Auction Rules
The sale of tokendeploy.com runs as a fully transparent open auction. Everything below is enforced by the system, with no hidden mechanics and no broker games.
1. Opening floor and private bids
Bidding starts at an opening floor of USD $10,000; bids below the floor are rejected automatically. All bid amounts and bidder identities are private until the auction closes: only the count of confirmed bids is shown publicly. Email addresses and real identities are never published.
2. 20-day rolling countdown
The auction runs on a 20-day window that starts with the first confirmed bid at or above the opening floor.
- Every time a new leading bid is confirmed, the countdown resets to a full 20 days.
- The auction ends only when no one outbids the leader for 20 consecutive days.
- There is no fixed end date and no last-minute sniping: the only way to end the auction is to place a bid nobody is willing to beat.
3. Minimum raise: tiered
A new bid must exceed the current leading bid by a tiered minimum increment, following standard domain-marketplace convention:
| Leading bid | Minimum raise |
|---|---|
| Under $10,000 | +$250 |
| $10,000 to $50,000 | +$500 |
| $50,000 to $200,000 | +$1,000 |
| $200,000 to $500,000 | +$2,500 |
| $500,000 and above | +$5,000 |
The exact minimum next bid is displayed on the bid form. Bids below the minimum are rejected automatically.
4. Email verification
Every bid must be confirmed via a one-click email link before it counts. Unconfirmed bids do not appear on the board, do not affect the countdown, and expire automatically 72 hours after they are placed. An expired link cannot be used; the bid can simply be placed again. This keeps the board honest, with no fake bids and no artificial inflation.
5. Reserve price
A reserve price applies. The seller reserves the right not to conclude a sale if the final leading bid does not meet the undisclosed reserve. Winning the auction window earns the leading bidder the exclusive negotiation seat.
6. Settlement via Escrow.com
When the auction window closes, the leading bidder is contacted at their verified email address. The transaction is completed through Escrow.com, a licensed third-party escrow service:
- Buyer and seller agree on final terms.
- Buyer pays into escrow; funds are held securely.
- The seller unlocks the domain and issues the authorization code (EPP code).
- The buyer submits the code at the registrar of their choice; the transfer is approved immediately rather than left to the registry's five-day auto-approval.
- Funds are released only after the buyer confirms control of the domain.
Escrow fees are published, not negotiated in the dark. Escrow.com's standard rate is tiered by sale price: 1.9% from $50,000.01 to $200,000, 1.5% from $200,000.01 to $500,000, and 1.2% from $500,000.01 to $1,000,000. Each tier carries a stated minimum. At the $600,000 asking price the 1.2% rate computes to $7,200, which falls under that tier's $7,500 minimum, so the fee payable is $7,500, by either side or split as a term of the deal. Buyers wiring from outside the United States are charged an additional $25 to cover intermediary bank fees.
The domain is held at Cloudflare Registrar, so settlement is a standard registrar-to-registrar transfer by authorization code, so the buyer keeps full choice of destination registrar. Typical completion time is 5 to 7 business days from funds clearing escrow, most of it the registry transfer window. See how escrow transfer works for a step-by-step guide.
7. Fair play
- All bids are binding expressions of interest; obviously frivolous bids may be removed.
- One alias per bidder. Aliases that impersonate others or contain offensive content may be replaced with a neutral system label.
- Buyer anonymity is respected end to end: bid with just a name and email, settle through Escrow.com under an entity of your choice where permitted.