I Sold a Domain on Afternic: A Step-by-Step Guide to Getting Paid

I sold clearpayout.com on Afternic for $50 and walked away with $32.50. Accepting the offer took one click. Everything after it, unlocking the domain, digging out the auth code, and waiting on the transfer, is the part nobody shows you. So here is the whole process step by step, with screenshots and my real numbers, and the domain sitting at Porkbun.

The sale shows up as “Auth Code Required”

The sale lands in your Sold list with a status that immediately tells you there is work to do. Sale price was $50; the payout after commission came to $32.50.

Afternic Sold tab showing clearpayout.com sold for $50 with a $32.50 payout and Auth Code Required status — Afternic's Sold tab. Sale price $50, payout $32.50, status: Auth Code Required.

Your dashboard pushes you the same way, with a “Start the transfer to get paid” card that stays put until you act on it.

Afternic dashboard with an Awaiting Auth Code card prompting to start the transfer to get paid $32.50 — Until you hand over an auth code, the sale sits under “Awaiting Auth Code.”

What Afternic actually needs

Click into the sale and Afternic spells out the two things it wants: unlock the domain, and paste in the authorization code from your registrar. Afternic estimated 5 to 7 days once the code was in.

Afternic transaction activity page listing the steps: unlock the domain and enter the authorization code — The transaction page. Two tasks: unlock the domain, then get and enter the auth code. After that it is hands-off.

Unlocking the domain at Porkbun

Every Porkbun domain has a transfer lock on by default. In your domain list, click the padlock next to the name to unlock it. This is the single most-missed step, and nothing moves until it is off.

Porkbun domain list with the transfer lock padlock icon highlighted for clearpayout.com — In Porkbun's list, the padlock toggles the transfer lock. Open means the domain is ready to move.

Getting the auth code

Open the domain's detail view in Porkbun and look under “Registrar Transfer” for “Get Authorization Code.” Copy it, go back to Afternic, and paste it into the transfer page. The Domain Lock toggle lives on this same page if you skipped the step above.

Porkbun domain detail page showing Get Authorization Code under Registrar Transfer and the Domain Lock toggle — Porkbun's detail page. “Get Authorization Code” is under Registrar Transfer; Domain Lock is here too.

Then you wait, about a week. If something snags at this step, Porkbun support (support@porkbun.com) was genuinely quick and helpful the times I have needed them.

The money

Item	Amount
Sale price	$50.00
Afternic commission	−$17.50
You receive	$32.50

Figures from my sale in April 2026. Marketplace commissions and dashboards change over time, so treat these as a snapshot, not current rates.

Afternic kept $17.50, an effective 35%, and that is at the high end on purpose. Their commission runs from about 15% up to 30% depending on your plan, plus another 5% if you use Afternic Boost, with a $15 minimum per sale. The cheapest rates require pointing your domain at GoDaddy's aftermarket nameservers. Mine sat at Porkbun on Afternic's own nameservers, so I landed on the top tier. On a $50 sale that third really stings; on a $2,000 sale the same percentage feels very different.

Would I use Afternic again?

Yes. Afternic puts your listing in front of buyers across GoDaddy and hundreds of partner registrars, which is why it moves names that sit untouched everywhere else. The transfer is mostly waiting, not work. Just go in knowing the commission is real, and on small sales it is the thing you feel most.

I ran the same experiment on Sedo a few days later. Here is how that compared.

Stuck on any step here? I have been through this a few times now, so reach me at and I will try to help.