When Will Pizza.com Dough Arrive?

Sale yet to close. Will it?

[Update: Pizza.com has now sold.] People outside the domain world were surprised to see that Pizza.com sold for $2.6 million a few weeks ago. But those of us in the domain industry have been on edge ever since. We have one question: will the deal actually close?

As of today there’s no news on the deal. The whois on Pizza.com has been a private registration for many years, although Chris Clark’s (the seller) name is no longer attached to it.

I’ve left voicemails for Clark on both his home phone and mobile phone but he hasn’t responded. (I guess he only takes calls from The Washington Post).

I checked in with Sedo this morning and the firm states the domain is still in transfer.

If the deal doesn’t go through, it wouldn’t be the first time a high profile sale was never completed. Often times a second bidder steps in to buy it for more (Cowboys.com) or slightly less (Computer.com), but many other “sales” fall through the cracks. It must be hard enough selling a $50,000 domain and never getting the money. But $2.6 million? Ouch.

My rule of thumb is that the deal isn’t done until the check is in the bank. I’ve been disappointed enough times to get elated ahead of a deal is done.

What do you think? Will this deal close? Who is the buyer?