Domains and Appraisals

[Rockefeller]

Doesn't it make you cringe when someone puts the "esitbot appraisal" into a sales thread? It even makes me cringe when a seller emails me with a sedo, moniker, or even godaddy appraisal. It saddens me to see reputable members here quoting estibot. As a domainer you need to know the value of a domain name on your own, you can't be paying $50 for some company to type in a few numbers. For me, if i cannot determine the value of a domain off hand, I wouldn't buy it. You should see the value of it as soon as you look at it, for at least know a rough guideline of what you could get for it

I recently spoke to Monte Cahn over email and he really truly believes that a domain name should sell for whatever Moniker appraises it for. It's simply not going to happen. My domain sold for $71,500 more than what they had previously appraised it for. I had offers of $135,000 more than what they appraised it for. You guys really need to get real and realize that these companies only offer appraisals as a source on income.

Here are a few domain names that I have had appraised at Moniker and to the right of that is the esitbot appraisal and to the right of that is my selling price. There are also some recent sales as reported by dnjournal in the same format. (Moniker appraisal, estibot appraisal, selling price)

Aftermarket.com $53,560; $16,000; $125,000
Katie.com $35,704; $390,000; $62,036

Rainbow.com $610,000; $170,000
Sexe.org $8,300; $151,400
Cognac.com $67,000; $88,000
Alpari.com $1,500; $65,000
Pokern.at $100; $55,829
Susan.com $420,000; $50,000
Asia.net $70,000; $50,000
PostalCodes.com $63,000; $42,500

 

[Ebiz4india]

Interesting Facts, thanks for sharing.

 

[SonnyBurnett]

Thanks for sharing Rockefeller

 

[Biggie]

Doesn't it make you cringe when someone puts the "esitbot appraisal" into a sales thread? It even makes me cringe when a seller emails me with a sedo, moniker, or even godaddy appraisal. It saddens me to see reputable members here quoting estibot. As a domainer you need to know the value of a domain name on your own, you can't be paying $50 for some company to type in a few numbers. For me, if i cannot determine the value of a domain off hand, I wouldn't buy it. You should see the value of it as soon as you look at it, for at least know a rough guideline of what you could get for it

glad you started this, rather than me




it takes a while for any person who just starts in the biz to get the hang of it, when it comes to judging value.

though some have been at it for some time, and still don't get it.



many newbies rely on these appraisals to add the hype necessary to sell a domain.

but whenever i see the words "appraised by estibot at $$$" i don't read any further.

one would think though, that moniker and sedo appraisals would/should be closer to reality, since they are in the aftermarket biz.

perhaps they don't research the history of sales for related names prior to throwing out appraisal numbers, and as you say, it may just be profit centers for them.

 

[DomainMagnate]

I think these appraisals are quoted more for end users than domainers.

Outside the domaining world it's a common belief things should sell for what professionals think they are worth

 

[Onward]

The appraisals kill me when I am trying to buy a name from a non-domainer who has had the name for 12+ years...sometimes the appraisals are just so unrealistic on the high end...

An example, I started to negotiate on a name I would say is a 20k reseller type name...after the owner discussed with their hosting company and their webmaster...they gave me a 16k price...actually pretty reasonable and showed that the owners' advisors know a little about domains. After I agreed to purchase...the owner then got an a couple of appraisals which came back from as low as 18k to as high as 120k...well these so called appraisals ended up killing the deal initially because the owner now wanted the median price of the appraisals and switched our agreed upon number.

I think domain appraisals are a money making scheme for the appraiser for the most part...I do like estibot as a research tool though I think in many cases the prices are about 3x too high and also some times have very low prices that should be much higher. I also think moniker lowballs their appraisals quite a bit when they are considering them for their auctions.

 

[draggar]

I don't think I'll never pay for an appraisal nor would I really care for what appraisal services think they're worth.

