For all those that put your faith in esitbot...

[wwwweb]

Many times when I get to an buy offer counteroffer situation, I always hear esitbot says it is worth this much etc etc.. Frustration sets in, as estibot, does not know what is going on in the world today, it is a bunch of code and syntax programming language... sometimes decent... sometimes not...

So I go to do some random fact finding, type in solar.com, maybe domain is worth XX,XXX amount or maybe even XXX,XXX, well estibot says it is worth $40.

Just another bump in the road, and it works both ways.

 

[WordWalker]

I do not put much faith in the auto appraisals. Just tried a domain. Estibot was reg fee and swift appraisal was 5-7K. Quite a difference. Swift appraisal is a better free tool I think. Asks for more information.

Until appraisals are based on an actual meeting of the minds between respective buyers and sellers, at best, appraisals are a very rough approximation as to value. I would prefer to see Estibot use a range of value, so instead of giving a price of $X,XXX, perhaps Estibot could use a range of value with explanatory notes.

When Estibot appraises a domain, it doesn't know whether conditions of a future sale are likely to be more favorable to the buyer or the seller. For example, if the domain iAstronaut.com received an Estibot appraisal of $1,000, is this the result of a seller who is under pressure to meet overdue financial obligations or is this a major live auction event being attended by one or more companies gearing-up to launch tourists into suborbital space.

The range of value might include four different categories:

Firesale: Must sell immediately. Seller needs the cash yesterday.

Domainer ("low book"): Based on a reasonable "wholesale" value agreed upon between two domainers - neither of whom are faced with a burning motivation to buy or sell.

End User ("high book"): An end user in the process of launching a business who needs a domain name, and is considering several, but if the price is too high, he or she is willing to look elsewhere.

Ideal Selling Conditions: The domain name and the business are perfectly matched.The buyer has a very strong preference for a specific name and is willing to pay for it.

Using this scenario, it's possible that iAstronaut.com might have a range of value between $250 and $100,000. One appraisal can't even begin to address the circumstances that shape the ultimate selling price of domain name.

What Estibot excels at is dealing with page after page of domain names that would be impossible to evaluate without the tools they offer. The following domains could not have been found without the assistance of Estibot. From tens of thousands of daily deleting domain names Estibot helped me to narrow a single day list of drops to what appears below. Estibot's opinion of value wasn't significant or even necessary to this undertaking!

ActOfTreason.com
AftermarketAutomotiveParts.com
BathOrganizers.com
BestTravelTrailers.com
BirdingSpottingScopes.com
BlockInstantMessaging.com
BodyPaintingPhotos.com
CalculateCaloriesBurned.com
CdDeposit.com
ChampagneGiftDelivery.com
CheapestMovingCompany.com
ClipArtBackground.com
CostumeSkirts.com
CustomizeToolbar.com
CustomPhoneNumber.com
DecorativeJewelryBoxes.com
DiagrammingSoftware.com
DiscussionStarters.com
DviHdtv.com
EastAve.com
FairyNecklaces.com
FashionDollClothing.com
FastFoodFranchiseOpportunity.com
FauxFurMaterial.com
FinanceCourseOnline.com
FreePatrioticMusic.com
FriesianMare.com
FrontYardGardens.com
FunnyCouplesCostumes.com
GlassWallPartitions.com
GlobalInvestmentManagement.com
GranitePolishingTools.com
HalogenLightFixture.com
HandMadeBeadedBracelets.com
HealingBurns.com
HowToStartABedAndBreakfast.com
InternationalFlightBooking.com
InternationalShippingService.com
ItBachelorDegreeOnline.com
KickingTechniques.com
LaptopRisers.com
LargeTeddyBear.com
LcdPcMonitors.com
LipPrints.com
MedicationForAdhd.com
MeditationPosture.com
MensSteelToeBoots.com
MiniCowboyHats.com
MiniWineCellars.com
OnlineHealthEducation.com
OrchidBridalBouquets.com
OutdoorLightedSign.com
OutdoorLightedSigns.com
PaintPreparation.com
PaperPacks.com
PlasticFoodStorageContainer.com
PortableMovieScreen.com
PregnancyOver35.com
PrisonOutfit.com
RecoveryFromStroke.com
RemoveIngrownHair.com
RenoCommercialRealEstate.com
RoseGoldBangles.com
RvLedLights.com
SalsaIngredients.com
ScreenTShirt.com
ScsiHostAdapter.com
SecComplaints.com
SexyLeatherDress.com
SilverCandelabras.com
SlateColor.com
StaticTesting.com
SuperHerosCostumes.com
TeacherTrainingCourse.com
TenseMuscles.com
ToasterReview.com
TranslateSites.com
TroyOunceSilver.com
VelcroPants.com
VictorianCallingCards.com
VintageBeadedPurses.com
VintageSwingDresses.com
VintageTotes.com
WineGiftDelivery.com

