debate Free domain appraisals are NOT useless.

[katerleonid]

Most people says free domain appraisals are useless.
So I tested them on a $2,000,000 sale - anything.com

Saw.com → $1,137,000
Atom → $1M+
GoDaddy → too high to estimate

The mistake people make is testing free appraisals on cheap domains.

 

[alcy]

all appraise tools are worth zero.

there are zero exceptions.

anyone who say otherwise has zero domain knowledge

countdown to zero
then detonate all appraise tools

 

[Bravo Mod Team]

#HotTake

 

[NickB]

Funny....I tested a random top 10 .org sale from this year and got the below....

Saw - $27,000
Atom - $6,498
Godaddy - $2,566

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder..... apparently

 

[nlitenme]

Funny....I tested a random top 10 .org sale from this year and got the below....

Saw - $27,000
Atom - $6,498
Godaddy - $2,566

How much was the actual sale?

 

[Abowt]

Tested a good .com domain..

Atom - $7,799
Saw - $16,598
Godaddy - $1,266

Getting offers of $100 for that domain in actual..!

 

[bmugford]

Most people says free domain appraisals are useless.
So I tested them on a $2,000,000 sale - anything.com

Saw.com → $1,137,000
Atom → $1M+
GoDaddy → too high to estimate

The mistake people make is testing free appraisals on cheap domains.

You don't need an appraisal tool to know a domain like Anything.com is valuable.

Brad

 

[Mkt Sales Leads]

Most people says free domain appraisals are useless.
So I tested them on a $2,000,000 sale - anything.com

Saw.com → $1,137,000
Atom → $1M+
GoDaddy → too high to estimate

The mistake people make is testing free appraisals on cheap domains.

The mistake people make is testing free appraisals on domains that are of obvious high quality (e.g. anything.com)

Not regging FnawctkkPicknoseAiKoinz.com because the appraisal said 10k

 

[NickB]

How much was the actual sale?

$64,999

 

[pacifist]

im sure domain appraisals tools are dumb.

how you think work under the hood?

will look at extension and that will add ext coefficient.

then look at domain without ext. if 1 word, how popular that word, and how valuable (google ads click data can give some info, like dentist is a high click price). then if 2 keywords probably see if they fit together, and use previous 1 word algorithm.

extra modifiers: has "ai", boost by X. has crypto, boost by Y and so on.

probably will look at similar sales in other tlds. or similar sales to your domain: if you have car.com, will check for cars.com vehicle.com etc.

im sure they have a few more techniques, but these are some.


Current appraisals are kind of mechanical now, but i think they are integrating more and more ai, which work closer to a human appraisal.

And now with domainers using ai to appraise, means that ai gives guidance to domainers, and in other words: ai will appraise and price domains

 

[katerleonid]

The mistake people make is testing free appraisals on domains that are of obvious high quality (e.g. anything.com)

Not regging FnawctkkPicknoseAiKoinz.com because the appraisal said 10k

Actually, many new domainers test free appraisals on poor-quality or newly registered domains.

 

[karmaco]

All domain valuators are useless. Doesn't matter the caliber of the domain.

The people with very high value names have been screaming about it and GD's valuation tool for years. Ruins negotiations, makes buyers have unrealistic expectations etc.

I feel like this is a second click bait post by you I have read and I think you should know better about this subject.

So one single sale where the name sold for more than the valuations (extremely common occurrence btw) required this thread?

 

[biggie]

I feel like this is a second click bait post by you I have read and I think you should know better about this subject.

Hi

didn’t want to be first to say it, but damn it’s so obvious

imo….

 

[MasterOfMyDomains]

They dont know the truth, thats why

How do you know that many new domainers test, free appraisal tools on poor quality or new registered domains?

Actually, many new domainers test free appraisals on poor-quality or newly registered domains.

On with the show this is it

 

[Mkt Sales Leads]

NP needs content and engagement

Hi

didn’t want to be first to say it, but damn it’s so obvious

imo….

 

[mkhouzz]

.