1) It's more important to what the domain is worth to me or my clients. I don't care if some computer says it's worth $100,000. To me or my client it is only worth $500 and if the seller doesn't agree, then we'll find other alternatives. The opposite is true. If I posted some of the domains that I've bought people would say, right down the line, reg fee but it was well worth the backorder price ($70) for them.

2) I can always get a free, good, and human appraisal here.

Appraised value and selling prices are rarely close to each other but when you think about it, real estate is like this too.

I look at my tax record for this year and the county puts my property value at $85,000 but identical homes in my neighborhood have sold for $130,000-$140,000. Does this mean that the county is not appraising them correctly? Nope, just that their appraisal service does not coincide with demand.

 

[NetworkMsia]

A domain is worth what someone is willing to pay, especially if it has meaning to the buyer, he will pay crazy million dollar high prices for it.

I find Estibot's appraisal very useful cause it gives stats such as PPC score, OVT score, WordTracker and etc. Obviously, you should NOT take the appraisal seriously, but it helps so much in giving a range of what a domain could be worth.

Asking for human appraisals on the forum is slow, you need to own the domain, but Estibot appraisal gives you info such as Alexa rank and etc within a second.
Saves time, and make your life easier.

 

[Rockefeller]

A domain is worth what someone is willing to pay, especially if it has meaning to the buyer, he will pay crazy million dollar high prices for it.

I find Estibot's appraisal very useful cause it gives stats such as PPC score, OVT score, WordTracker and etc. Obviously, you should NOT take the appraisal seriously, but it helps so much in giving a range of what a domain could be worth.

Asking for human appraisals on the forum is slow, you need to own the domain, but Estibot appraisal gives you info such as Alexa rank and etc within a second.
Saves time, and make your life easier.

I agree, I use estibot all the time for OVT, wordtracker, and pagerank, but I never use it for the value of the name. I do find it very useful though.

And you're right, a domain name is only worth what someone will pay for it. I've sold names for $50,000 and have had people say they would've paid $100,000. I've taken that same name and have had people tell me I couldn't get $10,000 for it.

Here are a few others with the estibot appraisal and the selling price.

Fund.com $98,000; $9,999,950
DataRecovery.com $380,000; $1,659,000
Cruises.co.uk $550,000; $1,099,798
SkiResorts.com $160,000; $850,000
iReport.com $16,000; $750,000

 

[katherine]

I agree, I use estibot all the time for OVT, wordtracker, and pagerank, but I never use it for the value of the name. I do find it very useful though.

That's it
One of the first rules newbies should learn is that automated appraisals are worthless, even an experienced human being can only 'guesstimate' the fair value. Domain names are a type of unique property with so many factors in the equation.
While tools like estibot may be useful for extracting metrics they should refrain from making up appraisal figures that are seldom accurate and lack credibility.

 

[Biggie]

the details that bot appraisals give for ovt are outdated, since overture hasn't been updated since jan 2007

most newbies don't know the difference between 'searches', the term used in the results for "wt" and "kwd" are not the same as "visitors" to a specific domain.

therefore, they misinterpret the data from the beginning.

some aren't clear on "impressions" vs "uniques"...

terms like "ppc score" are so vague and the criteria used to derive them are masked in ambiguity....

google results are often assumed as actual pageviews for a domain...

the intricate categories that apply to the value and potential, when rating a domain are more complex than many sites care to explain. when "blanket answers" only make it more confusing.

as most only want to get their "coined" term or service into the mainstream

 

[jasdon11]

Appraisals are pointless. Every domain is unique; means something different to everyone who has to value it.

Most of the human appraisals, although they are by people who work in the industry, don't come from actual 'traders'; they just happen to work for a company in the business. It's like asking the receptionist at the BMW showroom to give you a trade-in price on your car.

As with any product, the best appraisers are the people at the sharp end - the ones who actually make money, putting their money where their mouth is.

 

[onlinetv]

I also think moniker lowballs their appraisals quite a bit when they are considering them for their auctions.

I would agree. In my opinion they work hard to push the price below any reasonable level under the guise of auction yet in the end Moniker always is the purchaser.

