opinion Favorite Domain Appraisal Service

[DomainRex]

What are your favorite appraisal websites to use?

I been using Estibot & Godaddy for a while, started using Nameworth recently too

So far my favorite is probably Nameworth

 

[gilescoley]

Rule #1 of domaining:

Never use automated appraisal tools.

Seriously, they just pick random numbers. Dont waste your time with them. Email some end-users and thats how you'll find out how much its worth.

 

[cabotower]

epik...it is almost a mirror of estibot. it's unlimited and free.

 

[Name Trader]

What are your favorite appraisal websites to use?

I been using Estibot & Godaddy for a while, started using Nameworth recently too

So far my favorite is probably Nameworth

Nameworth? The valuer who gives you prices 10 time higher than everywhere else. I don't need to pay to live in cloud cuckoo land

 

[NameBuyer.com]

Nameworth? The valuer who gives you prices 10 time higher than everywhere else. I don't need to pay to live in cloud cuckoo land

But I like cloud cuckoo land.

I honestly haven't tried Nameworth .. but last I checked they seemed to be significantly more expensive then Estibot given my stronger usage. Just double checked again and even their $99/month wouldn't be enough for me. Plus as far as I know, they don't offer much in terms of data/metrics (which is what I place most value on if you didn't notice yet .. lol), although i could be wrong on that I suppose.

We are expensive. That is true. But my intention from this was never to make a bunch of money from the software. It might surprise you to hear, if I reduced my prices in half, I would be losing money at that point. If I cut them by 25%, I'd just about be breaking even after all expenses. NameWorth doesn't operate in a box, it burns a lot of data for each lookup.

I built NameWorth for one reason, because I couldn't get accurate estimates and for my next project it's imperative that valuation data at least be in-the-ballpark. Look at the current leases I have in one of my accounts (screen capture below). There are only 2 prices that are remotely in my favor. Any other industry does not work like this. If you go to a diamond shop and buy a ring, they say "look, it appraised for $4,000, but you got this great deal at only $1,450. But in the domain industry, it was the complete opposite. It is more like, "look, it appraised at $70, and you got totally ripped off at $15,000". It's not a good look from our buyer's perspective.



So I changed it. If NameWorth had even the slightest influence on GoDaddy upping their prices by 2-3X their old appraisal prices, then that is a win for all of us. Because the closer the appraisal price is to your price and my price, the better our chances are for closing that sale.

On a side note, it does depend what you are doing with the results. If you are doing 10,000 lookups on expiring names, that can get expensive and doesn't make sense. But if you are looking up 200-300 domains that you've already filtered, then it would be a great fit.

I've also used it to stop myself from renewing bad domains. I've saved $5,810 in the last 10 months doing this by cutting my bottom 570 domains which I keep track of in a google spreadsheet. So in this case it would have been worth the $24.95 per month...for me, at least, but I have close to 7,000 domains.

Rule #1 of domaining:

Never use automated appraisal tools.

Seriously, they just pick random numbers. Dont waste your time with them. Email some end-users and thats how you'll find out how much its worth.

My #1 rule of domaining is always use as much information as possible and save time. The engine is built on logic, built on linguistics, built on competition and demand. Everything that would take you 10 minutes to research, but it does it in about a second. Then you can use your remaining 9 minutes and 59 seconds to scrutinize the results to ensure you don't overpay.



If you take Mike Mann's sale of aptum for $94,888, I would guess that maybe, at best, 1-2% of the people on here would guess a figure close to that price. Yet, voila there it is. Now use the rest of your time to verify and adjust!

Last but not least. Price for big buyers, and adjust down to mom & pop businesses. I have the domain TheSchoolOfDance(dot)com. To a mom and pop business it is worth maybe a few thousand, but to a corporate company rolling out 10 locations in major cities, then how much is it worth? I have a $25,000 price on it, but a mom & pop business had no problem reaching out to me with a $2,500 offer.

