Newbie to domain auctions - Suggestions welcome

[earthtonemusic]

Hi
how does one go about researching what a domain name is worth?
I get the concept of auction, start low and continue out bidding until you either win item or are out bidded. Relating to question above, how can the value of an existing domain name be researched to play the game of out bidding and/or not paying too much?
I received an ad by a company who claims a similar domain that I currently own is "up for grabs" within the next 48 hrs and bids are open for the rights.
comments welcome
thanks for reading

 

[biggie]

:talk:


the "ad" you got is probably a sucker line to draw you in


learn more about domains and domaining, before rushing to bid on crap


imo...

 

[earthtonemusic]

right. Thanks for the response. and my post was also directed toward where and how to learn more about this stuff. Again as I'm new to the world of domains and acquiring them, or selling them for that matter as I have ownership on a number of domains, I discovered this forum thinking I might discover useful tips in this regard.
thanks again

 

[biggie]

right. Thanks for the response. and my post was also directed toward where and how to learn more about this stuff. Again as I'm new to the world of domains and acquiring them, or selling them for that matter as I have ownership on a number of domains, I discovered this forum thinking I might discover useful tips in this regard.
thanks again

:talk:


well, specifically i recommend you read thru all the sales threads going back to 2003 and all the domains wanted thread back to same period.


then read all the appraisal threads

by the time you're done with that, you should have idea of what sells and perhaps at what price it sold for and you'd have some idea of what others are seeking to purchase.

the appraisal threads will give you idea of what "other' people think of "other peoples" names and sometimes they'll say why they think what they thought.


may sound like a lot of reading, but if you ain't willing to read, then you really ain't ready to learn




Good Luck!.

 

[Name Trader]

By the time your done reading that, you'll be 85 years old and won't need the information any more (just kidding). Biggie is right, it takes an experienced hand to know the value of a domain. But I would caution on the values of domain sales here because usually it's domainer-to-domainer sales, which are really cheap.

My "rule-of-thumb" is to never spend more than 10% of what you think the name is worth to an end user. Of course there will always be exceptions. You could check out estibot.com, which is probably the best of the automatic appraisers, but you have to take their valuations with a big piece of salt. They could be high, low, or there abouts. That's where you judgement would come in.

I think if you watch the auctions at GoDaddy, SnapNames, NameJet, you'd get a more current picture of what domains are selling for. For example stroker.com just sold on GoDaddy for $3,000 whereas estibot.com has it valued at $17,000. That is an example of either 1) Estibot has a too high value, or 2) Somebody got a bargain.

You could sign up to several Domain Brokers newsletters. They usually have selling prices for the domains they sell. Sometimes their prices will amaze you how high they are. That's because they're trying to sell to end users and usually have some wriggle-room build into their prices. The irony is that probably most of the members of their newsletters are domainers, not end-users.