Sometimes they resell it, sometimes it stays with them. One might find that a conflict of interest. Some people might find that a very intriguing way of accumulating a vast wealth of property at cut rate prices.

 

[Biggie]

I would agree. In my opinion they work hard to push the price below any reasonable level under the guise of auction yet in the end Moniker always is the purchaser.

Sometimes they resell it, sometimes it stays with them. One might find that a conflict of interest. Some people might find that a very intriguing way of accumulating a vast wealth of property at cut rate prices.

i doubt if many realize the amount of submissions that actually are sent to Moniker and other aftermarket houses, for review and appraisal.

i could imagine there's a lot of junk to filter through.


nobody will bid on an overpriced name and a low reserve makes a good to fair name look enticing.

the assumption is, that you're putting your name in auction because you haven't got a previous offer high enough to sell for.

at least i would think that is the mindset of the auctioneer.

Moniker is in the domain reselling/aftermarket business, just like many other registrars who once were "one dimensional". When all they did was register for you and maybe provide hosting.

Now they play the game that we was playing, only now they make the rules and have all the inside connections. Joining forces and making deals behind the scenes to exploit name catching, backordering, aftermarket reselling, appraisal and brokerage profit centers.

even experienced domainers feel the anxiety after they make a great sale, because there's always the after thought of, could i have gotten more.


and that's the part of knowing what a buyer is willing to pay!

 

[Credit]

Rock rocks - I totally agree about the thread and really get the "cringe" when people mention what Estibot thinks about the domain - OVT + WordTracker results are great, but value can't be determined by a bot.

 

[Theo]

Sedo appraisals are not better off either. Sold a name appraised at ...$2,250 for mid 5-figures. Then repeated the feat two more times. Want to make money? Cut the middle man out.

 

[jasdon11]

Want to make money? Cut the middle man out.

Or be the middle man.

 

[NetworkMsia]

As with any product, the best appraisers are the people at the sharp end - the ones who actually make money, putting their money where their mouth is.

I agree on this 100%

 

[GAMEFINEST]

I've seen a lot of threads with that Estibot statement, I shake my head when I see that.

 

[Sheva]

Doesn't it make you cringe when someone puts the "esitbot appraisal" into a sales thread? It even makes me cringe when a seller emails me with a sedo, moniker, or even godaddy appraisal. It saddens me to see reputable members here quoting estibot. As a domainer you need to know the value of a domain name on your own, you can't be paying $50 for some company to type in a few numbers. For me, if i cannot determine the value of a domain off hand, I wouldn't buy it. You should see the value of it as soon as you look at it, for at least know a rough guideline of what you could get for it

I recently spoke to Monte Cahn over email and he really truly believes that a domain name should sell for whatever Moniker appraises it for. It's simply not going to happen. My domain sold for $71,500 more than what they had previously appraised it for. I had offers of $135,000 more than what they appraised it for. You guys really need to get real and realize that these companies only offer appraisals as a source on income.

Here are a few domain names that I have had appraised at Moniker and to the right of that is the esitbot appraisal and to the right of that is my selling price. There are also some recent sales as reported by dnjournal in the same format. (Moniker appraisal, estibot appraisal, selling price)

Aftermarket.com $53,560; $16,000; $125,000
Katie.com $35,704; $390,000; $62,036

Rainbow.com $610,000; $170,000
Sexe.org $8,300; $151,400
Cognac.com $67,000; $88,000
Alpari.com $1,500; $65,000
Pokern.at $100; $55,829
Susan.com $420,000; $50,000
Asia.net $70,000; $50,000
PostalCodes.com $63,000; $42,500

100% TRUE.

I have 2 domains, 1 is credito.com and estibot appraisal is $13000, turned down an offer of $ 100k for it, the other is esave.com with estibot appraisal $ 240 (LOL) and here on the forum 2 appraisal of low x,xxx, I turned down $ 110k offer from a very trusted company.

I think that the appraisal things doesn't have sense.