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In June 2013, a friend and I started an event series called Break the Bubble, which is geared towards helping Minnesotans make new friends.
Of course, somebody already owned the domain, but thanks to a whois lookup, I was able to figure out the owner’s email.
I shot him a message…and to my surprise, he wrote back. Below is the story of how we ended up buying breakthebubble.com, in exchange for a $60 box of chocolates.
Note that his name has been changed for confidentiality purposes.
On 8/16/13, I wrote:
Hi Tom — My name is Matt Decuir and I’d like to buy breakthebubble.com from you.
I just moved to Minneapoils and, being new in town, found making new friends difficult. A friend and I were talking about this and found that we were both having the same problem. How do we meet new, friendly people?
So we decided to plan an event we called Break the Bubble. We’ve had two very successful events so far, and are planning many more in the future.
What is Break the Bubble, you ask? Break the Bubble hosts events centered around meeting new people and making new friends. We’re very much a volunteer run organization, and we need a website.
Seeing that you own breakthebubble.com and that it’s completely un-used, I was wondering if you’d be open to selling us the domain. We don’t have a whole lot of money, but please let me know what you think might be fair and we’d be happy to handle the logistics of transferring ownership of the domain.
Hope you’re having a great week!
Cheers,
Matt
On 8/16/13, he wrote back:
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.
Looking forward to a productive parlay
Tom
Sent from my iPhone
SERIOUSLY?!
One friend suggested the following:
Tell him you’ll send him three (3) fake plastic gag butts, a horse mask, and a copy of how to win friends and influence people and that’s your final offer. He sounds like a fan of whimsy.
Another friend pointed out that he typed that whole message on his iPhone.
On 8/17/13, I wrote back:
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.
Let me know if you’re interested in selling the domain. We’ve already purchased a handful of other alternatives, so it’s not the end of the world if you don’t want to sell it.
Matt
On 8/17/13, he responded:
Hi Matt,
Let me think about it, have you considered “ break the ice. Com”?
By the way. I bought my son his soccer cleats today, he is actually a 9 1/2 and an 11. Wasn’t easy finding a happy medium, but 2 socks on his left foot is the answer.
Tom
On 8/24/13, I wrote back:
Hey Tom — Sorry for the delay, I was out looking for a pair of mismatched cleats that meet your sons specifications, with no luck. Salesmen kept telling me they’d only sell cleats in sets of two. I know what you’re thinking. It’s unconscionable that these stores won’t sell shoes in singles. It’s not fair to people like your son who have two different sized feet.
But I have to thank you because you gave me a great idea. If I were in your son’s shoes (not literally, that would hurt), I’d look for a place to buy mismatched cleats online. So I poked around the internets and couldn’t believe my luck. You’re talking to the proud owner of mismatchedcleats.com.
Now, you and I both know that mismatchedcleats.com has virtually unlimited potential for making money. We’re talking billions, maybe trillions of dollars in revenue per month, if we do it right. So I’m willing to offer you a trade, although, I feel like mismatchedcleats.com has so much more potential than breakthebubble.com. You should probably throw something else in to even it out. I’m not quite in the market for a classic Thunderbird or an Alfa Romeo (I can’t drive a stick), but I feel like a Prius would do nicely (it’s roomy AND economical). Alternatively, a hypo-allergenic Bernese Mountain Dog puppy, a new refrigerator or a pair of weight lifting shoes (both feet size 12) would be just fine.
Excited about this parlay thing,
Matt
On 8/26/13, he responded:
Hi Matt,
Sorry to hear you bought a website that will generate trillions, I could never handle that much money and not destroy my life (currently, maybe later). 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.
I still would feel much better with a 71 T-bird, a 1974 Alfa Romeo GTV or a 92–94 Spider and a 55/45 split on a big sale.
I look forward to your response,
Tom
On 8/27/13, I wrote back:
Alright, a $60 box of chocolates seems perfectly reasonable.
A friend has kindly offered to help write a contract for us (her fee is a sleeve of oreos, no joke).
I’ll send you the agreement once it’s ready.
Matt
On 8/28/13, he responded:
Hi Matt,
I have heard most people charge two sleeves of Oreos for a project like you mentioned. It’s nice to know your getting good deals all over.
Tom
Sent from my iPhone
Over the ensuing week, a lawyer-friend had a field day writing up a purchase agreement. She gave me a generous discount on her services:
I would offer you the family and friends discount of one sleeve of oreos and the promise that you will not consider me your actual lawyer and sue me for any malpractice if the chocolates melt before the transaction closes and I didn’t draft the appropriate f.o.b. provisions to protect your interests under the UCC.
On 9/4/13: I wrote back:
Hey Tom,
Sorry for the delay, who knew contracts took so long?
Please see the attached document for the terms of our purchase agreement as you’ve outlined.
