By Ron Jackson 

When our bi-weekly DNJournal.com domain sales report was published on February 5, 2025 a lot of readers (especially in the U.S.) did a double take. At #1 on our all extension Top 20 Sales Chart sat Fanbase.com at $431,400. No surprise in that, of course - an excellent domain acquired for the kind of price top tier domains command. However, under the Where Sold column, where you typically see the name of a giant aftermarket sales platform or a rock star domain broker, was the name Fruits.co. Puzzling on this side of the Atlantic but no so much in Europe where Fruits.co had already made a name for themselves even though they just launched last year. 

By the time their name went global with the Fanbase.com sale, Fruits.co already had over a million listings on their site. It it also turned out that several people who have been known worldwide in the domain industry for years were part of the Fruits.co project (Team Internet Co-Founder Stefan Wiegard being a primary example among those you'll see on the site's About Us section). The talented team is led by Co-Founder and CEO Dr. Fabian Heuschele, who we contacted to get the full story on how the company was formed and what it is doing differently to produce more financial fruit for domain buyers and sellers.

Dr. Fabian Heuschele
Co-Founder & CEO, Fruits.co

Now, one thing before we dive in. As domain investors, many of us tend to consider the seller to be the party reaping the biggest reward from a high end transaction. However, the enormous impact the right domain name can make in an enterprise's fortunes has proven over and over again that the buyer often wins just as  big, if not bigger. As just one of countless examples, Ring.com Founder Jamie Siminoff paid $1 million for Ring.com in 2014. In 2018, when Amazon bought the Ring.com business for over $1 billion, Siminoff estimated that the domain alone wound up being worth $30 million to $50 million to the company. So, when you look at our sales charts, you are often seeing the very beginning of a great business story that will play out in the years ahead.

Above: Our bi-weekly Top 20 Domains Sale Chart issued Feb. 5, 2025 showed 
Fruits.co's sale of Fanbase.com as the #1 publicly reported domain sale.

Dr. Heuschele told us, "What makes this deal even more exciting is that no active brokerage from our side was necessary—the buyer and seller negotiated the deal independently on Fruits.co. The seller listed Fanbase.com with us and it was discovered by a buyer who had that exact domain in mind for a new venture. After some back-and-forth, they settled on the final price of $431,400. It was a win for everyone—the buyer secured an amazing domain, the merchant closed a great deal, and for us, as a challenger in the market, it reinforced trust from both sides and gave us a major boost in visibility and credibility.  All of our payments are Escrow-protected, and we partner with a major U.S. bank to ensure a secure and seamless payment infrastructure, so we are looking forward to facilitating more deals like this."

With 6-figure deals like these, as well as 7 and 8-figure sales dotting the domain aftermarket landscape - plus the added bonus of getting an opportunity to help so many other entrepreneurs make their dreams come true - it is no wonder that new aftermarket platforms like Fruits.co have emerged. Still, it is not a quest for the faint of heart. The top competitors are firmly established and the cost of building a new team, clientele and brand recognition can be daunting. Not for someone like Fabian Heuschele though. A chance to take on those challenges is why entrepreneurs like him can't wait to get out of bed in the morning.

"I come from a business background with a passion for building great teams and innovative companies," Fabian told us. "I studied Management in Switzerland, France and the UK before pursuing a PhD in Leadership, which also took me to the United States. One of the most formative periods of my career was my time at Germany’s largest media corporation, where I started as a reference to the CEO and later became Managing Director, leading the group’s early-stage startup investment initiatives. It was an incredibly exciting role—I had a lot of responsibility early on and the freedom to explore new revenue streams and drive innovation."

"We started questioning everything,"  Fabian said, ticking off a list of the pain points they saw with the current options:

• Why is the UI/UX on all existing platforms so outdated and frustrating?

• Why are essential but tedious tasks like invoicing, tax handling, and credit notes still not automated for merchants?

• Why are the commissions so high?

• Why is there zero real innovation happening in the industry?

• And most importantly—why is the conversion rate so poor? In other words, why is buying a domain still such a complicated process?

"It became clear that the industry was stuck in the past, and we saw a massive opportunity to change that," Fabian concluded. "Domains are the foundation of everything in the digital world—yet the tools to buy and sell them are outdated. They deserve so much better. The great domainers out there need a modern platform where they can harvest the fruits of their hard work. And that’s how fruits was born."

• The most intuitive and simple UI/UX in the market.

• The world’s only fully automated invoicing, credit note, and VAT system—a game changer for domainers, especially at scale. No more accounting headaches.

• Privacy matters. As a merchant, you stay fully anonymous—your name won’t appear on invoices to buyers, as we handle that for you.

• High conversion rates, thanks to great sales landers and our super-fast checkout process.

• A banking-backed infrastructure—all payments comply with international financial regulations and are escrow-protected. In some regions, you can even start selling before completing onboarding!

• All the must-have industry features—negotiation chat, fast payouts, and Lease-to-Own (LTO), coming in the next few weeks.

• AI-powered innovation—we’ve beta-launched our AI Broker, which identifies potential buyers and reaches out to them automatically at scale. It’s a game-changer—and there’s so much more to come!

"We’re not perfect yet," Fabian allowed, "but we’re on the right track. And of course, we just love feedback from the community! If domainers need a feature, just let us know—we’ll work on it.

In closing, Fabian added, "We’re on a mission to build the best sales solution for domains, combining cutting-edge tech with deep domain expertise. We’re not perfect yet, but with the support of domainers who are willing to innovate and grow with us, we will be. We’re fully committed to creating something truly game-changing. Try us out, share your feedback, and experience the difference—this is exactly why we started this venture. You need features? We’ll build them. I personally respond to all feedback—because we love what we do, we’re always open to the community, and we take this damn seriously!"

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