Estibot offers an incredible set of analysis tools, and if you think it's all about tossing out an estimated value of a domain name, you don't understand where the real value is.:imho:

 

[daj]

I know Estibot offers other great tools, and is free after all but their appraisals I find aren't reliable.

For example as a test. I saw that f*cka.com was ending on Sedo for $851. Beta.estibot.com indicated the domain was worth $1,200 before it sold for $851. It now says it's worth $3,500.

I don't understand how the appraisal for the domain went up $2,300 dollars over what the domain was originally appraised at just hours before.

Sedo Aucton Archive: Bidding History*-*Sedo.com
Estibot Appraisal Before: http://i46.tinypic.com/2w7islc.png
Estibot Appraisal After: http://i49.tinypic.com/2cz1obm.png

I know that the domain market constantly fluctuates, but just in a matter of hours F*cka.com is worth $2,300 more than what Estibot originally appraised it at before the domain sold on Sedo. Simply amazing! Tip for the buyer: Don't forget to sell it on there and see if any of the 4 potential in-network buyers will actually buy it for the amount it says it's worth.

 

[WordWalker]

I know Estibot offers other great tools, and is free after all but their appraisals I find aren't reliable.

For example as a test. I saw that f*cka.com was ending on Sedo for $851. Beta.estibot.com indicated the domain was worth $1,200 before it sold for $851. It now says it's worth $3,500.

I don't understand how the appraisal for the domain went up $2,300 dollars over what the domain was originally appraised at just hours before.

Sedo Aucton Archive: Bidding History*-*Sedo.com
Estibot Appraisal Before: http://i46.tinypic.com/2w7islc.png
Estibot Appraisal After: http://i49.tinypic.com/2cz1obm.png

I know that the domain market constantly fluctuates, but just in a matter of hours F*cka.com is worth $2,300 more than what Estibot originally appraised it at before the domain sold on Sedo. Simply amazing! Tip for the buyer: Don't forget to sell it on there and see if any of the 4 potential in-network buyers will actually buy it for the amount it says it's worth.

If Estibot would simply implement an appraisal system based on the suggested range of value set forth in my earlier post, above, and then supported ONLY the "Firesale Price" by making it an actual offer to buy (either by Estibot itself and/or a network of Estibot sponsors and/or affiliates, it would change this industry overnight.

As previously stated, it would also reveal the staggering number of absolutely worthless domain names flooding both the domain appraisal and aftermarket.:imho:

 

[Mark]

To those saying they need to add a disclaimer - It has always had one ...

As many others have stated - Take if for what it is worth ... The site (Paid or not) provides stats many of us want to see all in one place. Other sites do as well - But not necessarily all that I would want to see. The older I get - the less faith I put into "Appraisals" of any kind (For real property or virtual) , But I can honestly say there has been more thought put behind Estibot than anything else to date (Who up there posted swiftappraisal ? ).
A good while back I actually tried to work on something similar for just myself to use - After I noticed I was trying to work with 40 or 50 factors at once - I stopped :red: .

IMPORTANT: The purpose of Estibot.com is to give you keyword data and information about your domain. The dollar valuation is not to be taken literally - it may change, and it is only a quick-look measure of the keyword metrics.

Do not make a purchase or sale decision based on this appraisal

Will automated appraisals ever be considered "the gospel" - Probably not , But you can set down with 10 of the "Big Dogs" of this industry and get opinions that vary from one end to the other as well ... It's not a science.

 

[x11joex11]

I think estibot is an interesting quick snapshot of potential value, but I don't think it's accurate there is a lot of detail that goes into finding a domains value.

