Domain Name Stock Market

[Frank Michlick]

Fusu introduces Domain Stock Exchange in private beta

Fusu - The Domain Stock Exchange. The world’s first Domain Stock Exchange provides a secondary market trading platform for domain names.

Many times the concept of owning shares of of a premium domain name has been discussed, but now someone has stepped up to the plate and developed a service that allows domain owners to sell ownership of part of their domains. This allows them to gain immediate liquidity, without loosing control of their names. Investors can participate in the growth of domain values buy acquiring shares of domains.

More at DomainNameNews

 

[smak786110]

How do I add my domains in the exchange ?
And how should I top up my account as to buy shares in other names ?
Do you accept Western Union ?

 

[tobiasr]

Jeffoverman, I apologize, I don't think we got your email or I must have missed it. To send an invite I need your email address, please send it to me here or at tobias @ fusu. com. I've sent you PM as well.

There is no minimum to invest in and there are no upfront fees.

And yes, lawyer expenses were our biggest investment so far.

Smak, go to My Portfolio, Initial Domain Offering. Since we are still in Closed Beta with security measures of the live version still not implemented, we are very selective at this time with the domains we list. We'll be happy to review though.

At this point we accept only Paypal and bank wire transfer. You can top your account in My Account, Account Funding.

Thanks for all the comments so far!

-Tobias

 

[jeffoverman]

Got PM and be checking my laptop in couple hours

Thanks in PM and following up with me!


Guys this looks so cool.

Curious how other extensions do besides .com and etc.

If a name catches my eye and etc I may buy some shares. This looks like a great concept

Got this idea for capital and equity in a name and now we have leasethis.com. Both seem great. Haven't done either one yet.

Going put up a .tv or a well known .cn name to see how this works and process and etc when I get back to house.

Exciting stuff and I haven't even logged into account yet lol. Hope the coding is good and easy to use.

Cheers

J

This is more for .com type in and huge volume players I sense but I love concept.

Wish I had a domain like a candy.com or property.com to see how this works and high value

 

[Shane]

Im now in the beta, there are many problems, but once fixed will be excellent!

1. FIX the my account page!

 

[tobiasr]

Hi Lonely, please be so kind to report the exact details using the Report a Bug link... Also let me know any other feedback you have via PM or at tobias (at) fusu.com. Thanks!

-Tobias

 

[Shane]

Hi Lonely, please be so kind to report the exact details using the Report a Bug link... Also let me know any other feedback you have via PM or at tobias (at) fusu.com. Thanks!

-Tobias

Dont worry, it was on the normal beta, not the new beta :hehe:

 

[sexesc]

Well its almost here the domain name stock market, watch how domain name market will change over night when it opens.

If you are looking to create some liquidity without selling one of your domains, you can list up to 45% of a domain on the public market and get immediate liquidity as investors buy in. Investors can buy percentage ownership in domains and trade their shares, thus benefiting from the increase in domain values. Fusu is the clearing house - like a traditional stock exchange, it provides the platform for owners, shareholders and investors. For each transaction, the company charges a small fee.

http://www.fusu.com

 

[SkyMan]

That is a freakin' GREAT idea. However..I think this type of investing would be a buy and hold thing. It would act kind of like a zero-coupon bond. Many investors in the stock market cash in on volatility. I can't see too much in the way of steady volatility in this market...enough to cash in on anyway.

Being a buy and hold type enterprise, be sure to have some high fees.


Like I said, excellent idea. Good luck.

 

[billinchina]

Is there someone with a strong legal background involved in this project? What kind of credentials do the founders of this project have to make it reliable?

I think the idea of fractional ownership of domains could be very useful.

 

[Keral_Patel]

Humm.... if someone purchases stocks on some domain name and if that domain gets expired then

 

[duceman]

This is definitely a step in the right direction IMO. This could be the lever that gets the ball moving.

 

[PowerUp]

Now I can finally afford sex.com :hehe:

 

[gorilla_bob]

Does that mean they get a percentage share of the parking revenues as well? Sorta like share holders getting dividends?

How legitamate is this? Are there any large financial backings for this?

Also, is this legal? Do you have to OK this sorta stuff with the SEC?

- Bob

 

[labrocca]

http://www.namepros.com/industry-ne...tock-exchange-private.html?highlight=fusu.com

I am not sure why this needs another topic just 6 weeks later.

Just be aware that I personally am very skeptical about how well this will do. The legal ramifications of such a thing can outreach to regular domainers. The stock owners ...what rights do they have? The real stock market is based on the liquidity and revenue of a company. Share holders have rights and the entire market is carefully regulated. What is being created here doesn't appear to have any regulation.

Whois shows a Slovakian address.

http://whois.domaintools.com/fusu.com

Investors beware.

 

[TheBaldOne]

Whether the current prospective proposal is well founded/organised/regulated/financed I cannot say one way or the other having no knowledge of those behind the scheme. However, it would seem that there would be very little difference between such a 'market' and the 'futures market'.

