[sudev]

Today I was approached by some company for purchasing a four letter .com domain that I have been using for past 12 years. The current business context does not warrant my holding on to the domain name and I could sell it given a interesting price offer.

Question how dose one work out the value of a domain name?

Usual google for it exploratory is already under way but looking for quick response / solutions pointers.

[tsk1979]

It depends on how common is the keyword, and how many people search for the keyword. For example if the name is sex, you can expect a million dollars!

[kannan666]

Also the brand image that the domain name might carry along with goodwill !

[Gurpartap Singh]

If you must sell it, figure out how big heart the company has, how important the domain is for them and what they can pay if they must get it from you.

[Rehaan]

Oh man, this is one of those questions that has no real "correct" answer. Its just that the end price should satisfy you, even if it resells for 10x that amount a year later.


One vague guideline might be to use an online domain valuation service -- however, this might not work so well if the domain is an acronym : eg. "TOI" vs a word "times".

Also a lot of these sites valuate based on exploitability for ad traffic eg. "tickets" would be worth more than "shah".

You haven't told us anything about the domain. Is it an acronym that only a few people would want to buy (due to relevance to their co. name) or is it a word that is more universal??

cya
R

[tacho]

It is worth how much a buyer is willing to pay

[nitrous]

I'd hang on to it, if I were you.

[black12rr]

Just curious ,whats the domain name BTW ?

[ghpk]

If you get a good price sell it. but take pre-cautions when you handover the domain i.e. by giving them access to your domain transfer secret.

If the offer satisfy your money thoughts, sell it but make sure to do the following.
1). Engage a ESCROW service to get funds.
There have been sale where after purchase the suspicious buyer has charged back the entire amount and domain owner had to incur heavy losses in getting domain/funds back.

2). put a notice on your website for upcoming name change atleast 7 to 15 days.

3). notify your customers about upcoming domain name change.

4). update bank records if the domain is commercially involved.

5). notify service tax departments if your current business activity is registered with them.

6). allow transfer out only once you get the complete payment.
you can give them domain secret for initial amount, but keep the domain in locked state, and once final payment is released you unlock the domain so it gets transferred.

do not change whois records in hurry as registrars like godaddy would not allow you to transfer a domain if the record is modified within last 60 days.

if you have more questions do post here or send me a PM.

[directinjection]

Originally Posted by sudev

Today I was approached by some company for purchasing a four letter .com domain that I have been using for past 12 years. The current business context does not warrant my holding on to the domain name and I could sell it given a interesting price offer.

Question how dose one work out the value of a domain name?

Usual google for it exploratory is already under way but looking for quick response / solutions pointers.

Is it possible that the domain in question constitutes the trade mark of the company that approached you? If yes, it is possible their offer is actually a trap to make you quote a figure in excess of your actual expenses incurred in registering (and maintaining) the domain, thereby creating evidence of your bad faith user that they'll need in order to evict you from the domain through the process of law. So be careful and don't show you're keen to sell. If your usage has been genuine so far, tell them that you are a bona fide user and that the domain is not for sale. Keep your web site fully functional. Extend your domain registration further. Let them approach you again.

[Sahil]

Ironically, I have been on a domain name buying spree. I have bought the generic name domain of every product category our company has.
My aim is not to sell this at a premium later but it's the brand image and goodwill that gets enhanced by having such strong domains.

[sudev]

Thanks for all the responses.

The domain is 4 letter abbreviation of the company my company name with .com TLD and is used by me for last 12 years and currently hosting a web based service with revenues.

The valuation services are giving me estimates from 1000USD to 40000USD. So essentially they are worthless in making a decision. These were free valuation services and I guess I'd not get any better if I used "paid" valuation service.

And I am sure of doing this transfer, if it matures, only on payment received basis. Or as suggested using an escrow service.

Ultimately price is between buyer and seller.

[Rehaan]

Originally Posted by nitrous

I'd hang on to it, if I were you.

I'm not saying this is bad advice, but there are two possible reasons against your advice :

1) This interested company might find and settle for something else - and then have less interest in the said domain name. (ofcourse, this is only a bad thing if they are the company that wants it most / has the most "fire-power").

2) The value of .com domain names might fade a little soon: since domains are incredibly hard to find, a few regulations have got more relaxed recently. The first non-english domain was just registered a few days back, custom TLDs (eg. canon just got .canon) etc etc will all make .coms less valuable in the future IMO.

cya
R

[sandeepmdas]

Originally Posted by tsk1979

For example if the name is sex, you can expect a million dollars!

sex(dot)com was sold for USD 12 million.

@ Sudev sir, I strongly suggest Sedo.com for escrow services, we once bought a domain through them for a client of us for $600 or so.

Having that said, I have the same opinion of fellow TBHPian nitrous: "I'd hang on to it, if I were you."

[SirAlec]

If you can shift to other domain easily without loosing your client base. Sell if you like the price.

But on condition that there will be link on prominent places to redirect it to your site.