Valuations @ Valuate.com

[Name Trader]

OK. I've been using Valuate.com for a while now. I kinda like the way you can do multiple valuations at one time. I've started taking notice of the valuation of domains I've had inquiries on, so I don't go asking some outrageous price for some mediocre names. It's been getting me a few more sales which before were not getting sold. It's been a valuable tool for me.

 

[nielsencl]

I like using valuate along with Estibot. I know it's nothing you can count on, but since it's automated it provides me with a quick benchmark. Sometimes I check some really good names, like ravioli.com which just dropped and it confirms that it would be great to pick that up for regfee.

Asking too much is always a problem, so what do you do, only ask what Valuate says? More? Less?

Naming an asking price is pretty hard unless you have a good sense of your domain value AND the buyer's interest and ability. I try to get them to tell me what they want to pay first, so I know what the starting point is, but that doesn't always work.

 

[Name Trader]

Wow! Great pickup. How did that drop? How did you catch it? SnapNames?

I gave up on the game of whose going to give a price first. I give the price right out first. Then they know my ballpark. I seem to have a lot of domains valued under $500 by Valuate.com. So generally I'll give them a price of $500. Depending on their response, and my estimate of the worth, I might accept a lower offer. If I think it's worth more, or they might pay more, I'll ask for more.

But generally, I'm selling more domains now than when Valuate.com didn't exist, albeit for lower prices. Because, depending on what I paid for it, it's still a great ROI

 

[nielsencl]

Sorry, no I didn't get ravioli.com although I did try. I even used Snapnames for the first time, but it didn't work. I was ready to pay $500 for that domain! Almost everything I buy is for regfee.

Yeah, thinking more about the ROI than the large single profit is the way to go. I missed a sale of one for $150-$300 because my price was too high. On the other hand, you hate to "give things away" also. But I think you are making something work that I thought about. Most end users don't know about Estibot or Valuate and could be swayed by what it comes up with.

Do you learn as much as you can about your potential customer when they first contact you? I spend quite a bit of time to try and determine if they are buying for themselves or someone else, and what their financial situation may be. It doesn't always work, the last sale I lost was to a company president.

 

[Name Trader]

I spend from zero to a little time researching the buyer. If they pay my price, I'm happy. What specifically do you do when you research a buyer? how much time do you spend?

 

[nielsencl]

The amount of time depends on the price potential for the domain and how much information the buyer provides. If I am unlucky, I get a first name and a Gmail address and that is all. Then I don't know if I am dealing with a broke newbie or company executive.

But if I get a phone number, company name, address, etc. then I can try to find out as much as possible so I know if I am dealing with an end-user, broker, domainer, or middle man. I can also get some idea of how much they may be willing to pay.

I can spend from a few minutes up to an hour if I feel I need to so I can create a "profile" of the buyer. One of the first domains I sold was to a broker at SEDO that contacted me. I was offered $450 for a domain I paid $5 for here on Namepros. I was pretty happy with the offer, but I wanted to make sure I was getting what it was worth. Researching the buyer was useless, since it was a broker. That should have told me something right there, but I was new at the time. So I researched what the price and availabilty of the other TLDs were for this domain. Doing this I was able to easily negotiate the price up to $1,000. Too easily. I found out later the real buyer was a German telecommuincations company. I don't know how much more I could have gotten, but I'm sure it was considerable.

I don't regret the sale at all, but I did take it as a lesson to be learned.