Originally posted by snoopy
You are missing the issue of probability here, a sale like vodka.com is rare in terms of the price paid (compared to the quality of the name). Much better names have recently sold for less (eg cameras.com), need to look at the whole market, not just the price peaks.

I agree that is an important piece of the overall equation. But even probability changes with the market so it's not a constant. I agree that certain valuations (price expectations) can become so outlandish that the probability of a sale at that level is nearly impossible.

Originally posted by snoopy
My $500 appraisal of merlin.net was from 2.5 years ago, obviously the market as a whole has increased significantly since then.

Fair enough. But this and other examples show how yesterday's valuations (guesses) don't necessarily reflect future sales. Some would argue this the rare exception but that is refuted fairly easily.

This thread has me thinking about how we each assign value to quality domains. There seem to be different mindsets, each with its own merits, that don't seem to be well synthesized.

Also it seems buyer was an end-user.
Very nice .net sale nevertheless.

Originally posted by carlton


Fair enough. But this and other examples show how yesterday's valuations (guesses) don't necessarily reflect future sales. Some would argue this the rare exception but that is refuted fairly easily.

Well the market will rise/fall over long periods of time which I think anyone receiving an appraisal would know.

In terms of sales to endusers the prices paid need to be above fair value otherwise the business model would be unsustainable. Personally I'd expect that sales to endusers should not match what the domain has been valued at.

Much like if you owned an art gallery you couldn't afford to be selling artwork for fair value, there is a need to overprice to compensate for the difficulty of obtaining sales and the probability of a sale occuring.

A domains value is the price at which it can be sold for with certainty (eg an auction) in a short period of time, much like artwork or antiques where values are looked at in terms of auction sales not sales in retail environments or outlier private sales (where one person can be way above the rest of the market in terms of what they are willing to pay).

Originally posted by Matt
Jordan has a .com for sale @ $9,500.

what name ?


nm i found it

Originally posted by snoopy
A domains value is the price at which it can be sold for with certainty (eg an auction) in a short period of time

Why is value tied to quick sale (short time period)? That sounds more like, bargain or discount pricing. I believe premium value, and related pricing, by nature do not cater to what 99% of people will pay.

Prime real estate will sell quickly and to 99% of buyers when priced cheap, but will sell at a premium to only 1% of buyers. Why would real value be tied to what others might pay on the spot? For example, a special/custom designed home might sit on the market for 3 months with no takers. You could drop the price by 50% and sell it the next day like distressed or foreclosed real estate. Or you could wait 1-3 more months and receive a full price offer. Which is the home's real value?

Exactly right Carlton. Well said.

Originally posted by carlton


Prime real estate will sell quickly and to 99% of buyers when priced cheap, but will sell at a premium to only 1% of buyers. Why would real value be tied to what others might pay on the spot? For example, a special/custom designed home might sit on the market for 3 months with no takers. You could drop the price by 50% and sell it the next day like distressed or foreclosed real estate. Or you could wait 1-3 more months and receive a full price offer. Which is the home's real value?

Don't agree. On the other side of the fence many people would argue auctioning property results in high prices (people tend to get competitive when bidding and may become emotional etc). Not sure about where you live but here expensive property is very commonly auctioned.