Mood:
brightTopic: Technology
Last weekend I looked at the Domain Name Trading business, because by accident I got a hold of iixii.com, a domain that I thought would be a very good one becasue it is short, sticky, .com, and it reads like a beautiful symbol..
So I looked around a bit for appropriate pricing models and I have seen quite a difference depending on where you go when you would like to purchase or sell a domain name.
I went to see Afternic, GreatDomains and a bunch of other ones, too
I was surprised to see that "foreplay.com" is up for sale at $150,000, but that "Groups.com" was offered less than $200. Amazing, isn't it?
Here are a few other examples: "bullion.com" for $125,000, "passover.com" for $90,000, "negotiable.com" for $15,000 and so on (These examples are from GreatDomains).
Interesting, isn't it? And what about these ones? "cruisebargoons.com" for $4,500, "tholos.tv" for $100,000, and "SaddamHussein.com" for $15,000 (from AfterNic.
It was ironic to see that of the actualy sold domains "OnlineTaxService.com" was the biggest recent sale made, as it went to its new owner on AfterNic for $2,200.
So how can anyone make any money in todays Domain Trading business? The answer to that question seems to be: Appraisals. No matter where you go buyers are nowadays apparently asking for an appraisal of the domain you are trying to sell. You can get these "professional appraisals" by keying in the magic number (of you credit card) and then you'll receive a piece of paper that states that your domain is worth "so-and-so much".
But where are the buyers?
If a buyer can't make up their own mind, why is he looking for a domain in the first place? And does he or she really need a third party to 'appraise' a domain? I would say you need an advertising agency if you need any help making that decision.
The only FREE APPRAISAL I could find on the net was from SWIFT Appraisal, but potential buyers will tell you that they don't value these.
The fee for a genuine 'professional domain appraisal' generally varies between $9,00 and $39,00 and whether it is worth it to you , you have to decide for yourself, but I wouldn't buy a domain because someone else says it's valuable. I have to believe in it myself.
The only guy I met online that had it right i think was DreamName, if only because he managed to p... me off because he suggested to register also the Chinese Versions of IIXII, and it sounded just so... weird..
It was in one of the Domain Name Discussion Forums, either DomainState or DiscussNames.
Maybe the .com is dead.
Long Live the Global DomainNameGame(.com). If you are looking for a free buying advice in domains, just have a regular look at the DeletedDomains and pick one you like..
Self-Appraisal
www.iixii.com is up for sale on eBay and Afternic, and I have appraised it myself at $10,000.
In case you are interested, I have used the following valuation model:
Your comments are welcome.
UPDATE: Recently Sold domains
