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?

 

[hookbox]

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

Of course it would. A person would be a fucking idiot not to know that.

 

[Steve Andersen]

My small portfolio I ran through Estibot, Godaddy Appraisal, and NameWorth

Estibot 142K, Goddady 250K, NameWorth 1.1 M

I think value is a mutual place between buyer an seller if a mom and pop wanted EPIX for there store it would have less value to them where as a media giant wanting it to create a streaming/television channel. How much is that 4L worth as a brand.

To the seller how eager are they this creates value on their side. If you hold on value will rise if your just trying to make 2-5X cost that’s about all you will get.

 

[imadoer]

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

 

[lock]

If you are adding all your profiles appraisals together do not forget to consider that most domainers sell 2-5% of their portfolio you better divide that and subtract 95% for a number you can work against.

 

[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.

 

[Sheogorath]

Nonautomated appraisals from very experienced domainers can be useful.
Though in the end it's the waiting game, personal experience & knowledge and how much the buyer is willing to pay for the particular domain.
Comparable sales are lacking, one can't base the domain's value only on comparable sales.
There will always be more sales and statistics will change.

There can be a rich buyer who all of a sudden really likes a specific domain while the domain's owner is a domain investor who usually "overprice" his domains
The rich buyer may not care at all or even know that the domain is overpriced and buy it outright.
A corporation won't care if it is 5 or 7 figures or even 8 figures.
Voice.com $30M sale is the latest example.

No appraisal tool would have appraised Voice.com at 8 figures before this sale because there was simply not enough data to support such a price.
I imagine that 99% of domainers wouldn't dream of such a sale price for this particular domain.
If someone asked me to appraise it, I would have appraised this domain at low 7 figures and maybe if pushing it mid 7 figures End user(based on similar sales and the domain's potential).
The same goes for the early 7 figures domain sales in the late 90's and early 2000's.
There were no appraisal tools or established market prices in the beginning, only guesses of some "get rich quick" sums of money.

 

[domainer111]

I was going to post "it depends on who is giving the appraisal" .. but now I'm thinking it depends on the statement they make concerning the domain.

You could have a highly intelligent individual enter the domain sphere for the first time having previously made a small fortune trading in tea bags and coffee beans on Wall Street in the 1990s. Yes, I want to hear what she has to say.

A lot depends on the ego of the individual asking for the appraisal, the greater the ego, the more likely they will dump the advice anyhow.

 

[wwwweb]

Godaddy appraisal tool is great for worthless domains, not so great for premium domains.

 

[Emil K.]

This is the 'job' done by 'machines' based on several predefined parameters. Practical value - zero.

 

[Daniel Owens]

Estibot has set the industry standard for appraisal and in very helpful is estimating what a domain will sell for without it some people would sell too cheap or list too high. Domains usually sell for what they appraise at (if your using a reputable services). Godaddy's appraisals are also highly accurate