Many domainers list names at multiple marketplaces. They also review and adjust pricing periodically, taking into account market conditions, inventory replacement costs, and trends. If you price manually, it is easy to end up with some prices inconsistent across platforms.
Especially with a large portfolio, it can be challenging to keep pricing consistent. In June 2024, Brian Null posted the following request on X:
That request generated several responses, including @Bill Sweetman of NameNinja who suggested a site I had never used before, InstantDomainSearch.com. In this article I take a look at how this free site can be useful to domainers, as well as alternatives. But before we look at that, let’s look at why you should consider consistent pricing. Near the end of the article, I also look at the flip side of reasons not to price consistently.
Why Price Consistency
In a recent podcast at DomainNameWire, Advice for Selling More Domains, @Jeffrey Gabriel of Saw stressed the importance of listing domains across various marketplaces to lower barriers to purchase, and for many names to have buy-it-now pricing. The reason is simple: if someone goes looking for your name at a particular marketplace, they should be able to immediately buy there. As Jeff worded it, you are minimizing resistance to complete the purchase.
Jeff also suggested there should be consistency in pricing across marketplaces. Some buyers will search for the name various places. He argued that when prices are not consistent, that may shake confidence of the buyer, resulting in a lost sale.
Instant Domain Search
It is easy to use the free resource Instant Domain Search.com, and you don’t need to register for an account. In the search box simply enter the domain name. As an example I show the output for one of my domain names
On the right is a blue button with the price listed. If you click on that it will place the name in a GoDaddy shopping cart (so be sure to delete it should you accidentally click on the button). To the right of the Buy button is a pull down menu that shows pricing at various marketplaces. In this case it shows that this name is listed at both Afternic and Sedo, and at consistent prices. This name is also on Dan, but the service does not pick up Dan or Atom prices, based on my testing.
Checking Out The Competition
Another point that Jeff Gabriel made in the Advice for Selling More Domains interview was that you should check out pricing similar names that are listed for sale, and in most cases be competitive. The Instant Domain Search can also help with this.
As well as helping see if your pricing is consistent across marketplaces, Instant Domain Search also shows pricing for a number of alternative names (I only show part of the display above). This can be helpful to see if your name is priced competitively with similar names. For example, for this term I see that the .com and .ai are Make Offer, and the .app and .co are priced as shown.
The red WHOIS means the name is registered but not listed on the marketplaces that they check, while a green Continue button indicates that name is available to register.
I wasn’t really looking for a name generator, but the middle column ‘Suggestions’ generates some available .com options, while the right hand column ‘Domains For Sale’ shows some related names available on the aftermarket with prices.
I tried a few of the names I have listed on brandable marketplaces, and names on BrandBucket appear on Instant Domain Search, along with their listings on Afternic and Sedo that is done by BrandBucket. I tried names I had on BrandPa and Atom, but the listings on those marketplaces do not show currently.
ExpiredDomains Alternative
As I covered in Getting More From ExpiredDomains, you can use the ‘Domain Details’ of ExpiredDomains.net to show pricing of the term in a number of different extensions, as shown below. Note that ExpiredDomains.net picks up listings from Sedo, Dan and Dynadot, but not Afternic.
Wondering How You Priced Name In Past?
On some names I try different price points over time. I am not very organized in keeping track of these changes, and now and then I want to know my pricing history when negotiating a potential sale. Clicking on the black ‘Price History’ button in Instant Domain Search provides a graph of pricing over the years, as shown below for a different name in my portfolio. For this name it shows that I have tried pricing from $1495 to $4695, with current pricing $2495.
Note that the graph axis does not start at zero, which can be misleading. For a part of the period this particular name was registered, but not listed for sale on one of the marketplaces that Instant Domain Search covers. The site also tells me that there have been 11 price changes in the past 7 years.
This price history graph can also be helpful if you are wondering how the previous owner priced a name.
The price history provides intelligence if you are acting as a buy broker, or acquiring a name from another investor and trying to negotiate a better price.
NameMaxi
Another site suggested was NameMaxi.com. That site is also easy to use and free. You enter the domain name in a search bar at NameMaxi, and the site shows availability in a number of extensions, with pricing. I illustrate with an example below for one of my two-word .org names. NameMaxi currently tracks pricing from Afternic and Sedo, in this case showing my listing as well as the same term available in .io and .xyz.
NameMaxi also integrates valuation data, including HumbleWorth, and shows similar names available for sale.
Use A Service
Another option to maintain consistent pricing is to use a domain name management and listing service that integrates with the marketplaces. The main options are Efty, Domain.io and Sudos.
Note that it was recently announced that Aftermarket.com had purchased Domain.io, with developer @aoxborrow staying on as CTO. Domain.io will move from a subscription to a commission model. Read more at the NamePros discussion Domain.io Acquired by Aftermarket.com – Launching Soon. There is also discussion in the Official Domain.io Thread.
