X has reportedly made a team specifically to find buyers for disused handles and offer it for "a flat fee of $50,000 to initiate a purchase," as per Forbes.
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X Handle Team Solicits Through Email
Based on the emails gathered by Forbes, X formed a team called @ Handle Team, which is tasked to manage a marketplace for selling inactive handles left unused by people who initially registered under it. It was also revealed that in some cases, the X team conducts email solicitations to potential buyers with a flat fee of $50,000.
Although Forbes did not disclose all the information to protect the recipients, the publication confirmed that the news came from active X employees. Aside from that, X has reportedly made updates to its @handle guidelines, process, and fees.
The policy stated that users must log in to X every 30 days to be classified as active. People who exceed the inactivity days will risk having their accounts suspended, or worse, permanently removed. However, it is still unclear how many days will it take for a user to be kicked out from the platform.
X Handle Marketplace
When Musk took over Twitter, which is now X, he already revealed that he had plans to set free handles taken by bots and trolls, thus, making it available for other people. Last year, an X user suggested that Musk should create a Handle Marketplace where people can buy and sell handles similar to an eBay or auction style.
make a Handle Marketplace. Enable people to buy and sell handles. eBay/Auction style. Seller could set buy it now price or leave it to the free market auction. Highest bidder wins. Twitter gets a % fee when it sells. Frees up handles and generates revenue.
— Paris Vega (@parisvega) November 24, 2022
The X's current registration policy still states that it cannot release inactive usernames at this time. Moreover, the platform reminded that users cannot be able to tell whether an account is indeed inactive, as "not all signs of account activity are publicly visible."
If the handle marketplace becomes an official and public venture for X, this will add to the company's revenue-generating policies. Recently, the company launched new subscription tiers which are the Premium+ which costs $16 per month, and a basic paid tier priced at $3 per month.
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