Token Media Moves Off Token.com to Sell Domain Name

Elliot Silver
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7

In October, I saw that a Minnesota company called Token Media owned the great Token.com domain name. I also noticed the company owned TokenMedia.com as well. With that in mind, I made an offer to buy Token.com, suggesting that the company could sell the domain name and shift its website to TokenMedia.com.

A few weeks later, I received a response to my email from Ali Zandi, the founder of a domain brokerage called Starfire Holdings. Ali let me know that he is the exclusive broker for the domain name and that my offer is lower than the company would consider to sell the domain name. I was interested in buying the domain name speculatively, so it wouldn’t have made sense for me to pursue the domain name at a greater level.

I had a look at Token.com today, and it looks like the company

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“Under Sold” Domain Names

Elliot Silver
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7

Every domain broker wants to sell their domain name listings for as much money as possible. Sometimes domain names may appear to have been under sold (sold for less than full value), but that is not necessarily the fault of the broker.

A domain broker is generally given certain requirements from the seller. This short list likely includes a desired price, a minimum price, the amount of time allowed, companies to not contact, and possibly some other requirements. The biggest factors are obviously the amount of money and the time permitted to sell the domain name.

Some reasons a domain owner might need a quick sale include:

  • Need cash right away
  • Tax implications
  • Business situation requiring disposal of assets
  • Hit quarterly or annual goals

Timing is everything when it comes to domain names. I could own a domain name for ten years and never receive a single inquiry. The week after I sell it to another domain investor, a buyer may materialize and acquire it at a profit for the new owner. This is

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Spend.com Sold via Sedo for $275,000

Elliot Silver
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18

Dave Evanson is going to be having a great Thanksgiving. According to a tweet he just posted this morning, he brokered the sale of Spend.com for $275,000:

The Whois record shows that the domain name is currently in Sedo’s escrow account. This likely means that the buyer already sent the funds to Sedo and the domain name is pending transfer to the buyer. Once the domain name transfers, I will provide an update on who bought it (assuming it was an end user buyer). There are quite a few companies that would benefit by upgrading their domain name to Spend.com. The domain name had been owned by a company based in the UK.

Unless there are additional large sales reported this week that I am not aware of right now, Spend.com will rank as the 16th largest sale of the year on DNJournal’s year to date sales report. It will tie the $275,000 sale of WMP.com, which also sold via Sedo.

My Typical “Lowball” Offer Response

Elliot Silver
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5

One of the most difficult aspects of domain name sales is that many people still have no idea how much a domain name is worth. It is always a bit humorous to receive a $100 offer shortly after receiving a 5 figure offer for the same domain name. Although it can be slightly frustrating to deal with uneducated offers, it comes with the territory. If there was a pricing model for domain names, it would be more difficult to get good deals, so I will take the uneducated “lowball” offers.

I thought I would share a typical response to lowball or uneducated offers for domain names. Most of the time, prospective buyers take this good-natured rebuke in a positive way, although there is always the potential for someone to get angry about it. After all, many prospective buyers will think I (or you) own a domain name they can use and I (or you) are not using the domain name in a productive way. This is obviously flawed thinking, but it is how many people think. I often wonder if they would think the same way about undeveloped property owned by a private investor, but that is a different story.

Here’s a response I give to people who make a lowball offer:

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Purple is Now on Purple.com

Elliot Silver
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0

Earlier this month, I reported the sale of the Purple.com domain name. When the sale was reported, all signs appeared to show that the mattress startup, Purple, had acquired the Purple.com domain name. This has been confirmed.

If you visit Purple.com today, you can see the mattress company is now using the domain name. If you visit OnPurple.com, the domain name that was previously used by the startup, you will be forwarded directly to Purple.com.

This domain name acquisition makes a ton of sense. When people hear of a company called Purple, they generally assume it can be found on Purple.com. Now, there

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Keep Enough Cash for Taxes

Elliot Silver
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3

I generally don’t preface an article with a disclaimer, but I think it is important to note at the outset that I am not an accountant nor should any of this be construed as accounting or tax advice!

Let’s say I buy a domain name at auction for $1,000 and re-sell that domain name a month later for $10,000. I might be inclined to go out and acquire an even better name for $10,000 or purchase two $5,000 domain names. I might even be inclined to buy a domain name for $5,000 and upgrade my office with the remaining $5,000. By doing this, there will be no money remaining to pay taxes.

When I sell a domain name, my first inclination is to reinvest the funds in another domain name or several domain names. I always like to keep great domain names in my portfolio, and reinvesting helps to ensure that my portfolio continues to improve. Even with this inclination, I need to be cognizant of the taxes that will be owed as a result of a sale. With a fluctuating business like domain investing, this can be a big challenge and can become a massive issue for a person or a business.

Many small business owners in the US pay

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