 

[NameBuyer.com]

They're all majorly flawed.

Best one is GoDaddy's by far.

It always perplexes me to read comments like these from Pros. What I find most of the time is they've never even run 10 results through the tool.

Okay lets take a REAL look...

NOT. EVEN. IN. THE. SAME. GALAXY.



Keep in mind, NameWorth has no knowledge of actual sales prices beyond general parameters that I've set.

Here's my favorite one. I came across this today because I'm brokering Stable(dot)com, and someone writes me saying it should be priced at $50,000 because that's what Think.com sold for last year. I was thinking "there's no way that think.com sold for that amount", so I looked and sure enough...it did not.

But what did sell at $50,000 was thiink.com with 2 "i"s. What was even more interesting were the comments about this sale, many times from industry experts. No one knew how it could sell for that much apparently, but if you look at the detailed NameWorth results, it's pretty obvious.

Let me just summarize by saying, if you have a domain that is registered in 31 extensions, with 91 similarly named domains taken, and 8 active websites including some that are legitimate businesses...please don't sell it for only $5,000. Regardless of what you or I personally think of the name, you have to look at the data, because others out there thiink the complete opposite.

Once I pointed out the error, I jokingly offered the prospect the equivalent "stablle.com" with 2Ls for a huge discount at $10,000. But we all should know stablle.com is not worth hardly anything.

If I were to get the smallest sliver of support from half the people at the top of the industry, the tool would have an unreal amount of accuracy and detail. But instead of support & comradery for collaborative ideas, there is often a negative vibe, or even statements that negate the use of any kind of valuation tools in general. I can tell you that the majority of the time, people making these blanket statements about the tool not working, have never even logged in, and if they have, they definitely haven't tried it in the last few months. Do you know how many times these professionals have emailed me about a specific problem with the results? Zero.

Why tear down something another industry peer is creating when the whole purpose of the tool is to help the industry move away from inaccurate valuations? The whole reason I created NameWorth is because accuracy in domain valuations was non-existent. Of of a random sample of 20 domains I had recently leased or sold in 2018, only 2/20 appraisals were remotely in my favor. This is for the improvement of the industry, not some type of money grab. For the thousands of hours I've put into this project, my hourly rate would be right around $10 per hour if I calculated it out. If I'm making almost $100k per year in profit from domain investing with very little hours, why would I continue this NameWorth project if I'm making so little per hour, unless to help the industry and develop something reliable?

As a professional, I've personally viewed the results for over 100,000 lookups going through the tool. For another professional to comment that it doesn't work without even putting through 10 results is beyond irresponsible. If you don't know, just say "I don't know...never tried it.". Even neutrality would be better than the negative talk if the person has no experience using it. If you're a professional and see some things that are out of line, send me an email. Let's improve it together.

During my first 5 years out of college, I worked as a developer for Intel Corporation. If anyone is familiar with Moore's law, the same ideology applies to nearly any complex problem. While Moore's law is specific to microprocessors, the idea that "whatever has been done, can be outdone" is a principle all of us should try to achieve. Both personally and as a community.

Keep in mind, the NameWorth tool has barely been out for 1 year, and already it's getting results like this. If I can up the amount I'm spending each month on the tool, and execute the plans I have in mind in the next 6-24 months for NameWorth, by version 3-4 it will be hard to argue with the results**(see below). I'm not willing to take a personal loss of $20k per year putting these additional improvements into the tool before the level of support for the tool is there, but NameWorth will get there in the next 2 years. NameWorth has almost double the subscribers than it had 3 months ago, and even on the current path, by 2021 version 3 will release, and by 2022 version 4 will be in place. Each of these version releases will have significant data and accuracy improvements. If some of my new projects are successful, it will happen even faster because I'll be much more willing to take the personal loss since NameWorth is integrated with those solutions.