If the terms are acceptable to you, please sign and send the contract back and I’ll order the chocolates for your wife right away.
Matt
I waited patiently for his response and still hadn’t heard back after two weeks, so I shot him a note to check-in.
On 9/20/13, I wrote:
Hey Tom — Have you had a chance to look over the contract?
The gist is that you agree to transfer the domain to me, in exchange for a 1lb box of chocolates. Should I ever be approached to sell the domain, you have first right of refusal to buy it back, for the price of a 1 lb box of chocolates. Further, this organization has no plans to make money, so I’m not comfortable agreeing to any revenue share.
Let me know what you think!
Matt
On 9/20/13, he responded:
Hi Matt,
I am not avoiding you, It is the wording of the contract near the end. I have not had time to amend it to my liking. The only reason I want to gain if their is a commercial interest is because our son is autistic. My wife’s and my goal is to save as much as we can for him, so that when we are not around his standard of living does not change. In the future, their could be an interest for this URL, ie. political reasons, a book or movie with this URL name; we don’t know what the future holds. I am sure you can understand this. Would you just like to borrow it for free?
Tom
On 9/22/13, I wrote back:
Tom — I’d say I understand where you’re coming from, but that would be a lie. I don’t have any kids, so all I can do is try to sympathize with your position.
I have no interest in borrowing the domain from you, although I appreciate the offer. For what it’s worth, I’ve never heard of anybody being approached by politicians, authors or movie studios to pay big bucks for a domain. What usually happens in that scenario is that they decide on a different domain name instead.
In fact, that’s exactly what I’m going to do should this negotiation fall through. I’ve already bought btbhq.com, which is much shorter and easier to remember than breakthebubble.com. I was really hoping we would have come to an agreement by now.
I don’t mean to pressure you, but I’d like to just buy these chocolates already, and be done with it.
Hope you’re having a great weekend.
Matt
On 9/22/13, he responded:
Hi Matt,
The contract got too legal for men of integrity,
I would be happy with what I asked for before:
“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.”
All you have to do is agree to this and we have a deal.
Thanks,
Tom
Sent from my iPad
On 9/22/13, I wrote back:
I don’t foresee this becoming a valuable item, but if it does end up becoming valuable as a result of all the work that myself and other volunteers put into it, I’m not comfortable splitting it 50/50 with you.
I’d much rather agree to discuss it further at that time, should a possible purchase down the road become a possibility. You seem like a reasonable guy, so I think it’d be pretty easy for us to come to an agreement at that time, which I still think is highly unlikely.
Matt
At this point, negotiations fell apart.
I sent a couple follow up emails over the ensuing three months, but I never heard back.
On 10/8/13, I wrote:
Hey Tom — Any new thoughts on your end? I’m sure we can come to an agreement.
Hope you’re doing well!
On 10/12/13, I wrote:
Would a phone call be a better way to come to an agreement?
On 11/12/13, I wrote:
Hey Tom — It’s been a while. Any new thoughts on breakthebubble.com?
I get the feeling that we might not be able to come to an agreement, which is a total bummer ☹
On 12/24/13, I wrote:
Happy Holidays Tom! Any new developments on your end?
By Christmas Eve, I had all but lost hope.
And then, out of left field, nearly 6 months later, he emailed me.
On 5/15/14, He wrote:
Hi Matt,
Are you still interested in “BREAK THE BUBBLE.Com?
Tom
On 5/15/14, I responded:
Maybe. What are you thinking?
Matt
On 5/15/14, he wrote:
1 box Burdick Chocolate, deal complete. Funny, you came up to me as a friend recommendation on Facebook?
Too connected?
Tom
THANK YOU MARK ZUCKERBERG!
You probably think I’m crazy for actually going through with this. I figured, if nothing else, the story is worth $60.
He sent his address, I placed the order, and then two weeks later, the chocolates arrived.
On 5/30/14, he wrote:
Hi Matt,
We just received the chocolates, they are wonderful.
Thanks,
Tom & Sarah
Having completed my side of the bargain, I sent him instructions on how to transfer the domain.
On 5/31/14, he wrote:
Hi Matt,
Work was longer than normal today. I will do it tomorrow and let you know when it is done. Shame your not here, we could share our chocolates with you!
Thanks,
Tom
On 6/1/14, he wrote:
Good morning Matt,
All set, let me know if you have any problems.
Thanks,
Tom
I checked my Godaddy account, and sure enough, breakthebubble.com was in there. I couldn’t believe this was finally happening.
On 6/1/14, I responded:
Looks like it worked, thanks Tom!
I’ll let you know if anything comes up.
Hope you and your wife had a great weekend!
Matt
On 6/1/14, he wrote back:
Just finished dancing with our favorite band and heading home, thanks!
Sent from my Dodge Challenger speech to text
And there you have it. The story of how we ended up buying breakthebubble.com, in exchange for a $60 box of chocolates.