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.

 

[the_poet]

Should we then take for gospel the values our "expert" members so freely state in the appraisal forum ?

Not for gospel, but you can certainly trust human appraisals more than automatic ones as guidelines.

 

[Jaco]

There are a few things an automated valuation tool will never be able to do.

1) Price Y factor.
2) Price brandable type names that are based on adjective lucidity/relevance/desirability
3) Account for freak occurrences of deep-pocketed bidder mania

What they *can* do is seek to quantify the value any given name might have, contingent on the keyword data metrics we have at our disposal. The "price" they come up with will rarely be spot-on, however, they do a fantastic job at providing a fast, relevant mashup of desirable data that's essential in appraising the rough earning potential of a name. This is important, as right now, in this industry, we're seeing the weak and the 'large hobbyists' get culled. The dreamers are getting crushed. The people who will be around once the fires die down will be the ones who buy names based on earning potential, which is precisely the sort of thing that estibot serves to address with their data. So they resolve this data into a "price"... Who cares? Instead of taking it as gospel, take that "price" as a numerical ranking of the names prospective earning potential based on relevant metricities.

Further, what Estibot is doing in their latest beta- by creating buyer-filters- is essentially providing the needed market-making forces for domains as a commodity product. This feature, if heavily utilized and adopted widely, has the potential to be epic in the industry.

The data reflected in past sales of names in the same 'keyword ballpark' means very little. The factors that motivate purchase of a unique name are just too organic and qualitative to presume that ABC.com is worth as much, more or less than 123.com. A universe-sized ballpark? OK, sure. But it's certainly a universe much wider than any given Estibot price.

People who understand what Estibot is tend to love it and use it for what it is. Count me amongst them.
Then, there are the people who don't understand what Estibot is but use it anyway. They're basically monkeys who've been handed a violin. They stare at it- they taste it- pluck a couple strings- they might even crap on it- but in the end, the issue isn't with the violin, as much as it is with the monkeys.

 

[the_poet]

The problem is that the value of a domain cannot be rationalized using a standard formula, because it's a cognitive process. Just like any other human activity, it can only be approximated by an algorithm, otherwise the human brain would have been perfectly reproduced by artificial intelligence.

 

[WordWalker]

Very true. If someone says a certain domain is worth low-xxxx, he should jump at the opportunity to buy it at $100, for example. Otherwise the "appraisal" is worth nothing. The only problem with this model is if the domain price is too high and the appraiser doesn't have sufficient funds.

If the appraiser doesn't have sufficient funds, then he or she is in no position to actually purchase it, so the statement of value has no underlying support. On the other hand, whatever that appraiser could presently afford, even if ridiculously low, would still set a supportable, rock bottom minimum value.

In a best case scenario, those looking to obtain appraisals and/or buy/sell domains would list the name on a central record's database established and managed by the major registrars (equivalent to a stock market index).

Sellers would be looking for binding appraisals/offers. Buyers would be encouraged to place unsolicited, binding appraisals/offers for domains they are interested in acquiring (even if the seller has not listed it in the database yet). This last puzzle piece (in bold), tied into a central data base will make all the difference in the world.

Until and unless any domain listed on this database has buyer interest in the form of an appraisal/offer, it would effectively be worth nothing.

Major auction events would tie their live and extended auctions into this same database in real time. So would Snap, Namejet and all others. "Certified Appraisals" would show up as limited time offers to buy. Most look-ups and domains with the greatest following would be featured separately.

Sounds like a dripping faucet to me!

For all the innovators and self-proclaimed geniuses that run around this domain space, it's incomprehensible that this has not happened already.

 

[WordWalker]

Last necessary piece of the puzzle:

When registering for a domain name, the registrar should have an opt-in provision that let's the domain owner set an asking price and auto-sell execute feature in the event the domain is not renewed.

Whoever thought it was reasonable to allow a registrar to put an expired domain name up for auction without sharing ANY of the proceeds with the owner of the domain name - you know, the one who initially registered and paid for the domain name? To create such functionality would be a no-brainer:

Example of Language That Could Be Added to Domain Registration Terms & Conditions

A.

In the event I do not renew this domain name within ______ days of expiration, I opt to automatically place this domain for sale with the minimum asking price of $______________. Proceeds from this sale are to be deposited into the following PayPal account: #____________________.

or

B.

In the event this domain is not renewed within _____________ of expiration, the registrar is entitled to sell it and keep 100% of the proceeds.

Maybe the registrar gets a 10% or 15% commission for handling the transaction. Fair enough.

If presented with the choice, which one would you choose? A or B ?

 

[bmugford]

Estibot is an essential tool I believe, more for the metrics than the appraised value.

People need to learn how to value a domain independently.

Anybody who thinks automated appraisals can be trusted has a lot to learn.

Brad

 

[labrocca]

You fail.