**To a degree domains are subjective, so no tool is going to guess the exact amount you should sell or pay for a domain, but it can give you an accurate starting range that is consistent when compared across all domains. It will look much better for you to say you want $300,000 for a domain that is appraising at $75,000 than it is for a domain that is incorrectly appraising at $2,000.

It seems like the biggest argument so far is: "but I'm a professional domain investor and know how to price domains perfectly..."; Newsflash, your customers need validation, even if you don't! You can say you tell your customers about comps and how valuable domains are as investments/asset. That is great, but when is the last time you bought a car or house and made the seller your "source" for honest analysis on the price. Never. Everyone needs a third party source for validation. You are on the opposite side of the negotiation table, not the same side. As a broker, you may be able to get to the middle of the table, but you are still not sitting on the same side as the buyer.

If you used a page like this with accurate estimates, would that not be a gigantic advantage to your negotiating position?

I'd like to conclude that I do get support by many, and I truly appreciate those of you who do. This is the only reason NameWorth has seen the growth it has, and the only reason version 3 & 4 are viable in the next couple years. Thank you!

 

[Ategy]

A) Title Question: Favorite Domain Appraisal Service?

Answer: My brain! Honestly, when looking for a price on individual non-liquid domains I would have just as much faith in the Easter Bunny than on any existing automated algorithm valuation. Some might get things close to being accurate from time to time .. but at the moment NOTHING beats a solid informed and educated human opinion. But by educated I specifically mean (1) someone with a strong grasp of all elements of domaining .. and (2) someone with good knowledge of the industry related to the domain in question.

I don't mean you need to be an astronaut to sell a "space" related domain. But you should have a bit of knowledge on the subject and/or invest a bit of time on Google learning about the industry and potential buyers. Effectively to guestimate with relative accuracy (1) the likely sales multiple and (2) the likely sales through rate.


B) Question in the First Post: What are your favorite appraisal websites to use?

Answer: I am a happy paying customer of @estibot.com despite me saying individual automated valuations on non-liquid domains are worthless. So that should give you an idea that I place a LOT of value on the rest of the data and tools Estibot provides customers. Also .. on the macro level valuations are good to help find a few domains you might have missed .. and also make you double check if you placed too much value on other domains.


I honestly haven't tried Nameworth .. but last I checked they seemed to be significantly more expensive then Estibot given my stronger usage. Just double checked again and even their $99/month wouldn't be enough for me. Plus as far as I know, they don't offer much in terms of data/metrics (which is what I place most value on if you didn't notice yet .. lol), although i could be wrong on that I suppose.

Auctions are the most accurate imo

I know what you mean .. but not really ..

1) First of all, with the exception of headline domains, auctions are mostly wholesale settings. If all potential end users were aware of the auction then I would agree with you .. but unfortunately we are far from that reality (or fortunately depending on your domaining strategies .. lol)

2) Even of the ones that are wholesale .. there are MANY that simply never even get seen because there are upwards of 100,000 domains at auction every day when you combine domain reseller auction, expiration auctions and domains potentially available at the drop. They all pass through an auction system .. but simply don't get any bids so it doesn't seem like it.

Domaining and Domains are one of the most "inefficient" markets in the world. It's how the few of us who make money actually make our money. Because we're able to find hugely underpriced domains and flip them at very high multiples. Which is almost the only way to make money domaining unless you're working in the 5-figure range where it's perfectly fine to sell at lower multiples because your probabilities of sale are significantly higher to make up for it.

 

[frank-germany]

this discussion is really stupid
and has been done a trillion times

use your brain


I sold that name for $8500 USD
via afternic
and godaddy knows it

estibot is even more dumb

 

[Sutruk]

It is always "funny" to see how many domainers spend thousands in gd auctions just because they see a gd appraisal over $3000 or $5000.
Whatever sh*t valued over $4000, there you will see dozens of bidders bidding for hundreds or thousands of dollars.
It's amazing the lack of self-appraisal for what they are buying, and the gd appraisal relying of many domainers.
GD has a low bidding day? No prob. They will appraise a few average domains over $3000 and there will be dozens of people bidding for whatever it is.