 

[Eric Lyon]

As many of you know, I manually evaluate domains and use a few different metrics and methodologies that free automated tools don't use. For the sake of this topic though, I asked Google Gemini what it thought the top 7 free automated domain appraisal tools that did not require signing up or email subscription to use and where based on likes, shares, links and mentions of accuracy....

Here's what Gemini felt were the top 7 in order of most accurate to least:

1. GoDaddy Domain Value Checker One of the most popular tools, it uses a proprietary algorithm that leverages machine learning and over two decades of real-market sales data from the world's largest domain marketplace.
2. EstiBot This is arguably the most commonly used appraisal tool in the domain industry, providing data-driven, unbiased estimates based on factors like keyword strength, search volume, and comparable sales (comps).
3. Dynadot AI Appraisal Dynadot offers quick, data-driven estimates, ideal for users managing a portfolio on their registrar platform.
4. WebsiteOutlook This free valuator analyzes factors related to a website's overall metrics and traffic potential to provide an estimated worth, though it may be less focused purely on the domain name itself.
5. HumbleWorth Free AI-powered domain estimations trusted by thousands of investors. Get instant, accurate estimates for single domains or entire portfolios.
6. SAW Learn The Value of Any Domain Name With Our Domain Valuation Tool
7. DomainIndex A public service free of charge provided by Domainindex SARL corporation to the domain and the financial industry. Domainindex.com is calculating price indices for domains to track the development of price levels in the domain space.

With the above in mind, I'm going to run x3 domains through each tool to see whiche gets closest to reported sale prices, just for fun and context to add to this thread.

With the above in mind, let's dive right in...

x3 random high-sale domains in the hopper from NameBio sales reports:

asseenontv.com

5,000,000 USD

2000-01-01

Private

healthinsurance.com

8,133,00 USD

2019-07-31

Private

rocket.com

14,000,000 USD

2024-09-04

Hilco Digital Assets

AsSeenOnTV.com
Godaddy Appraisal - #1: $10,100
Estibot Appraisal - #1: $5,125,000
Dynadot Appraisal - #1: $180,098
WebsiteOutlook Appraisal - #1: $678
HumbleWorth Appraisal - #1: $294,000
SAW Appraisal - #1: $9,507,000
DomainIndex Appraisal - #1: $6,500,000

The closest to the reported sale price was: Estibot

HealthInsurance.com
Godaddy Appraisal - #1: "Too High To Estimate" message
Estibot Appraisal - #1: $183,000
Dynadot Appraisal - #1: $338,014
WebsiteOutlook Appraisal - #1: $2,560
HumbleWorth Appraisal - #1: $532,000
SAW Appraisal - #1: $347,000
DomainIndex Appraisal - #1: $8,500,000

The closest to the reported sale price was: DomainIndex

Rocket.com
Godaddy Appraisal - #1: "Too High To Estimate" message
Estibot Appraisal - #1: $14,350,000
Dynadot Appraisal - #1: $6,235,052
WebsiteOutlook Appraisal - #1: $5,260
HumbleWorth Appraisal - #1: $8,620,000
SAW Appraisal - #1: $26,746,000
DomainIndex Appraisal - #1: $24,800

The closest to the reported sale price was: Estibot

Note: Estibot got the closest for 2 out of 3 appraisal runs... And I'm not sure why Gemini even mentioned WebsiteOutlook, as that tool seems to have comedian values.

 

[Jannes]

Gemini took (=you allowed it to take) marketing copies at face value…

’Data-driven’ or ’decades of real-market sales data’ is pointless when the data is bad. And the data is bad when it doesn’t distinguish between end user and investor sales, or between normal aftermarket sales and expired auctions, or between ”it’s all in the name” and SEO/backlink purchases, for instance. Everything is lumped together and it is called ’sales data’.

 

[pacifist]

As many of you know, I manually evaluate domains and use a few different metrics and methodologies that free automated tools don't use. For the sake of this topic though, I asked Google Gemini what it thought the top 7 free automated domain appraisal tools that did not require signing up or email subscription to use and where based on likes, shares, links and mentions of accuracy....