A recent NamePros AMA with of Efty founder @Doron Vermaat provides background on Efty and Efty Pay.
Complete Consistency is Impossible
Even if you think that price consistency across platforms is important, it is impossible to completely achieve. That is because some partners on the Afternic Fast Transfer and Sedo MLS networks mark up listed domain names. Also when brandable marketplaces list your names elsewhere the markup they apply leads to differential pricing.
Beyond those two factors, some markets add on the domain transfer fee, or taxes. Currency conversions also lead to price differences.
If trying to stay below a psychological or credit card limit barrier, like $5000, it is important to price such that it stays below this value even when the other fees are added.
What Do You Think?
Do you think it is important to maintain price consistency across marketplaces, or do you deliberately use differential pricing to make up for commission differences? Strictly speaking the Afternic ToS, changed when they introduced commission synchronization with Dan at 15-25% levels, says you can’t price differentially, but it would seem impossible to enforce.
Or do you prefer to have buy-it-now pricing at one marketplace only, with make offer at the others? This prevents the possibility of simultaneous sales at two places.
Do you deliberately price differently, so that a budget conscious buyer can feel they got a deal if they find one listing a bit lower than the others?
What solutions, other than the ones covered here, do you use to help check pricing on domain names?
Have you developed your own automated system to check pricing and lander functionality?
If you have not already done so, I would suggest listening to the complete podcast Advice for Selling More Domains with @Jeffrey Gabriel. He offers many valuable insights on topics including pricing, listing, competition, a professional presence, organization, and effective outbound email. For many years Andrew @DomainNameWire has offered a steady stream of informative podcasts with interesting guests, with this episode particularly noteworthy.
Thanks so much to Brian Null for posing the question about a tool to find prices at various marketplaces, and to @Bill Sweetman for suggesting Instant Domain Search.
Thank you to the developers of Instant Domain Search, NameMaxi and ExpiredDomains.net for offering valuable and free tools to our community.
I think visual presentation of displays from various tools and sites adds to clarity of the article. That is the only purpose for showing specific names, usually from my own portfolio, to demonstrate each option.
Especially with a large portfolio, it can be challenging to keep pricing consistent. In June 2024, Brian Null posted the following request on X:
That request generated several responses, including @Bill Sweetman of NameNinja who suggested a site I had never used before, InstantDomainSearch.com. In this article I take a look at how this free site can be useful to domainers, as well as alternatives. But before we look at that, let’s look at why you should consider consistent pricing. Near the end of the article, I also look at the flip side of reasons not to price consistently.
Why Price Consistency
In a recent podcast at DomainNameWire, Advice for Selling More Domains, @Jeffrey Gabriel of Saw stressed the importance of listing domains across various marketplaces to lower barriers to purchase, and for many names to have buy-it-now pricing. The reason is simple: if someone goes looking for your name at a particular marketplace, they should be able to immediately buy there. As Jeff worded it, you are minimizing resistance to complete the purchase.
Jeff also suggested there should be consistency in pricing across marketplaces. Some buyers will search for the name various places. He argued that when prices are not consistent, that may shake confidence of the buyer, resulting in a lost sale.
Instant Domain Search
It is easy to use the free resource Instant Domain Search.com, and you don’t need to register for an account. In the search box simply enter the domain name. As an example I show the output for one of my domain names
assistive.xyz.Screen output courtesy of Instant Domain Search.com which checks pricing at Afternic, Sedo and BrandBucket. Use the pull-down menu to the right of the Buy button to show pricing.
On the right is a blue button with the price listed. If you click on that it will place the name in a GoDaddy shopping cart (so be sure to delete it should you accidentally click on the button). To the right of the Buy button is a pull down menu that shows pricing at various marketplaces. In this case it shows that this name is listed at both Afternic and Sedo, and at consistent prices. This name is also on Dan, but the service does not pick up Dan or Atom prices, based on my testing.
Checking Out The Competition
Another point that Jeff Gabriel made in the Advice for Selling More Domains interview was that you should check out pricing similar names that are listed for sale, and in most cases be competitive. The Instant Domain Search can also help with this.
As well as helping see if your pricing is consistent across marketplaces, Instant Domain Search also shows pricing for a number of alternative names (I only show part of the display above). This can be helpful to see if your name is priced competitively with similar names. For example, for this term I see that the .com and .ai are Make Offer, and the .app and .co are priced as shown.
The red WHOIS means the name is registered but not listed on the marketplaces that they check, while a green Continue button indicates that name is available to register.
I wasn’t really looking for a name generator, but the middle column ‘Suggestions’ generates some available .com options, while the right hand column ‘Domains For Sale’ shows some related names available on the aftermarket with prices.