I welcome the idea, it would be a way of raising capital for development for example, something that is notoriously difficult at the moment. This in turn should create an upswing in domain values as more sites are able to get developed and awareness blossoms (finally) amoung investment brokers and their ilk.

 

[TT]

sorry after some quick investigating with the info Labrocca has provided and after a quick review with my lawyers I have to say I would NOT invest in such a company or scheme.

watch for the first post of an unhappy investor ( this has the earmarks of disaster )

The above is my opinion only, It is not intended to discredit the company or promote the company.

 

[HiSoC8Y]

this is complicated....

 

[duceman]

I'd love to...

• know their evaluation metrics/methods
• See the legal hurdles that they have already solved
• what percentage each share will represent

etc..

 

[Zona]

Comments I posted on DNF about 6 weeks ago.

Sounds like a very unique and interesting idea.

Have the owners gone through all of the proper legal channels with the SEC, etc. prior to launching this site/business?

I am not sure how the SEC would view a site like this which calls itself a "Stock Exchange" and is actually accepting money from investors and offering that it might pay dividends in the future.

Again, I think the idea very interesting, I am just curious about some of the legal aspects to this.

 

[Keynes]

Joint ownership requires forming a corp/LLC with marginal owners as members in order to satisfy iCANN rules; else, you're just playing games with real money...

 

[labrocca]

I would think being a domain registered in Slovakian would exempt them from U.S. laws for the most part.

Here is a simple scenario....

Someone places 45% shares of gamble.com up at $3 a share. I buy 500 shares ($1500) and now own .5% of the domain as it's valued at $300k (low estimate). Gamble.com is parked making $500 a day and so I earn 50 cents a day (math?).

Alright...everything seems to be going just fine..a few months pass and I get paid for 6 months ($90). Then suddenly the payments stop. I invested $1500 and got what?

I contact the company and they say the owner of Gamble.com has decided to leave the exchange and park the domain at their own revenue account. What recourse do I have? How many here know Slovakian law? How many here are willing to pursue this in a court in a country whose legal system might be very questionable? UDRP won't help you. American Dept Of Justice won't help you either.

Now over a six month period people are getting paid..this encourages others to participate and they could potentially rake in millions over 6 months to a year and pay out a small percentage. I just don't see what's to prevent them from screwing people over.

Whenever you do a deal you want to do due diligence. You want to have assurances that you won't be screwed. These assurances are normally some legal document in a jurisdiction that has actual laws preventing scams.

How many of you would sign up to a paypal like service whose home country is Slovakia?

A 10 second search at Google found me this article:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/1846516.stm

Hundreds of thousands of Slovaks, who put their money into unlicensed investment firms on the promise of unrealistically high returns, have realised that their savings have been lost, sparking panic and a growing political storm.

Slovakia is only the latest East European country to be hit by rogue investment funds - so-called "pyramid" schemes - since the collapse of communism.

Similar scandals, notably in Russia and Albania, have provoked widespread social unrest.

There is more to read on the BBC page but you get the picture. I give credit to the Slovakians for having some creative ideas on the pyramid scheme but I won't be investing a single penny into Eastern Europe until the lawless scammers are held accountable.

If the owners of Fusu want to step forward and pronounce all the legal steps they have taken to assure us this isn't some long-term pyramid scheme scam then please...by all means post what you have.

One thing I would like to see is an American Company that is going to hold the domains in escrow backed by an insurance company. Licensed and Bonded as they say. A good lawyer with a good name (like Mr. Berryhill) holding the funds in escrow and the names in a special account would probably reassure the domaining community that this is legit.

Fusu.com currently has no listed TOS or policies stated. I have to assume to enter their beta a legal document must be agreed to. One for domain owners and one for investors most likely. I would like to see both posted either here or on their site.

I am not sure how the SEC would view a site like this which calls itself a "Stock Exchange" and is actually accepting money from investors and offering that it might pay dividends in the future.

My guess...as an illegal scam.

 

[TheBulldog]

I would happily watch to see what comes up for investment, but there isn't a chance in hell I would ever contribute any funds without this being legally binding and insured.

Total frigging scam.

 

[Keynes]

I would think being a domain registered in Slovakian would exempt them from U.S. laws for the most part.

ICANN governs global domain regulatory issues.

My advice is to steer clear, and consult an attorney if you're seriously considering joint ownership of a domain.

 

[gorilla_bob]

Keynes,

You do bring up a good point. The point being is that currently there are no protection or thought about joint control of a 'domain'. I dont' believe this has ever been addressed with ICANN.

If someone can propose something of this matter and there are regulations in place to protect all parties, then you will see more interests in this sort of domain exchange market.

- Bob

 

[Keynes]

Keynes,

You do bring up a good point. The point being is that currently there are no protection or thought about joint control of a 'domain'. I dont' believe this has ever been addressed with ICANN.

If someone can propose something of this matter and there are regulations in place to protect all parties, then you will see more interests in this sort of domain exchange market.

- Bob

Bob,

Technically a domain belongs to the registrant listed in the "admin" contacts on the whois. The only legal way for a joint-ownership to be established is for a joint corp/LLC to be the owner of such a domain. Caveat emptor.