I just finished an appraisal for a user here for free.

http://www.namepros.com/domain-appraisals/625384-elaws-info.html

Let me know what you guys think of my method. It comes from personal experience and I'm always trying to improve upon it and find flaws.

 

[labrocca]

Just about everything you did in that post could be automatted and done by a bot. It's very close to what estibot already tries to do.

Humans make bad appraisers so why would bots be any different? Seriously..manual appraisals usually suck too. I was told politicsforum.com was worth $xxx and I have gotten $xx,xxx offers for it. Ridiculous.

And take Buydomains.com for another example. Those morons think every domain they own is worth $xx,xxx even if it's junk. Appraisal is nothing more than a method for people to feel important or their domains valuable. In the end the only thing that matters is sale price.

 

[x11joex11]

Yes you are correct, an appraisal is just an estimate of what a sale price could be. One could appraise a domain name $100 and then get a buyer for $XX,XXX like you said, value is in the eyes of the beholder.

It's true that I have no idea what the value of a domain name could be...however by doing proper research from all angles one can at least put the odds in their favor of deciding if a domain is worth registering or holding onto. This is why many people ask for appraisals. In my appraisal I tried to cover some of the same appraisal bases that estibot does (google,pagerank,competition,etc) but while also checking sales comparables and mentioning the time it could take to make a sale. It's by no means 100% accurate but I think it puts the odds in your favor if you do the proper research.

The argument for a proper appraisal is it gives you the potential average of sales and a possible time-frame in which the sale might occur from known facts at the time and it also gives you a rather accurate definitive base of income you could earn from the domain if in top google positions. If you are trying to decide to let go of a name or not, it can be a very useful tool. Not to mention some names may require heavy advertising to get the attention of a buyer and this should be calculated into the value of the domain name in the appraisal. So while you may get sales for $XXXX it's possible you may have to spend $XXX or more just to find that sale. Which would be an interesting area of research to delve into.

 

[estibot.com]

I've checked many domains out on estibot, and it seems as if they keep changing appraisal value's on domains that have sold recently.
...
I recently won paintball dot cc at a GoDaddy auction for $25 + reg fee (I was the 3rd or 4th bidder)
just today Estibot updated the price to $25 down from $600 as it said yesterday when I checked. lol
Is it only worth $25 now, because I got it at a great price? lol Considering it has 2 offers on Sedo for
the domain, and gets nearly 3 million exact searches globally. I highly doubt it's only worth $25 as it
says. I'm pretty sure it will go for $100+ when I list it on Bido soon.

It's not just a coincidence that beta.estibot.com seems more accurate. They are just changing the appraisal values on recently sold domains quickly after the domain sells to seem as if they are this extraordinary accurate machine! Ho hum ho.

To me it is only logical that Estibot will change a domain's appraised value if it gets valuated by the market in a public sale. The appraisal engine needs to be dynamic to reflect the market. Many people say "a domain is worth whatever someone is willing to pay for it" - well, even though I always felt this was a simplistic approach, nevertheless is is one valid approach, and now this truism is being reflected by the auto-appraisal.

The valuation is not changed to reflect the exact sale price. It's a weighted average of the known sale price and the updated Estibot objective valuation, so the result is usually close but not exactly the sale price. It can be higher or lower than (or even exactly the same as) the sale price depending on current search data and other stats.

Of course, you can always view the exact sale price in the 'related sales' list that is presented in the appraisal results.

I agree that this approach is somewhat crude and is not without its problems. But we feel it is currently the best approach for recently sold names. For names that have been sold earlier (monhts or years ago), there is a separate model, taking into account three different valuations, one based on the original sale price, the other on market appreciation, and the third on the current search engine and other vital domain statistics.

The appraisal engine is still a work in progress, but considering the improvements we've been able to make since the early days of automatic appraisal, I feel we're well on our way to achieving a meaningful auto-valuation system. There are those who say this is a fool's errand and cannot ever be achieved, but that's where we'll just have to agree to disagree. Call us mad if you will, but we have enough data now to believe that this can and will be done.

If Estibot would simply implement an appraisal system based on the suggested range of value set forth in my earlier post, above, and then supported ONLY the "Firesale Price" by making it an actual offer to buy (either by Estibot itself and/or a network of Estibot sponsors and/or affiliates, it would change this industry overnight.