Man, think a little for yourself and stop relying on GD appraisals for your bids!

Now to the related question. My favorite domain appraisal service? Me, myself and I.

 

[frank-germany]

what all these tools do
is weaken your position in a negotiation

as a domainer
I see no good reason to support them

if you don't know why a domain is worth and what it's worth
why the heck do you own it in the first place?

 

[The Durfer]

Freevaluator.com is a hidden gem. try it out. It has a appraisal tool and they let the community vote on the value also..

Come to think about it, Namepros should buy the rights to this website. It would blend well with the domain community here, also.

 

[Ategy]

FYI .. CurrencyCrypto.com is not a worthless domain.

It's worthless linguistically .. but not in terms of a brand. I have no idea what it could be worth since I don't know that market well enough .. but it's certainly not $0 .. and not $100 .. likely even more than $1000.

There are TONS of 2 word combinations out there that don't make linguistic sense. MOST of them totally would suck as a brand. More than most in fact .. lol. But some are simply cool sounding. Or others simply have so much weight between the words that as long as you can say it, there's some value (as is the case with CurrencyCrypto.com). It's certainly not even worth 1% of CryptoCurrency.com .. but ask yourself how much is CryptoCurrency worth? Easily upper 6 figures for sure .. more likely into 7-figures for an aggressive buyer. I think $8k is high for CurrencyCrypto.com .. but I wouldn't say impossible on a day Bitcoin jumps 25%! lol


There are some words that can have value before and after if they make sense as both a noun and an adjective. A good example of that is the word "Expert". TeaExpert is what you'd first expect to be the only way it works. But when you think about it ExpertTea works just as well but differently. TeaExpert would be good if you want to put the focus on the people (tea services) .. but ExpertTea is better to brand a product because it implies the Tea is of "Expert" quality.

CurrencyCrypto however doesn't really have too much of that reverse possibility. But the words are still so incredibly strong enough that it's borderline usable at a fraction of the cost. It's a bad example because it's truly an exception because CryptoCurrency is such a valuable term and domain.

 

[gilescoley]

My #1 rule of domaining is always use as much information as possible and save time. The engine is built on logic, built on linguistics, built on competition and demand. Everything that would take you 10 minutes to research, but it does it in about a second. Then you can use your remaining 9 minutes and 59 seconds to scrutinize the results to ensure you don't overpay.

Thanks, I will pass on using any of them. I prefer to do my own research and that way I know its correct and I can then find out the true value of the domain by approaching buyers with the name

 

[Samer]

epik appraisal is even bigger BS than those above

Show attachment 152602

Wrong. We said before epik is same as estibot

Only difference epik not cowards; “under $100”

Estibot is $35; Epik makes it clearer. Nice try.
Epik is 100% free, unlike estibot’s “1 a day”

 

[frank-germany]

Wait, are you saying that you sold that domain name?

via afternic indeed

 

[gilescoley]

If appraisals are so bad and I am breaking the first rule of domaining by using them, then why does Godaddy, the #1 registrar, put so much emphasis on them? Why does NameWorth say I get the "real market value" from their appraisals? And, Estibot appraisals say it is the "fair market value"? I mean you say it's the first rule I'm breaking. These big company's are telling me otherwise. Should I trust you or Godaddy, NameWorth and Estibot?

Why do you think? This is business, they want you to register the names with them, thats why they're the #1 registrar, new domainers are suckers for nice inflated appraisals on average names, makes them think they can sell it for that appraisal price. Get one of your names, get the GD appraisal price, then try sell it for that, the only way to prove my point is in the actual sales, and I mean regular sales. It just wont happen. Its always better to learn domain value yourself or get human appraisals on here.

Nameworth and Estibot are small companies by the way.

