Dead means there is no longer a trademark.
Best advice - that nobody follows - is to keep your wallet in your pocket while you study the market thoroughly. The more you know the better your choices. It takes years of study to do well in this game.
Unless you have specialized knowledge of a particular market or are very lucky, reg fee domains take about 5 years to "ripen". The reason is that many alternatives exist when you first buy your name. In your example there could be pizzaworld, pizzaglobe, pizzacountry, pizzatown, pizzavillage ---- bunches of similar value names available. No-one will buy yours with the alternatives out there for reg fee.
In something like 5 years the domain market will (hopefully) expand to where all good alternatives are taken and then buyers will be willing to pay a premium for your name.
And forget the small change. A business will pay $1000 for the right name and has no use for the wrong one. If you find a winner be sure to get full value. Patience, with awareness of renewal costs, is a domainer's best friend.