For a newbie on selling domains, this thread sure is an asset. Gave me some tips I'd otherwise not have known.
Please offer some more, so folks can get a one-stop education on the do's and don'ts.
CKL
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Great article. I've been on NP for a bit but never had gotten around to reading it thoroughly.
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I have to agree, and add that in the future, as more and more tlds are added(some less useful than others) the very specific .info will only gain value.Furthermore, when inevitable(sp?) market-consolidation speeds up you will see marketshare monsters like Google,Yahoo, &others swallow up hundreds or even thousands of .info domains at every turn. When will all this start/happen? That's the only truly speculative side of this argument, but(IMHO) it's going to start and rapidly escalate within the next 10-18 months.
We domainers can think and know anything we want about .info.
That's not the point.
To someone who isn't involved with domains, such as a big company who wants to purchase a domain name for their site, they're going to want a .com and they won't see the value or purpose in a .info. In fact, most Internet users have probably never heard of a .info, much less visited one. You've got to look at it from their perspective.
We don't believe in appraisals. CocaCola.info would be cool, catchy and easy to remember and the Coca-Cola company would probably get plenty of $$$ for it if they would offer it for sale. In the end, a domain has value only for buyer and seller, and just while the money changes hands. Before and after, the domain worths nothing until there is a new deal.
It is not because 1,000 people say a domain is worth $$$ that anybody shall pay it or not pay it. We think appraisals can be a basis for negotiation, but that's all. Remember AsSeenOnTV.com? Not cool, not catchy, just a remark, not really short, not yet registered - so no traffic, and probably originally appraised to the trash bin. We don't mind there is an appraising industry, but domains are usually valued downwards. Appraisers make money while domain owners must let go for little ROI.
You know, I'm really a nice guy. But I feel harsh appraising most domains I reply to because it seems like people think up 2 words and put them together with a .com and think it's worth $1,000. In an effort to be kind, people say it's worth xxx developed but seriously, that's not domaining, that's development. In that case, you are appraising a website, not a domain name.
IMO a valuable name is one that has traffic all by itself, without development. A name might have value to a reseller or end user, but the true value of that name depends largely on the kind of inherent traffic it has. Take my website for instance - domaining360.com. By itself, I'd value the name at reg fee. The site has 1000 visitors a month and makes good revenue, but thats the value of the site and the name only adds value to that. But without the site, it's just not as valuable.
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Last edited by Phronesis : 05-26-2006 at 08:50 PM.
And I am seriously upset when people tell potential buyers my prices are too high.
In despite of appraisals, I sold domains that have been called largely overpriced for exactly what I have asked.
The domain trader usually evaluates domains downwards if he's a buyer, and upwards if he's a seller. He does just some guessing as an appraiser.
Appraisers have no idea about what weighs most for both potential sellers and buyers, while it is just the sellers and buyers who take risks.
The potential domain end user who has the web office account (web site, databases, email, etc.) with a given domain, will rather consider inside information than any third party evaluation of his property.
If somebody wants a specific car, house, boat, partner, domain, he will negotiate anything near his budget instead anything nearby an appraisal.
I understand people trying to make a living from appraisals, but putting that certain types of character combination, name length, search engine placement, etc. have more value than others, is not scientific.
I don't mind about an appraising industry, but I think each appraisal should mention clearly (not in fine print, and not on another page) that elements unknown to appraiser can make the estimation irrelevant.
JR.
Don't Forget Total Search Traffic Value In Your Appraisal!
Overall, I think this article is quite informative and useful. I compliment the author for taking the time to put this together.
I do agree with quite a few of the comments here that suggest that domain name value is strictly determined between the buyer and seller, and what value it represents for them.
One of the things that I'd encourage people to consider in their valuations is not just the standard organic traffic that would occur from one typing in "theirdomainname.com" and receiving traffic, but also the traffic that is produced and generated from sound keyword research and what it represents to the search engines and bots.
Yes, if you have "xxx.com" and people are looking for "xxx", then wonderful. However, you may consider having "xxxyyyandzzz.com" because of it's ability to be found through the search engines for it's keyword value of "xxx"...plus "yyy" and "zzz". Combined with a sound SEO strategy, this domain name approach can actually be much more fruitful than even a traditional one-word domain name.