Free Domain Appraisal, Domain Name Valuation and Keyword Research Tool

$380,000.

If you're trying the beta and using that as your argument that's a fail too.

And who puts "faith" into estibot. It's more like using it as a PART of manual appraisal because it automates certain checks for you. Nothing wrong with using every tool you can to valuate.

 

[GreenGambler]

Estibot gets soooo much dang publicity from people asking if the appraisals are valid or not.. LOL

Good deal for Estibot!

 

[Krossat]

Domains arent like stock.
Their valuations differ with peoples perception. Everyones got their own bar to set a domain against.
Estibot is one of the tools that is trying to get closer to an "inherent" value in a domain looking at previous comparable sales and other stats. No harm in using it as a tool and not a gospel of truth.

Dont forget it gives you valuable stats along with the appraisal. If your getting that much for FREE, I would think its all good.

 

[WordWalker]

Snap to Krossat

I wish people would stop giving such a kicking to something which gives so much, even if you're too much of a cheapskate to buy even a basic subscription.

What is does, is give GREAT reconaissance. A lay of the land.

What is doesn't do, is give you common sense, instant hard-won experience, or a guaranteed sale.

Bottom line - you learn how to use it, and how to recognise/allow for its idiosyncrasies, and you will be in a better position every single time. The 'evaluation' is only a small part of what the suite does, but anyway I've observed in the long run that it's aggregate accuracy gets closer to the truth than many of the people paid top dollar to price up unreal estate.

Just don't take out a 2nd mortgage when it tells you your domain is worth 50k Do splash out 8 bucks for privacy protection for it though

I absolutely agree! Estibot is one of the best domain locating and evaluation tools on the market today. Bar none. Without it, I would be at a great disadvantage. I highly recommend the Estibot set of analysis tools.

 

[DubDubDubDot]

FACT: The better the domainer, the less reliant the domainer is on these kind of tools.

Estibot, Google keyword tool, Word Tracker, etc... are useful (but accurate?) only when a domainer hasn't got a clue what they are selling (and we've all been there). Do you think Rick Schwartz consults with Estibot to help determine how to price domains? Another extreme are the noob domainers that use those tools as rock solid info to back up their $5,000 asking price for abc123-business.cc.

---------- Post added at 12:06 PM ---------- Previous post was at 11:54 AM ----------

I absolutely agree! Estibot is one of the best domain locating and evaluation tools on the market today. Bar none. Without it, I would be at a great disadvantage. I highly recommend the Estibot set of analysis tools.

You are not a domainer though. You buy available reg fee domains for minisites. If a domainer came to you with a domain that had similar Estibot metrics to what you buy for reg fee, would you pay them $100, $300, $500 for it? Of course not.

 

[WordWalker]

FACT: The better the domainer, the less reliant the domainer is on these kind of tools.

Not true.:imho:

Estibot helps me take 80,000 dropping domains and distill it down so that, in any given day, I am only having to actually place eyeballs on 2,000 to 5,000 domain names. Please explain how a "better domainer" would handle a list of 80,000 drops without this kind of assistance. It would help me greatly.

That's how I picked up Beethovens5th.com last week. I wasn't paying attention to what the appraised value was. Geez. It's Beethoven's 5th!

 

[wwwweb]

why would the registar do that when they get almost 100% now?

 

[WordWalker]

why would the registar do that when they get almost 100% now?

Because as other registrars, like THIS ONE, offer alternatives that better protect the interest of domainers (60% of drop sale proceeds can automatically go to the original domain owner!!!), that's where the business will go. That's why.

 

[dotker]

ok, just checked out estibot and valuate.com again and i say valuate.com is nice but my question now is what is the difference between searches & frequency?

 

[daj]

Estibot needs to put under their appraisals "FOR ENTERTAINMENT PURPOSES ONLY", so newbies and domainer's with mental issues don't take the appraisals so seriously. 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.

For example:

qq.net beta.estibot says it's worth $47,000
it sold for $46,383 (converted to USD from EUR) recently on Sedo.

Russia.com it says it's worth $1,540,000
It sold for $1,500,000 recently on Sedo.

Billets.com it says it's worth $44,000
it sold for $42,641(converted to USD from EUR) on Sedo.

Mojoelounge.com it say's it's worth $520
it sold for $500 recently on Sedo.

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.

 

[nucleotide]

I would normally suggest Alexa but i get a dead explorer notice anytime i consult that site. When did it die?

Estibot is chancy and I would not accept its data to secure a deal.

 

[lzy]

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.

That's awesome! :blink:

 

[globegenius]

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.

 

[daj]

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.

That's awesome! :blink:

I think it's a good thing that they are basing valuations on real data (sales history) but what about those domains that are sold at an expiring auction for less than what their worth? It seems as if estibot will just devalue them based on the price they sell, at least in the case of my paintball domain.