I tried a few of the names I have listed on brandable marketplaces, and names on BrandBucket appear on Instant Domain Search, along with their listings on Afternic and Sedo that is done by BrandBucket. I tried names I had on BrandPa and Atom, but the listings on those marketplaces do not show currently.
ExpiredDomains Alternative
As I covered in Getting More From ExpiredDomains, you can use the ‘Domain Details’ of ExpiredDomains.net to show pricing of the term in a number of different extensions, as shown below. Note that ExpiredDomains.net picks up listings from Sedo, Dan and Dynadot, but not Afternic.
Screen output courtesy of ExpiredDomains.net showing pricing for the same term in a variety of extensions. This is available under ‘Domain Details’ icon.
Wondering How You Priced Name In Past?
On some names I try different price points over time. I am not very organized in keeping track of these changes, and now and then I want to know my pricing history when negotiating a potential sale. Clicking on the black ‘Price History’ button in Instant Domain Search provides a graph of pricing over the years, as shown below for a different name in my portfolio. For this name it shows that I have tried pricing from $1495 to $4695, with current pricing $2495.
Screen output courtesy of Instant Domain Search.com showing the Price History feature.
Note that the graph axis does not start at zero, which can be misleading. For a part of the period this particular name was registered, but not listed for sale on one of the marketplaces that Instant Domain Search covers. The site also tells me that there have been 11 price changes in the past 7 years.
This price history graph can also be helpful if you are wondering how the previous owner priced a name.
The price history provides intelligence if you are acting as a buy broker, or acquiring a name from another investor and trying to negotiate a better price.
NameMaxi
Another site suggested was NameMaxi.com. That site is also easy to use and free. You enter the domain name in a search bar at NameMaxi, and the site shows availability in a number of extensions, with pricing. I illustrate with an example below for one of my two-word .org names. NameMaxi currently tracks pricing from Afternic and Sedo, in this case showing my listing as well as the same term available in .io and .xyz.
Screen output courtesy of NameMaxi.com. The service currently detects pricing at Afternic and Sedo.
NameMaxi also integrates valuation data, including HumbleWorth, and shows similar names available for sale.
Use A Service
Another option to maintain consistent pricing is to use a domain name management and listing service that integrates with the marketplaces. The main options are Efty, Domain.io and Sudos.
Note that it was recently announced that Aftermarket.com had purchased Domain.io, with developer @aoxborrow staying on as CTO. Domain.io will move from a subscription to a commission model. Read more at the NamePros discussion Domain.io Acquired by Aftermarket.com – Launching Soon. There is also discussion in the Official Domain.io Thread.
A recent NamePros AMA with of Efty founder @Doron Vermaat provides background on Efty and Efty Pay.
Complete Consistency is Impossible
Even if you think that price consistency across platforms is important, it is impossible to completely achieve. That is because some partners on the Afternic Fast Transfer and Sedo MLS networks mark up listed domain names. Also when brandable marketplaces list your names elsewhere the markup they apply leads to differential pricing.
Beyond those two factors, some markets add on the domain transfer fee, or taxes. Currency conversions also lead to price differences.
If trying to stay below a psychological or credit card limit barrier, like $5000, it is important to price such that it stays below this value even when the other fees are added.
What Do You Think?
Do you think it is important to maintain price consistency across marketplaces, or do you deliberately use differential pricing to make up for commission differences? Strictly speaking the Afternic ToS, changed when they introduced commission synchronization with Dan at 15-25% levels, says you can’t price differentially, but it would seem impossible to enforce.
Or do you prefer to have buy-it-now pricing at one marketplace only, with make offer at the others? This prevents the possibility of simultaneous sales at two places.
Do you deliberately price differently, so that a budget conscious buyer can feel they got a deal if they find one listing a bit lower than the others?
What solutions, other than the ones covered here, do you use to help check pricing on domain names?
Have you developed your own automated system to check pricing and lander functionality?
If you have not already done so, I would suggest listening to the complete podcast Advice for Selling More Domains with @Jeffrey Gabriel. He offers many valuable insights on topics including pricing, listing, competition, a professional presence, organization, and effective outbound email. For many years Andrew @DomainNameWire has offered a steady stream of informative podcasts with interesting guests, with this episode particularly noteworthy.
Thanks so much to Brian Null for posing the question about a tool to find prices at various marketplaces, and to @Bill Sweetman for suggesting Instant Domain Search.
Thank you to the developers of Instant Domain Search, NameMaxi and ExpiredDomains.net for offering valuable and free tools to our community.
I think visual presentation of displays from various tools and sites adds to clarity of the article. That is the only purpose for showing specific names, usually from my own portfolio, to demonstrate each option.