 

[Samer]

yes, all auto tools are reference only, value can not be determined by them, we should not decide by them

So I picked GD because its fast, no login, unlimited, etc. Certainly sometimes, in some special events, I'll try others

You dont need account for estibot; I think you mean "free"

acc costs money. I dont have acc; I use 1 free a day.

Go here; https://appraise.epik.com
As mentioned before, It's same as estibot -- yet free, "fast" no accounts.

 

[frank-germany]

Wrong. We said before epik is same as estibot

Only difference epik not cowards; “under $100”

Estibot is $35; Epik makes it clearer. Nice try.
Epik is 100% free, unlike estibot’s “1 a day”

Show attachment 152605

@Samer
your support of epik is ridiculous

I sold that name for $8500 USD

 

[Samer]

@Samer
your support of epik is ridiculous

I sold that name for $8500 USD

Nobody is disputing that. i argue “most bs all.”

Since Epik and estibot are virtually the same; only Epik more specific esti’s “less than $100.”

Epik shouldnt be penalized for that.

Trust me, I dont take auto valuations as “bible”. We dont need your awesome sale prove that, although it was cool to see; you the goat, even more amazing was .us; u broke the appraisals. “does not compute”! lol

Point; Epik not “most bs” more specific than estibot’s under 100” not fair. Theyre all BS Epik is not the “most bs of all top”
if anything, being only free one, least bs of all.

 

[AbdulBasit.com]

My own experience.

 

[Peak.Domains]

@Samer What are you even disagreeing with lol

 

[Ategy]

There are two other very important things people overlook.

1) "Valuations" only show us what our potential multiple could be. The equally crucial number that is usually missing is "probability of sale" (sell-through-rate).

The truth is that many of those garbage domains listed with a GoDaddy value of $1000 are indeed worth $1000 .. but the missing ingredient is that it only has a 0.001% chance of selling (literally a 1 in 100,000 chance of selling in a year is not an exaggeration for many domains .. many are far worse) .. thus while *if* it would sell the buyer would pay $1000 .. but it's still a garbage domain that will lose you all your money if you keep buying such domains because you won't sell nearly enough domains to pay for the 99,999 other 0.001% chance domains you didn't sell)

2) The value of a domain is only one part metrics. There are also other factors involved like the buyer's wallet and understanding of domains .. and .. sometimes .. dumb luck! In fact .. there's a LOT of luck involved in domaining. That's specifically why looking at value of individual domains is fairly useless. However, when you take a step back to the macro-level and look at probabilities of certain classes of domains, then with a bit of volume all that luck does indeed filter down to more refined and usable values. From there you can guestimate the "theoretical value" of individual domains .. and from there you can make a judgement call if it's worth acquiring it at a specific price point or less.


The best analogy I could give is a casino ..

You sit down at a table and place a bet and you have no clue what will happen. However given 10,000 similar hands you can start to get an idea of the probabilities. From there you can go back and take that knowledge and apply it to if and how you should bet individual hands.

 

[gilescoley]

what all these tools do
is weaken your position in a negotiation

as a domainer
I see no good reason to support them

if you don't know why a domain is worth and what it's worth
why the heck do you own it in the first place?

Exactly, that is spot on!! Do your research on a domain, find potential buyers and once you look at a name and go "OK, that will be an easy name to sell to any of those buyers" then you go and buy the name.

Why register a name and then enter it in 4 different appraisal tools and get 4 different values between $20 and $10K? How does that help someone who doesnt know the value of a name.

You have to see value in the name and should only ask for an appraisal as confirmation of this.

 

[7363824]

I noticed Nameworth gives much higher valuations than Estibot or Godaddy. Honestly though I don't trust any automated valuations. The only one I would consider maybe paying for is Estibot and that would really only be for the data they provide aside from the valuation. (But I don't even do that)

 

[Peak.Domains]

Auctions are the most accurate imo