Appraisal for end users

[DomainMagnate]

Do you think it can be useful to get a certified appraisal by sedo or a similar company when selling a domain to an end user?


~MG

 

[katherine]

I have never ordered one and I don't think I would.
IMO it is best to research comparable sales and use the figures to back up your asking price.
Appraisals are just speculation on the fair price an end user would be willing to pay. It's all theory.
On the other hand reported sales are not speculation, they mean actual money exchanged and better reflect the market trends.

 

[DomainMagnate]

Thanks Kate,
But the point is to get a certified appraisal for the end user, to help convince them the domain is worth paying for Do you think that would be worthwhile?

~MG

 

[Theo]

Sedo certified a domain of mine at $3k. I sold it for mid 5 figures. So no, I think paying $39 for a certification is pointless.

 

[katherine]

I hope it's not somebody trying to sell you an appraisal.
You know, the appraisal scam

Appraisals are a double-edged sword. Some are conservative or uninformed, and may quote a figure or range well below your asking price.
Another thing to take into consideration is that some buyers are domain savvy, and coming up with an unsolicited appraisal, especially if it comes from a dubious source, can spoil your credibility and hurt your leverage in the negotiations.

Right now I have an end user interested in a domain. My asking price is 10K. They say they ordered two appraisals, one says 1,$$$ and the other $,$$$. As a goodwill gesture they offer 3,$$$. I declined the offer.
I estimate that fair value is between appraisal price and asking price (which includes room for negotiation of course).
The point is that appraisals can be used by potential buyers to get an edge over you so be careful.

My feeling is that either we are talking about a good amount ($,$$$+) or the possible buyer is undecided (could back out).

 

[Bill Roy]

MG, simple answer, NO!

Why would they take notice of some clapped out, out of date, inaccurate, formulated piece of rubbish? Do not insult your end user, they will know more about their business than some idiotic pin in a table appraiser would. (Assuming of course it is not automated - but I am beginning to believe SEDO, etc., no automated system is so bad!)

 

[bdss]

If you are selling to a new to domain business end user then YES ..get a appraisal.
Corporates work more on the evidence they see ..also it wont harm to say the company who did the appriasla ex: sedo have ____ amount of marketshare and are worth xxxx amount outlining their bigger sales.
makes sense to feed the corporates as much info as you can.

 

[Theo]

Outside of the domainers' world, companies like Sedo and certification mean nothing. An end-user will place an offer or will negotiate a deal based on a variety of factors, including budget or need for the name. Some corporations/end-users will pay whatever price you ask. I have yet to run into a situation where a certificate would produce a better sale.

 

[DomainMagnate]

thanks bdss, thats what I thought. But as Theo pointed out I'm afraid their appraisal maybe somewhat lower than what you'd usually ask form an end user


Btw, considering you're selling a 5 figure domain to an end user, how can you figure what's the maximum price they can afford to pay for it? Do you research to see their profits/market share etc and ask some % of it, or just through a high number, like 100k and then go down from it?

~MG

 

[Johnn]

I don't see the appraisal is needed. I sold a lot of names to end-users and no one ever asked me for an appraisal.

End users normally have a price range/budget on how much they would pay for the name and:
- If they understand about domain appraisal then they don't need one
- The ones who do not understand about domain appraisal will not need one

It is confusing but it makes sense.

John

 

[DomainMagnate]

Thanks John,

How do you figure out what's their budget so you won't sell low and at the same time won't scare them off with a very high price?

~MG

 

[Johnn]

Thanks John,

How do you figure out what's their budget so you won't sell low and at the same time won't scare them off with a very high price?

~MG

It is like a chess game and it is different depending on the situation.

I did help a member here to sell a name to an end user. He hand registered the domain and he ended up with a mid $x,xxx offer. The transaction should be closed shortly.

He is nice enough to offer to send me a commission when the transaction is done even I did not ask for it.

 

[DomainMagnate]

thanks for the tips, John!

I'm actually pretty good at chess

~MG

 

[tonyfloyd]

He is nice enough to offer to send me a commission when the transaction is done even I did not ask for it.

are u gonna accept it when he/she does send it?...

you make some very good points Johnn...thnks!

Tony

 

[copper]

are u gonna accept it when he/she does send it?...
Tony

Why not?

He used his knowledge/time to help him/her to get much higher
sales price.

I would gladly pay if it was me

 

[Johnn]

Since I spent a lot of time to help him from start to finish, I want to accept the money so he does not feel like he use me. The whole process took almost 3 weeks with a lot of emails back and forth.

Here are some of the guidelines that I used:

1. Do not reveal or give them any clue that you are in the domain business
2. Play hard-to-catch and let them know that you already received offers
3. If they are interested in the name then they should have a price range that they are willing to spend and without knowing this important information, you will be just spinning your wheels.
4. Stating the reasons why you want to know the budget as you plan to develop to the site and you will not consider unless you can see the number.

End-users don't need to buy and sell everyday like us so be patient when you communicate with them. Pushing too much will just scare them away and like I said before, the situation is different depending on a lot of factors but these are the general guidelines that I used and it seems to work very well.

 

[DomainMagnate]

Very good points John!

Most important question, do you specify a range/bin first, or just always ask for offer?
Because you know people usually offer like $50-100 if you ask them

~MG

 

[Johnn]

I do sometimes get phone calls too about my names and NONE of them has any price.

There will be no talk unless I know what they have in their pocket.

 

[tonyfloyd]

what do u do when they start off saying "i am willing to offer you $75"?... Do you start with steps 1-4 as you described above? ...do u even acknowledge the low offer?

Tony

 

[Johnn]

I would ignore low ball offers like this one as I am sure this is not an end-user (in my definition). So the buyer would be either a kid/domainer or DNF member.