countries, and has registered more than a million domain names worldwide.
Media Contact: pr@domainpeople.com
Phone Number: +1.604.639.1680
