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Icon.com Acquired for $12 Million

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Icon.com was recently acquired for $12 million, according to a LinkedIn post from the startup’s Founder, Kennan Davison. The domain name is being used by a new company branded as Icon, which bills itself as “the world’s first AI CMO (Chief Marketing Officer).

Icon.com was acquired in a deal overseen by Andrew Miller of ATM Holdings and Hilco Digital Assets, representing the seller, and by Lumis, representing the buyer.

Once DNJournal and NameBio add this sale to their year to date publicly reported domain name sales reports, it will easy move into the top spot for 2025, year to date. I have already added it to the list of recent one word .com domain name sales I maintain on Embrace.com. The sale ranks just below the 2024 $14 million sale of Rocket.com, which was also overseen by Hilco Digital Assets.

Here’s Kennan Davison’s full post about Icon and its brand matching Icon.com domain name:

DropCatch Auctions No Longer Close on Weekends

I wrote about the Mine.com auction on DropCatch.com earlier today. One of the things that stood out to me is the five day auction. As far as I have known, auctions on that platform are three days. They are only briefly extended when bids are placed in the final moments.

I reached out to Andrew Reberry, Co-Founder of the company that operates the platform, and he informed me of a change that was recently made. Auctions on DropCatch.com will no longer conclude on Saturdays or Sundays.

Here’s what Andrew told me:

Mine.com in Pending Delete Auction

As I was looking through the upcoming pending delete auctions, I was caught by surprise by an exceptionally valuable domain name. Mine.com went into pending delete status earlier this week. After the domain name made it through the pending delete process, it was caught by DropCatch.com.

Mine.com has been entered into a public auction at DropCatch, and the domain name will be sold to the highest bidder upon its conclusion. Bidding for Mine.com is already at $380k. This will be one of the largest pending delete auction results once the bidding has concluded.

Check Price History on Acquired Domain Names

Timing is critical with domain name sales. I may have a domain name for 10 years, let it expire, see it picked up by another investor, and it sells within a week. It’s that idea that keeps me renewing domain names I might otherwise consider dropping. A domain name may not be in demand until that one buyer wants it. This business can feel so random sometimes.

One thing I’ve heard and probably experienced is that some domain name buyers pay close attention to domain name pricing. They will track a domain name over the years and hope to buy it at a better price. That sometimes doesn’t come, but they’ll periodically check on a domain name. If they see the price drop to a comfortable level, they may purchase it right away.

Spaceship SellerHub to Launch for All on April 29

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Last week, Spaceship’s new SellerHub opened for third party beta testing. Participants were limited to larger portfolio operators. Yesterday, CEO Richard Kirkendall announced the launch date for anyone interested in using the platform:

Spaceship’s Seller Hub platform will be open for all Spaceship customers (and others who wish to become customers) on Tuesday, April 29th. Notably, this is still considered a beta period, meaning the company is still making changes and improvements to the platform.

From what I can tell as an observer who wasn’t tried the platform, the SellerHub offers domain investors a platform to negotiate deals with prospective buyers and transact sales. Those buyers are able to find the domain names for sale via the landing pages offered by the SellerHub and through domain search channels at Spaceship and its larger sister company, Namecheap.

At launch, Spaceship has been charging a 5% sales commission for successful deals. Richard told me the commission rate may increase in the future, but it won’t increase beyond 10%.

I would imagine Richard and his team would appreciate receiving any feedback sellers who use the platform may have to improve it or identify any issues that may exist with the platform.

Atom.com Brings Expert Review Process in House

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For as long as I’ve known the platform, Atom.com has relied on an “Expert Review Process” to evaluate domain names submitted by prospective sellers. This process, led by a group of experienced Atom sellers, helped accelerate the onboarding of domain names if they received enough positive votes.

That review system is now coming to an end, with Atom shifting to an in-house review process for all submitted domains. The company announced the change in a message to sellers, which I’ve included below.

Recent Posts

Icon.com Acquired for $12 Million

1
Icon.com was recently acquired for $12 million, according to a LinkedIn post from the startup’s Founder, Kennan Davison. The domain name is being used...

DropCatch Auctions No Longer Close on Weekends

0
I wrote about the Mine.com auction on DropCatch.com earlier today. One of the things that stood out to me is the five day auction....

Mine.com in Pending Delete Auction

2
As I was looking through the upcoming pending delete auctions, I was caught by surprise by an exceptionally valuable domain name. Mine.com went into...

Check Price History on Acquired Domain Names

2
Timing is critical with domain name sales. I may have a domain name for 10 years, let it expire, see it picked up by...

Spaceship SellerHub to Launch for All on April 29

2
Last week, Spaceship's new SellerHub opened for third party beta testing. Participants were limited to larger portfolio operators. Yesterday, CEO Richard Kirkendall announced the...