Valuation Model

"How much is my domain worth?" - good question, and one that most people do not wish to get wrong as our clients do not wish to overpay for a domain nor to undersell a good domain.

We have developed an evaluation model based on the industry performance in the last few years. This includes well publicized sales that hit our daily papers down to small private sales for relatively small funds.

In evaluating your domain, there are a few criteria that are important to get the maximum value for your characters.

1. Number of characters:

   Short names are better than long names and hence worth more money. A short name is easier to remember and type into your browser and will therefore represent a better Brand Name for a corporate buyer.

   Short names (5 or less characters - not including the .com, .net etc. suffix) are the most cherished and therefore most valuable.

   The table below illustrates the worthiness of each name according to the number of characters (again, not including the suffix).

   Number of characters	Value (points)
   5 and under	4 points
   8 and under	3 points
   14 and under	2 points
   20 and under	1 point
   Over 20	No points (Some long domain names can be rated higher than 0 points, E.g. you-win-some-you-lose-some.com)

   
   
   

2. Commercial Meaning:

   Names that are based on dictionary words are more meaningful and therefore more valuable. Furthermore, they are finite and are the first to be taken up. Words with direct commercial meaning are most valuable (e.g. garden.com is more valuable than flower.com since it applies to a wider target audience and does not limit the buyer. On the other hand, GardenInSummer.com is more limited and hence less valuable.).

   Generic names that can be easily branded are worth quite a lot, but less than specific names. An example would be jungle.com - a name that would be easy to brand in nearly all markets.

   Names that are variation of meanings or expressions are less valuable, again since they do limit the target market for that domain. An example would be buy.com Vs. LetsBuyIt.com.

   Another thing to remember is the possibility of a trademark being taken on a particular name. This would render the name with no commercial value since the rightful owner can legally take the domain off you at any time.
   This is an important point to remember before you attempt to register a name that may have trademarks registered against the name. An example would be Nestle.XXX or Disney.XXX.

   Description	Value (points)
   Short memorable names with direct commercial implication and wide target market potential. (E.g. Food.com, Buy.com, Books.com, Search.com).	4 points
   Short memorable names, but might not have direct commercial meaning. They may offer easy branding for commerce (which usually pushes them beyond this category - Monster.com) (E.g. Boo.com, Loop.com).	3 points
   Names with commercial meaning, but a more limited target market. (E.g. GardenFurniture)	2 points
   Names with commercial meaning, but an even more limited target market. (E.g. GardenInSummer, GardenPots.com)	1 point
   Commercial names with Trademarks (E.g. Coca-Cola.com), Names with negative commercial implication (E.g. RipOffMerchants.com).	0 points

   
   
   

3. Suffix:

   Your domain's suffix (the .com, .net or .org bit) is very important and signifies potential regional coverage and seniority within the internet market.

   A .com names implies global coverage and explicit seniority in the internet market.
   There is not doubt that a good .com is like a personalised number plate - and one that can go with you wherever you go.
   

   Other suffixes such as .net and .org offer less of an impact for commercial companies although many buy them to secure outright ownership for all combination of their domain (An exception is a .net suffix for an ISP - Internet Service Provider since they imply ownership or operation of a network).

   Other regional names like .co.uk (United Kingdom), .co.za (South Africa) or .fr (France) offer less of a global impact. But are nonetheless very important for companies operating on a national scale.
   
   

   Suffix	Value	Comments
   .com	100% of full value	Best suffix out there. Implies global coverage and seniority on the internet
   .net	50% of full value	Next best thing to a .com
   .cc, .org, .web, .co.uk	35% of full value	Value is rated as 'fair'.
   All others	10-15% of full value	Value lies between 10-15% of full amount depending on the target market. Generally the more people, the more valuable the domain.

   
   
   

4. Summary:
   The table below summarises all the points laid out above and should enable you to estimate the value of your domain name:

   UK £	Commercial Meaning: 4 points	Commercial Meaning: 3 points	Commercial Meaning: 2 points	Commercial Meaning: 1 points	Commercial Meaning: 0 points
   Characters: 4 points	500k to 8 million	250k to 4 million	75k to 1 million	5k to 50k	0 to 25k
   Characters: 3 points	350k to 5 million	40k to 800k	10k to 100k	3k to 35k	0 to 15k
   Characters: 2 points	100k to 1 million	20k to 250k	5k to 75k	3k to 40k	0 to 10k
   Characters: 1 point	10k to 250k	5k to 50k	3k to 40k	1k to 20k	0 to 10k
   Characters: 0 points	0 to 100k	0 to 25k	0 to 18k	0 to 15k	0 to 10k

   Using the table above, you can calculate an estimated worth for your domain name.
   Don't forget the suffix discount factor (e.g. a .co.uk would be worth approximately 35% of the final table's value).

   E.g. Stars.net:

   1. Number of characters: 5 characters = 4 points.

   2. Commercial Meaning: No direct commercial meaning, but is a very good, short, memorable name = 3 points.

   3. Suffix: .net = 50% of full value.

   4. Using the table above gives a result of 250k to 4 million GBP.

   5. The final step is to apply the discount due to the suffix = 50% in our case.

   6. Estimated Final Value: 125k to 2 million GBP.

   Please note:
   Basically, domain appraisal is tricky at the best of times, therefore this evaluation model should be used for estimation purposes only. Like everything, judgement comes with expirience.