The Freename Forum

The premium domain candy.com is up for sale. The Web3 company Candy Digital, which acquired the domain in 2021 for an undisclosed amount, is switching from candy.com to candy.io.

The history of candy.com is long and the prime example of a successful premium domain. Domain king Rick Schwartz sold the domain in 2009 for US$ 3 million and negotiated a five per cent stake in the candy business of the two young businessmen who bought the domain. They were not immediately as successful in the market as they had hoped with candy.com, so Schwartz made a few concessions in return for further equity stakes. When the business went beyond confectionery, the domain owners founded greenrabbit.com in 2021 with Schwartz's participation and were able to sell candy.com very well for financing.

The buyer of candy.com was the Web3 company Candy Digital, which expected to do good business during the NFT hype. Now candy.com is for sale again, without a concrete buyer, and Candy Digital has withdrawn to candy.io. If you go to candy.com, you will see a landing page from Hilco Digital that says: ‘We are entertaining serious offers only for the Candy.com domain name.’ Only serious enquiries can be addressed to Andrew Miller from Hilco Digital. Elliot Silver approached Miller, who said that he had already been involved as a broker in the sale of candy.com to Candy Digital in 2021. He confirmed that Hilco Digital and some key partners have acquired candy.com and are working with Candy Digital's Amanda Waltz to write a new chapter for candy.com and give the domain its next permanent home.

Candy.com is an extremely valuable domain that can be used for many purposes. However, the reference to its past uses does not speak in favour of the domain's success. Schwartz was able to sell it very well and also made a profit from the investment; he speaks of a total of US$ 11 million. But even in the confectionery business there were difficulties, which were overcome brilliantly. Candy Digital, on the other hand, is focusing on NFTs, which looked promising in 2021, but which no one wanted to be approached about in 2022. Basically, the switch from candy.com to candy.io is a step down. And instead of simply selling the ‘extremely valuable’ domain to the next innovative entrepreneur at a high price, a consortium seems to be taking a stake in candy.com to find one. This all suggests that candy.com must be sold out of necessity. The domain alone does not make the music; you also have to run an economically successful business that is supported by the domain. That's the other way round.

Elliot Silver's article about the current development with candy.com can be found at:
https://domaininvesting.com/candy-com-a ... o-digital/

The story about the big candy.com / greenrabbit.com deal can be found at dnjournal.com:
https://www.dnjournal.com/articles/2023 ... -candy.htm