Here's what Gemini felt were the top 7 in order of most accurate to least:

1. GoDaddy Domain Value Checker One of the most popular tools, it uses a proprietary algorithm that leverages machine learning and over two decades of real-market sales data from the world's largest domain marketplace.
2. EstiBot This is arguably the most commonly used appraisal tool in the domain industry, providing data-driven, unbiased estimates based on factors like keyword strength, search volume, and comparable sales (comps).
3. Dynadot AI Appraisal Dynadot offers quick, data-driven estimates, ideal for users managing a portfolio on their registrar platform.
4. WebsiteOutlook This free valuator analyzes factors related to a website's overall metrics and traffic potential to provide an estimated worth, though it may be less focused purely on the domain name itself.
5. HumbleWorth Free AI-powered domain estimations trusted by thousands of investors. Get instant, accurate estimates for single domains or entire portfolios.
6. SAW Learn The Value of Any Domain Name With Our Domain Valuation Tool
7. DomainIndex A public service free of charge provided by Domainindex SARL corporation to the domain and the financial industry. Domainindex.com is calculating price indices for domains to track the development of price levels in the domain space.

With the above in mind, I'm going to run x3 domains through each tool to see whiche gets closest to reported sale prices, just for fun and context to add to this thread.

With the above in mind, let's dive right in...

x3 random high-sale domains in the hopper from NameBio sales reports:

asseenontv.com

5,000,000 USD

2000-01-01

Private

healthinsurance.com

8,133,00 USD

2019-07-31

Private

rocket.com

14,000,000 USD

2024-09-04

Hilco Digital Assets

AsSeenOnTV.com
Godaddy Appraisal - #1: $10,100
Estibot Appraisal - #1: $5,125,000
Dynadot Appraisal - #1: $180,098
WebsiteOutlook Appraisal - #1: $678
HumbleWorth Appraisal - #1: $294,000
SAW Appraisal - #1: $9,507,000
DomainIndex Appraisal - #1: $6,500,000

The closest to the reported sale price was: Estibot

HealthInsurance.com
Godaddy Appraisal - #1: "Too High To Estimate" message
Estibot Appraisal - #1: $183,000
Dynadot Appraisal - #1: $338,014
WebsiteOutlook Appraisal - #1: $2,560
HumbleWorth Appraisal - #1: $532,000
SAW Appraisal - #1: $347,000
DomainIndex Appraisal - #1: $8,500,000

The closest to the reported sale price was: DomainIndex

Rocket.com
Godaddy Appraisal - #1: "Too High To Estimate" message
Estibot Appraisal - #1: $14,350,000
Dynadot Appraisal - #1: $6,235,052
WebsiteOutlook Appraisal - #1: $5,260
HumbleWorth Appraisal - #1: $8,620,000
SAW Appraisal - #1: $26,746,000
DomainIndex Appraisal - #1: $24,800

The closest to the reported sale price was: Estibot

Note: Estibot got the closest for 2 out of 3 appraisal runs... And I'm not sure why Gemini even mentioned WebsiteOutlook, as that tool seems to have comedian values.

I think we can’t use any of this data as the sale of those websites are public so a dumb bot could just look at public sales and “estimate” very close to reality. It’s not easy to compare as you’d need a way to have real sale prices and also not public.

Also more considerations: some websites are not sold for name but for SEO. I doubt they can figure it out especially if was in the past as SEO keeps changing.
Also domains names can have a lot of variation. Suppose 2 parallel universes, a startup is called obelix. In universe A they get 10b funding, in universe B they get 100k. In universe a might buy obelix.com for 1m, in universe b might be 1k.
Also imagine seller can be in a rush to sell or comfortable.
Too many variables that we can’t tell.

 

[Miver]

Actually, many new domainers test free appraisals on poor-quality or newly registered domains.

And this is a statement based on your personal perception, I guess, isn't it?