Appraise Carefully

[S-B]

Over the years, I have seen all sorts of appraisals here (mostly reg fee). Obviously this is a subjective exercise. With that being said, the most dangerous thing you can do is feed the inner ego into thinking the domain is worth more than it is. Too many times have I found solid names hidden in the appraisal section. Unfortunately, the good domains usually have obscenely high appraisals.

Easy 7-figures

$100k minimum

some other bs goes here

The problem is sometimes people are willing to pay market value for it today and you failed to mention that it'd be a 20 year hold to get the price you quoted. I know everyone has the best intentions when appraising a domain but seriously think about what you're saying. Easy 7-figures? $100k minimum? Come on. There is a blatant disconnect between the advice you're giving and reality. Sure you can say one day someone will pay that. Would you bet your house on it? Would you make an offer in that range for it? Have you ever sold domains of that caliber? How many? 1? Oh, that's certainly representative of the majority of domains out there.

For all of you who own domains that actually get offers... if you've had 10 offers around the same price... surprise you found it's liquid value.

*end rant*

 

[matrigaldo]

There are a lot of unrealistic appraisals here, in my opinion, and not only those obscenely high appraisals like $100k or 7 figures, which are quite rare.

Sometimes even $xxx or $x,xxx would be a surreal appraisal, especially for random new gTLDs domain names, but still.....

 

[garptrader]

Despite years of disappointing results in this industry, I continue to believe domains as brands are grossly underappreciated. Most developers and small businesses will brand around reg fee domains despite the fact that they will spend serious money on website content, development, advertising and misc business expenses. As a financial professional I have seen the spending of small and large businesses which blow away what end users are typically willing to spend on a domain. In ten years in this industry I have had only a small number of sales over $1500. Yet on my desk at work I have close to $100 million of invoices.

However, developers and businesses unwillingness to open their wallets on domain names is just the reality we must face at the moment. .COM might have a chance at being appreciated five years down the road as internet real estate but it appears anything else may take a decade or longer if ever. Businesses have the resources to spend $XXXX or more on a domain name but 99% of the time they pay no more than $50.

 

[NameAcquisitions]

Not to get on a side note, but well stated. We're just in the infancy of this market. Today I was emailing some biz operators that their category defining .com was for sale, by me. One owner, who would clearly benefit from the name IMMENSELY, as it would allow him to stand above the other competitors in the market with authority (2 hyphens in the current domain!), told me the name was absolutely worthless and he'd not even offer $1 for it.

Everyone "gets" the value of a good piece of real estate. One day, everyone will get the same importance of digital RE.

In that regard, I'd like to think some of the appraisals are just "early"

 

[S-B]

In that regard, I'd like to think some of the appraisals are just "early"

That's true but as I noted no one expresses the importance of waiting 10+ years to achieve that price. It's all pretty silly.

 

[garptrader]

I live in downtown West Palm Beach. There is a real estate agency on Clematis Street which uses a triple-hyphenated domain name. Yet from what I understand lease costs in the area run five figures monthly or basically six figures annually. When we were looking for an apartment they told me I would be unable to find anything under $2000 to $2500 monthly. One real estate sale can yield an agency a low five-figure commission yet most agencies I have tried to market geo+real estate .COM domains to (unsuccessfully) operate on reg fee domains (OK I have sold a couple for low $xxxx but those sales were not the result of outbound marketing efforts).

 

[baseballworld]

Most appraisals are early and seller abilityis a huge factor. some domains if your sales pitching and rebutles suck then no timeframe s gonna fix it. Sales training is.

 

[N-A]

Sometimes I visit the appraisal sections when I'm feeling blue...

 

[baseballworld]

Its not that there light years away always or wrong they lack the information. there should be reasons why it could sell that price and why in ranges lower and higher even in some cases. I will be honest I see a lowball appraisal with no reasoning I think 2 things.
1. Guys a reseller wants to flip it.
2. Guy sucks at sales if this is all he can manage to negotiate.

 

[S-B]

Its not that there light years away always or wrong they lack the information. there should be reasons why it could sell that price and why in ranges lower and higher even in some cases. I will be honest I see a lowball appraisal with no reasoning I think 2 things.
1. Guys a reseller wants to flip it.
2. Guy sucks at sales if this is all he can manage to negotiate.

It's true but statistically I'd bet the owner isn't going to get 6-figures for a domain on NamePros that had questionable enough value to put in an appraisal forum. Just saying.

 

[baseballworld]

Your right most names.on a reseller forum cannot ever expect to sell that high. Would have to be a gem.

 

[johnn]

Never a believer of Appraisal.

A Real Appraisal Would Be "How Much Are You Willing To Pay for The Name"
Again this would not apply if you are a Low Baller!!!

 

[baseballworld]

Never a believer of Appraisal.