For instance, depending on the nature of keyword development in the domain name, one may give themselves an advantage by being able to easily optimize for various keyword combinations such as:
[hypothetical example]
"xxx" - est. traffic = 1,000,000 total web queries / month
"xxxyyy" - est. traffic = 750,000 total web queries / month
"xxxzzz" - est. traffic = 500,000 total web queries / month
"yyyzzz" - est. traffic = 500,000 total web queries / month
"xxxyyyandzzz" - est. traffic = 250,000 total web queries / month
Therfore, increasing one's odds substantially for acquiring search-related traffic by having "xxxyyyandzzz.com" versus just "xxx.com".
This strategy can get very sophisticated (dependent upon business model, keyword opportunity, etc.), but this should give you an idea of the direction the web is likely moving.
Granted, this will not work for all. So one would have to understand their business model thoroughly. However, depending on the aggressiveness of your Internet and marketing strategy, you may find that multi-keyword-driven traffic through the search engines is exactly what you need to boost revenue or traffic for your organization...especially with the difficulty in finding those impossible-to-find one-word unregistered domains.
In other words, don't forget optimizability in the equation for your domain-name-appraisal! This is what has made Google larger than McDonald's in market capitalization. If you do, you'll be selling yourself short.
OptimyzDomains
--------------------------------------------------------------- www.OptimizedDomains.com - The Thought-Leader In Domain Name Theory And Search Engine Consulting
Congratulations! Of all the things that I have seen posted on the many forums that I am on, this thread has got the most realistic approaches ever posted! Just type "scientific domain appraisals" in Google, Yahoo and Alexa. Watch how this domain is usually ranked in the top 3. It's a 3-word domain, it has 26 characters and the content is opposite of what the domain ScientificDomainAppraisals.com says. The whole appraising industry is based upon pseudo-science, wishful thinking and hope for self-fullfilling prophecy. If Coca-Cola sells coca-cola.com and starts using coca-cola.info, would anybody notice it? Ranking is only necessary if You need new customers. But a domain by itself is indeed totally irrelevant and has no intrinsic value. And indeed it's web content that mainly determines ranking. And the TLD doesn't matter at all in ranking. If You do some thinking, You understand why backlinking is also irrelevant. But yes, people live from the ignorance of others. Why not? It's business.
A really good attempt to write down what most appraisers think, but, this is in my humble opinion one of the main reasons why most domain people must eventually give up. Whatever a million appraisers say, a domain will sell how, when, where, and for the price that a buyer agrees to pay. Because the seller must agree to that, it is the asking price that counts. If the seller says "No" there is no sale. There is by now enough proof that objective domain appraising is impossible because everybody sees different parameters and even different values for the same parameters. The only scientific approach is to follow the basics of supply and demand. The appraisal industry is created by demand for people who are desperate to sell anyway to anywho, even with pants down. Appraisers always advice to sell low, while the motto has always been to Buy Low - Sell High. Guess why. My provisory .pdf report can be downloaded for free at Yourdomainadvisor.com. Don't give away Your property - Sell it to people who do have money. Not to those who do get later $$$$$$ for it behind Your back.
very nice to see your post and i like to add few things that should be kept in mind while evaluating domains worth:- the name should signify the underlying Business, should be remembered easily.
The Internet, search engines, and the World Wide Web are indeed very scientific. They are based on emerging technologies, algorithms, linguistics, automation, artificial intelligence (i.e. latent semantic indexing), and more.
It's important for people to consider ALL of the factors when appraising domain names.
BTW, I posted this OptimizedDomains.com Domain Name Appraisal Guide in another thread, but it seems appropriate that we include it here to discuss it as well.
We created this to be a comprehensive and thorough guide to appraising domain names on the web...and a nice complement to all of the wisdom here on NamePros. However, we're always looking to update, enhance, and revise. (without trying to bore people to sleep, of course!)
Let me know what you think.
gausp23,
Agreed! We like to refer to this as domain name "memorability", or otherwise known as the ease at which one can remember a domain name. (check out the OD site to read more)
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And I am seriously upset when people tell potential buyers my prices are too high. 
