Domain Name Valuation – Final Countdown
To move things along, I am going to list the final ways to value a domain, in no particular order. Some of these methods and ideas can be used together to create a more complete profile of a domain’s value. So far we covered:
1. Domain estimator tools
2. Overture results
3. Previous sales prices
Let’s look at a few more ways that domainers can get a value on a name:
4. Paid domain appraisals: Paying a “professional” or auction service a fee to evaluate and price your domain has been around for awhile. The top ones that come to mind are Moniker, Sedo or even GoDaddy. All of these companies have an auction service, and all of them claim to have the right expertise to price a domain. Prices vary from $5.99 to $50 per domain. My personal experience has been a bit strange in that the 3 domains I had appraised at different times (same company) came back with exactly the same price, $2,000. Here’s one domainer’s review on Moniker and Sedo appraisals.
5. Price based on Revenue: Some domains are sold on a formula based on how much the domain earns each month in revenue (say from parking the domain). This is called, “multiples” and while it’s a very tangible, clear way to determine a price, some domains may be good and have no revenue. Normally with multiples, someone will say I will buy “X” type of domain earning $30 per month, and pay 2 years earnings. 30 X 24 months = $720 for this domain. Is that a good price? Well, it’s up to the seller.
6. Personal Experience: This may be a gut feeling on price, but that isn’t tangible or the same number to each person. Some people have gotten the opinion of other domainers, but the answers can really vary. If you are buying domains in a particular vertical (or topic), after time you do get a feel for pricing in that category. Someone who works with large numbers of domain sales may have a better feel for pricing, but it really comes down to finding a buyer who will pay a price you feel good about.
7. Pick a Number: Believe it or not, some people just pick a number they like. Now, this doesn’t work a lot of the time, but if you have very good, or even a premium .com domain, you can wait until you get the price you want or name your price. That’s not the average domainer. But if you can cover your costs and are willing to wait as long as it takes, then this approach has it’s place.
