Medium.com is a great place to discover stories from startups - these stories are often insightful, motivational, interesting or sometimes just fascinating. I stumbled across one such story today, entitled "We Bought Our Domain for a Box of Chocolates."
The domain name in question is BreakTheBubble.com; a domain that is now being used by Break The Bubble - a Minneapolis based initiative to help people make friends in the Twin Cities (Minneapolis and Saint Paul).
However, just a couple of years ago, it was owned by an individual from Massachusetts, and naturally the Break The Bubble event founders wanted to buy the domain name. What you read below is completely true and will hopefully make you smile today.
Break The Bubble was founded in June 2013 by Matt Decuir and a few friends with the aim of helping Minnesotans make new friends through hosting frequent events. In August of 2013, Matt attempted to contact the owner of BreakTheBubble.com in an attempt to acquire the domain.
After initial contact from Matt, followed one of the most bizarre conversations I think I've ever read. I've confirmed with both the buyer and seller that this is word-for-word correct. Here are some of the highlights of their conversation that eventually resulted in the "sale" of BreakTheBubble.com:
After Matt's opening introduction, here is the owner's initial reply:
Matt's reply:
After more conversations, which included a chat about mismatched football cleats, the owner sent this reply in which he'd be happy to trade the domain for a specific box of chocolates:
Once the two parties agreed upon a deal, Matt asked a lawyer-friend to write up a purchase agreement for the acquisition of BreakTheBubble.com in exchange for the box of Chocolates. The lawyer's fee? A sleeve of Oreos.
Due to disagreements between the two over the proposed contract, negotiations stopped and the domain transaction seemed to have fallen apart.
After Matt sent many unanswered emails to the owner of BreakTheBubble.com, he finally received a reply six months later confirming that the deal could go ahead in exchange for a one pound box of chocolates.
Matt sent the box of chocolates to the owner of BreakTheBubble.com and promptly received an email confirming the receipt of the chocolate:
Two days later, BreakTheBubble.com was in the hands of its new owner, and Break The Bubble could create their website.
As I said earlier, it has been confirmed from both buyer and seller that this was exactly how the domain transaction was conducted, and after looking at the WhoIs historical data, the dates and times match up, too.
I don't think I've ever come across such a strange domain transaction, but I love the story - so much so that I may be tempted to do the same one day! I hope this story has put a smile on your face today.
If you want to view the story in full, from Matt Demuir then click here to go to the original Medium.com article.
The domain name in question is BreakTheBubble.com; a domain that is now being used by Break The Bubble - a Minneapolis based initiative to help people make friends in the Twin Cities (Minneapolis and Saint Paul).
However, just a couple of years ago, it was owned by an individual from Massachusetts, and naturally the Break The Bubble event founders wanted to buy the domain name. What you read below is completely true and will hopefully make you smile today.
Break The Bubble was founded in June 2013 by Matt Decuir and a few friends with the aim of helping Minnesotans make new friends through hosting frequent events. In August of 2013, Matt attempted to contact the owner of BreakTheBubble.com in an attempt to acquire the domain.
After initial contact from Matt, followed one of the most bizarre conversations I think I've ever read. I've confirmed with both the buyer and seller that this is word-for-word correct. Here are some of the highlights of their conversation that eventually resulted in the "sale" of BreakTheBubble.com:
After Matt's opening introduction, here is the owner's initial reply:
Hi Matt ,I bought this for my daughter who is in college, but I see she has not used it. Let me ask her what her plans are. If she does not want it, we are open to negotiation.
We are looking for a classic thunderbird with a 429, an Alfa romeo spider, new soccer cleats, size 10 1/2 for the left foot and a 11 1/2 for the right foot for our high school age son.
If this venture can make a lot of money, we really need a new house, a Ranch house would be just fine, preferably with electric heat and no basement.
Matt's reply:
Hi Tom,It’s going to be a little tough to find two separate sized soccer cleats, but I can certainly check the local thrift shop to see what I can find. Does your son have a brand/color preference?
In all seriousness, we don’t have any money. I see that you purchased the domain less than a year ago, so we’d be happy to pay for the cost of the initial domain registration (presumably, around $10) and a small premium ($20), just because you’ve got a sense of humor and are a nice guy. How does $30 sound? It won’t get you a classic thunderbird, but it might get you some cleats from the thrift shop down the road.
After more conversations, which included a chat about mismatched football cleats, the owner sent this reply in which he'd be happy to trade the domain for a specific box of chocolates:
I am not going to stand in the way of your progress, so here’s what would make me happy… A 1 pound box of chocolates from here…http://www.burdickchocolate.com/BonbonAssortments/signature-assortments.aspx.
No need for the wooden box, my wife likes the cardboard box best. That should cover my cost and give me a little extra for my problems. I have never had anything that someone wanted to buy unless I advertised it for sale, so we have to come to a gentlemans agreement.
If for some reason you decide to sell the website, I get first opportunity to buy it for a 1 pound box of Burdick chocolates, if for some reason it turns out to be a a valuable item, we split 50/50, how does that sound? I will trust you are a man of honesty and character.
Once the two parties agreed upon a deal, Matt asked a lawyer-friend to write up a purchase agreement for the acquisition of BreakTheBubble.com in exchange for the box of Chocolates. The lawyer's fee? A sleeve of Oreos.
Due to disagreements between the two over the proposed contract, negotiations stopped and the domain transaction seemed to have fallen apart.
After Matt sent many unanswered emails to the owner of BreakTheBubble.com, he finally received a reply six months later confirming that the deal could go ahead in exchange for a one pound box of chocolates.
Matt sent the box of chocolates to the owner of BreakTheBubble.com and promptly received an email confirming the receipt of the chocolate:
Hi Matt,We just received the chocolates, they are wonderful.
Two days later, BreakTheBubble.com was in the hands of its new owner, and Break The Bubble could create their website.
As I said earlier, it has been confirmed from both buyer and seller that this was exactly how the domain transaction was conducted, and after looking at the WhoIs historical data, the dates and times match up, too.
I don't think I've ever come across such a strange domain transaction, but I love the story - so much so that I may be tempted to do the same one day! I hope this story has put a smile on your face today.
If you want to view the story in full, from Matt Demuir then click here to go to the original Medium.com article.
