debate Are Appraisals really necessary?

[uglydork]

@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?

 

[barman]

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.

 

[lock]

That's why I stopped doing it.

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

 

[bmugford]

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

Brad

 

[hookbox]

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.

 

[bmugford]

Domains are worth only what a buyer will pay - period.

That is only half the equation. You also need a willing seller.

I have turned down offers in the past where some potential buyer will say you will never get a higher offer, then I sell it for 10x or 20x that price.

It takes a willing buyer and a willing seller. Some single buyer willing to pay some amount has limited correlation to actual value IMO.

Brad

 

[uglydork]

This was all precipitated by a conversation I was having on twitter about Mike Manns sales. Im sorry of Im in the minority but I don't believe them all.
BUT......if those sales are real who would have them appraised at the prices in which they sell?
Domains are worth only what a buyer will pay - period.
I sold hatred.com by pure dumb luck at 6 figures. Was it appraised anywhere near that - hell no!
Its all perception and perception doesn't become reality until money exchanges hands no matter the made up valuation of some expert or machine

 

[NameBuyer.com]

That is only half the equation. You also need a willing seller.

I have turned down offers in the past where some potential buyer will say you will never get a higher offer, then I sell it for 10x or 20x that price.

It takes a willing buyer and a willing seller. Some single buyer willing to pay some amount has limited correlation to actual value IMO.

Brad

These are my favorites and there's something about it... When I get an email like this, I know a sale is going to happen in the near future.

If I priced the domain today, I would have upped it to over $20k. But still, much better than the $99 offered.

 

[Lord Antares]

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

 

[equity78]

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.

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?"

 

[Kassey Lee]

Do you need an appraisal and does it really matter?

No, what I need are genuine end users for my domains as better upgrade. The worst domain appraiser in the world

 

[BaileyUK]

There's probably only about 6 or 7 members here on namepros that are really capable of giving a fairly accurate assessment of a domains 'market' value. And to my knowledge none of them do appraisals.

Appraisal threads are basically for those who don't have a clue looking from reassurances from those that equally don't have a clue - and in most instances they receive it.

The recent "list your ten top domains" should've opened a lot of eyes to the very narrow band of active members that actually know this business well enough.

 

[manpreet]

Appraisals don't matter in case of trending domains, because the algorithm takes into the previous sales as one of its factors. Consider the Crypto domain names for example, most of the Crypto domains that sold for more than $5000 were actually appraised as less than $100 at all appraisal bots and tools.

 

[EmpireNames.com]

@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?

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..

 

[uglydork]

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

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

 

[DomainRecap]

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.

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.

 

[hookbox]

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.

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

 

[Joe N]

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.

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.

 

[BrandEntrance.com]

Domains are worth only what a buyer will pay - period.

Yes but there are millions of potential buyers and they all think differently, have different needs and different ways of valuing and of course different budgets... ergo... every domain has the potential to surprise everybody else.

 

[NYJimbo]

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

That's why I stopped doing it.

 

[Jason Baudendistel]

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.

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.

 

[DomainRecap]

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

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

 

[Joe N]

I have not personally. My point was more that especially in board/committee decisions an appraisal, if consistent with a price that they have almost accepted, will help them justify/have confidence and move forward.

In most cases I would agree. Just not when it comes to domain names, where the industry is unregulated and the appraisals are mostly automated.

Unless a company had a pre-existing relationship with a professional in the industry, any appraisal would be met with skepticism (as it should).

 

[equity78]

In most cases I would agree. Just not when it comes to domain names, where the industry is unregulated and the appraisals are mostly automated.

Unless a company had a pre-existing relationship with a professional in the industry, any appraisal would be met with skepticism (as it should).

Exactly there becomes this thing of who is qualified? Go ask Rick Schwartz or Mike Mann how many people in the entire world they believe are qualified to give a proper appraisal valuation on a domain name, I am willing to bet it would be less than 10 in the entire world.

What does an appraisal from an avatar mean? I joined Namepros last year let me evaluate your names. WOOHOO. Sure but first answer what I have always believed was the most important questions to anyone offering advice,

What do you own? What have you sold and what have you developed? After that is answered we can move forward.

@BaileyUK said it perfectly "Appraisal threads are basically for those who don't have a clue looking from reassurances from those that equally don't have a clue - and in most instances they receive it."

In an industry of echo chambers people are seeking reassurances because they have little to no self confidence in their own ability in buying and selling domain names.

 

[imadoer]

The world would be a better place with out the godaddy apprisal tool