debate Are Appraisals really necessary?

They are useful for noobs and even pros sometimes. However, paid appraisals are a scam IMO.

uglydork said:

@Darryl Lopes and I had a fun twitter discussion this morning on the merits of domain name appraisals and their merit.
Do you need an appraisal and does it really matter?

Click to expand...

I think appraisals from pros have worth..else u would sell some gems in peanut prices...
but as i am seeing pros now dont give a sh*t about giving appraisals..

The number itself no the information offered however is valuable. Eg searches, backlinks if a site, rankings etc. You can make a better decision based on more information toward pricing.

Lord Antares said:

They are useful for noobs and even pros sometimes. However, paid appraisals are a scam IMO.

Click to expand...

That was my side of the discussion- worthless

Paid appraisals are worthless.

I do appraisals in the Appraisals section here to try and sharpen my own skills, and to give good feedback when I can. Unfortunately, 98% of the names people want appraisals on are trash, so it's not as fun as it should be.

Most of the time it's just rummaging through trash and crushing peoples' dreams.

uglydork said:

That was my side of the discussion- worthless

Click to expand...

They offer another tool in closing. Although domain sales history is ultimate tool a buyer and not domain owner maybe also buying the appraisal.

I feel that it’s a negotiation- the buyer and seller set a price no matter what someone tells you it’s worth.

uglydork said:

I feel that it’s a negotiation- the buyer and seller set a prune matter what someone tells you it’s worth.

Click to expand...

There is no denying that is what sets the price. Some people want a second opinion and their mate didn't sound confident enough.

I for one think without a wallet out to buy it all doesn't matter … if you don't want influence but I still feel there is something to be gained from my peers opinions as I am here.

barman said:

Unfortunately, 98% of the names people want appraisals on are trash, so it's not as fun as it should be.

Click to expand...

That's why I stopped doing it.

NYJimbo said:

That's why I stopped doing it.

Click to expand...

Sux to be the bearer of bad news I have had so many dislikes from being honest with appraisals that were utter rubbish.

lock said:

There is no denying that is what sets the price. Some people want a second opinion and their mate didn't sound confident enough.

Click to expand...

You are correct - if I felt I may be leaving money on the table I might reach out to someone I trust to help gauge the price

uglydork said:

You are correct - if I felt I may be leaving money on the table I might reach out to someone I trust to help gauge the price

Click to expand...

I always wanted to start a bit of a club doing freebies in a group on portfolios. eg You pick out top 10 give them a number or 2 whole sale retail and brief note. Do the same for a few others. Till you have a few different top lists of your own to compare how others felt.

Never look at the actual dollar amount, as that part is just guesswork, but it can be a viable tool to categorize a group of domains. i.e. those "valued at $5K or higher" will on average, be far more saleable than those "valued at less than $1K".

Appraisals are worthless. Would you have appraised Voice.com at 30 million? A domain is worth whatever a buyer will pay and not what someone appraises it at.

hookbox said:

Appraisals are worthless. Would you have appraised Voice.com at 30 million? A domain is worth whatever a buyer will pay and not what someone appraises it at.

Click to expand...

Yes! This!

hookbox said:

Appraisals are worthless. Would you have appraised Voice.com at 30 million? A domain is worth whatever a buyer will pay and not what someone appraises it at.

Click to expand...

Here's a test, go to any appraisal system and type in these:

Voice.com
Sjjdlueygs.com
Voicesingerforeveryoneintheworld.com

And please tell me which one is ranked at the top.

DomainRecap said:

Here's a test, go to any appraisal system and type in these:

Voice.com
Sjjdlueygs.com
Voicesingerforeveryoneintheworld.com

And please tell me which one is ranked at the top.

Click to expand...

Who cares. Of course Voice.com appraise at 30 million now. They always update names like this that sell with the current sale price.

uglydork said:

I feel that it’s a negotiation- the buyer and seller set a price no matter what someone tells you it’s worth.

Click to expand...

Just a separate viewpoint but isn't a professional appraisal a bargaining chip for the seller in this negotiation?

hookbox said:

Appraisals are worthless. Would you have appraised Voice.com at 30 million? A domain is worth whatever a buyer will pay and not what someone appraises it at.

Click to expand...

Respectfully disagree that they are worthless, merely not a guarantee of sales price. An appraisal can be used as a negotiating tool but ultimately what is paid is solely the buyers discretion.

hookbox said:

Who cares. Of course Voice.com appraise at 30 million now. They always update names like this that sell with the current sale price.

Click to expand...

So you're actually telling me that prior to the sale, Voice.com would not have finished as the top? Really?

Jason Baudendistel said:

Respectfully disagree that they are worthless, merely not a guarantee of sales price. An appraisal can be used as a negotiating tool but ultimately what is paid is solely the buyers discretion.

Click to expand...

I think what you'll find is that those who need to be talked up using this tactic, are never going to buy your name for the price you want.

The ones who are willing to pay, will do so without needing to see an appraisal.

Either a buyer knows the value of a good name or they don't. They're not going to drop thousands on it just because the random website you pointed them to says it's worthwhile.

Automated appraisals can be useful to parse through large lists of domains, but the actual number is rather meaningless.

Brad

Joe Nichols said:

I think what you'll find is that those who need to be talked up using this tactic, are never going to buy your name for the price you want.

The ones who are willing to pay, will do so without needing to see an appraisal.

Either a buyer knows the value of a good name or they don't. They're not going to drop thousands on it just because the random website you pointed them to says it's worthwhile.

Click to expand...

Exactly Joe, domainers talk in places like Namepros and domainer twitter and get this group think, that guess what? No one else anywhere on this planet cares about. There are more people in this world that will tell you why what you are doing for a living or a side hustle shouldn't even be legal (hoarding, rent seeking, extortion) than will ever say, "Oh thanks we had budgeted $1,000 but something called Estibot or Afternic professional appraisal said it was worth $30,000. Do you accept American Express?"