Toys.com Sold... Again

Auction Saga Concludes With $5.1m Sale

March 13, 2009; 03:42 AM

MINNEAPOLIS, MN, Mar 12, 2009 (MARKET WIRE via COMTEX) -- In a stunning turn of events, the reported sale of the domain name toys.com for $1.25 million was halted by a bankruptcy court and re-auctioned to the tune of $5.1 million dollars, reports www.DomainConsultant.com.

A recent story by the company had documented the original sale as example of a burgeoning domain aftermarket which has included other high-level transactions such as fly.com for $1.75m plus many private seven figure acquisitions. But the new price tag for toys.com easily tops the list for 2009 so far.
"We reported it several weeks ago but internally thought it sold too cheap. It was not promoted well," says DomainConsultant analyst Mike Fiol. "And we were right."
The sordid tale began when the domain name was put up by its owner eToys.com in a bankruptcy liquidation auction on February 4th and 'sold' for approximately $1.25 million.
But upon learning of the sale, several parties stepped in to challenge the brokers and ultimately went to the courts -- which ruled another auction be held.

The resulting second auction was held on February 28th with six parties taking part via conference call and bidding in $5,000 increments. But unlike normal, high energy selling events with an auctioneer yodeling all the way: this auction was slow and long.

"It was like watching lava flow across a flat surface," says a source familiar with the proceedings but who chose to remain anonymous. "But the bids kept coming and the amount kept growing."

After nearly four hours, the last competing bidder bowed out and Toys"R"Us was declared the winner at $5.1 million.
"We call it a 'category killer' -- the best name in any given market," adds another D.C. analyst and DomainNameNews.com editor, Adam Strong. "We applaud them on the purchase; it is a singular property."

"They are quite fortunate it was put on auction for a second time," concludes Fiol. "Let's just hope it was the last time," he jokes.

For more information on this and other aftermarket sales and auctions, please visit DomainConsultant.com.

Contact:
A. Strong
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Site:  http://www.domainconsultant.com

SOURCE: DomainConsultant.com

Source: www.marketwatch.com