I agree 100% and this is exactly what we are trying to do here. The in-network buyer system is still in private beta, and based on the beta tester feedback and our own observations, we will improve the system to the point where domains really do get sold within the network based on their appraisals.

The validity of an automated appraisal system can be measured by how well it predicts market prices, but the ultimate automated appraisal system will not stop there; it will set market prices.

 

[GeoOwners]

if It was worth more than $25 how come you got it for $25?

see how that works...


.

 

[FreshAvails.com]

Estibot is a tool. A very nice one at that. As a domainer, what tools do you use to evaluate a domain? What tools would you provide to a potential buyer to help them evaluate a domain? I think everyone would say that the more tools you use the better. If you don't like or trust the valuations, take that into consideration when looking at the data, but look at the data!

Estibot serve the market as a credible, non-biased source for domain valuation. They have devised their own algorythm based on multiple factors to automatically determine a value. Great tool!!!

To all those who don't like Estibot I pose a question to you. If you can answer it and deliver on this question, you have a potential multi-million dollar business opportunity. How do you come up with an accurate value for a domain? What are the factors? How do you weigh them? This is what Estibot and Valuate are trying to do. How accurate they are is up to the market to decide. Don't forget, it is the Dollar value determination that is the "money shot" in this business. Ranges, 1-10 scales etc... will not cut it in an industry and market that wants $ figures.

I appreciate what Estibot offers and continue to rely on them for vital statistics and a sanity check on potential purchases and sales.

 

[exsedo]

The only thing I have about these automated appraisals is that they are far too often, way way out in their $ estimates. For those who have a good understanding, thats fine. For those who have a potential customer who uses estibot, and the valuation is way out, it is damaging. Everything about estibot gets a massive thumbs up from me, except the automated appraisal tool.

 

[upsmartin]

Hi

Thanks Radiator.I was so confused . But Know i have come to a conclusion.Thanks buddy......

 

[daj]

if It was worth more than $25 how come you got it for $25?

see how that works...

.

Godaddy Auctions isn't used by everyone in the domain industry, and I doubt any end users sit around looking for good domains to buy on there. That's hot I got it for $25 + reg fee.

That would be like saying Ukraine.cc which was picked up for $5 + reg fee in a expired domain auction is only worth $5 bucks when it sold for $437 on Bido a week after it was picked up. See what I mean?

---------- Post added at 11:22 AM ---------- Previous post was at 11:11 AM ----------

To me it is only logical that Estibot will change a domain's appraised value if it gets valuated by the market in a public sale. The appraisal engine needs to be dynamic to reflect the market. Many people say "a domain is worth whatever someone is willing to pay for it" - well, even though I always felt this was a simplistic approach, nevertheless is is one valid approach, and now this truism is being reflected by the auto-appraisal.

The valuation is not changed to reflect the exact sale price. It's a weighted average of the known sale price and the updated Estibot objective valuation, so the result is usually close but not exactly the sale price. It can be higher or lower than (or even exactly the same as) the sale price depending on current search data and other stats.

Of course, you can always view the exact sale price in the 'related sales' list that is presented in the appraisal results.

I agree that this approach is somewhat crude and is not without its problems. But we feel it is currently the best approach for recently sold names. For names that have been sold earlier (monhts or years ago), there is a separate model, taking into account three different valuations, one based on the original sale price, the other on market appreciation, and the third on the current search engine and other vital domain statistics.

The appraisal engine is still a work in progress, but considering the improvements we've been able to make since the early days of automatic appraisal, I feel we're well on our way to achieving a meaningful auto-valuation system. There are those who say this is a fool's errand and cannot ever be achieved, but that's where we'll just have to agree to disagree. Call us mad if you will, but we have enough data now to believe that this can and will be done.

I just feel theres a few kinks to be worked out, and as you say it's a work in progress. I personally have seen many domains bought from GoDaddy Auctions for $5-10 + reg fee and flipped for much more. Especially when it comes to the less desirable extensions. I think previous sales data of the same keyword/s should ultimately be the main factor in a domains value, but often sales data is never reported by private sales which accounts for possibly 50% or more of all sales in the industry.
There's just so many factors to factor into an appraisal but I do believe Estibot is doing their best to try to automate it.