A Real Appraisal Would Be "How Much Are You Willing To Pay for The Name"
Again this would not apply if you are a Low Baller!!!

I have said that first line for years with all sales. Feels good to hear others say it.

 

[S-B]

This happened to me recently. The owner went from almost selling at low 5-figures to wanting mid to upper 6-figures. I told him that everyone will tell you your domain is a gem but none of them will make an offer anywhere near their appraisal.

 

[Kate]

An appraisal is always an optimistic scenario - if the stars align right, but you have to consider the likelihood of a sale, statistically speaking.
A name can easily be worth $,$$$ if you find an interested end user. But that end user might never materialize, given that there is limited demand for aftermarket domain names, therefore little liquidity.
So the figure on paper is just theory.
A good domain name should appeal to a wide range of potential end users. That increases the odds that one of them will buy.

The problem is that there is no shortage of 'decent' names, still 99% will never sell simply because there isn't enough demand. it's not enough to have 'decent' names, you need great names. Domainers just don't aim high enough.
If you buy a handreg today it's almost guaranteed it has no resale value. Unless you are lucky or experienced. But when you are experienced enough, you stop asking for appraisals because you are confident enough about your purchases (but you could still be wrong).

 

[S-B]

An appraisal is always an optimistic scenario - if the stars align right, but you have to consider the likelihood of a sale, statistically speaking.
A name can easily be worth $,$$$ if you find an interested end user. But that end user might never materialize, given that there is limited demand for aftermarket domain names, therefore little liquidity.
So the figure on paper is just theory.
A good domain name should appeal to a wide range of potential end users. That increases the odds that one of them will buy.

The problem is that there is no shortage of 'decent' names, still 99% will never sell simply because there isn't enough demand. it's not enough to have 'decent' names, you need great names. Domainers just don't aim high enough.
If you buy a handreg today it's almost guaranteed it has no resale value. Unless you are lucky or experienced. But when you are experienced enough, you stop asking for appraisals because you are confident enough about your purchases (but you could still be wrong).

Hell, most backorders have little resale value. The industry is changing. It's dominated by newcomers who want brand bucket domains. Mid to high end domains just aren't as liquid as they once were.

 

[Nsmith91]

I consider the appraisal section as a another option to test an audience on the "appeal" of a domain. I appreciate it's use but I'm not inclined to use it in my negotiations. A few of the domains I have sold recently for low $xxx-$x,xxx were appraised at reg. fee or didn't even receive one comment.

I agree there can be a huge disconnect with us domainers in having a fairly valuable domain name AND finding an ENDUSER willing to pay for it. Some names are strong enough to attract their own traffic and endusers. Other names require some promotion, outcall efforts, salesmanship, etc.

Appraisals are to be taken with a grain a salt for sure. A domain is worth what someone else is willing to pay for it! I continue to learn from the experienced in the industry. Salesmanship, a little bit of luck and timing will determine if we can sell a name and get close to the price we desire for it.
I'm not a developer or web designer so I do rely on my own salesmanship skills and some LUCK! lol

 

[matrigaldo]

I consider the appraisal section as a another option to test an audience on the "appeal" of a domain. I appreciate it's use but I'm not inclined to use it in my negotiations. A few of the domains I have sold recently for low $xxx-$x,xxx were appraised at reg. fee or didn't even receive one comment.

Exactly, the appraisal section is more a way to test the domain into the domaining world, but end-user sales can't be really considered.
You can also registered a domain like gdf8sdan9.com and nobody will tell you it's valuable. But it's not impossible to find a person interested in this exact letters-numbers combination, who knows. As a reseller / domainers i would never buy a domain like this, but as end-user i follow my needs only, and you can't know the needs of all the potential end-users in the world.
(well, this one yes, it's impossible).

 

[DomainVP]

I gave an appraisal to someone who I spoke with often. People were giving him six-figure appraisals on a good name, I thought it was mid-high 5 fig - and he got all butt-hurt and never spoke to me again.

 

[Cdomains]

Appraisals are mostly worthless.

A domain's value is determined by what someone is willing to pay for it at the time it is sold.

Just look at the difference in selling prices at NameBio for a given domain.

They go up or down in value with each change of ownership.

A domain might go for 10k in 2011 and five years later only fetch 1k.

How do you explain the difference when there is no real marker for value.

It is what someone was willing to pay for it at that point in time.

Excluding obvious high value liquid domains such as one, two, and three letter domains, and generic one word dictionary domains of course.

However, to a degree these domains also will be sold for what someone is willing to pay although they do seem to have more of a known value range than lesser domains.

 

[fatter]

I wouldn't take for free most names in appraisal sections, people should post a Poll when they want feedback. I wont post a comment on a worthless domain because while most people say they want honest opinions, they really don't, kinda like the wife saying does this dress make me look fat?