This page walks through the whole sale in order and shows where recorded sales of similar names change the decision.
Step 1 Decide who you are selling to
There are two kinds of buyer, and they pay different amounts for the same name.
- Investors buy at auctions and in lists to resell. They pay a wholesale price, because they need room for a margin.
- End users are businesses and founders who will actually use the name. They pay a retail price, which is often several times higher, but they are harder to find and slower to decide.
Your asking price depends on which of the two you are targeting. A name priced for an end user will not move at an investor auction, and a wholesale price offered to an end user gives away the difference.
Step 2 Price the name from recorded sales
Search the name on SoldComparables and read the comparable sales it returns. Each comp shows the price, the venue and the date, so you can see what names with the same extension, similar length and similar meaning really fetched. Keep wholesale and retail comps apart, and prefer recent ones.
From the comps you can set three numbers:
- A floor, the lowest offer you would accept without a second thought.
- A likely price, where recent comparable sales cluster.
- A stretch price, the retail level you ask when a business shows direct interest.
A price you can back with three cited sales is easier to defend when a buyer pushes back, and easier for you to hold when the first offer comes in low. The domain name value page explains the wholesale and retail gap in more depth.
Step 3 Choose where to list
Names are sold through marketplaces, through brokers and by direct outreach to likely buyers.
- Marketplaces put a fixed buy now price or an auction in front of many buyers. Each venue takes a commission on a completed sale, so work backwards from the amount you want to receive. Our guide to Afternic commission rates shows how to set a buy now price that still nets your target.
- Brokers negotiate for you and charge a fee or a share of the sale. They make sense for names where you expect a business buyer and a large number. See what one registrar broker service costs in the GoDaddy domain broker service cost article.
- Direct outreach works when the name obviously fits a company or product category. You write to the people who would use it, with a price already set.
Step 4 Answer offers with evidence
Most first offers come in low. Treat the offer as information, not as an insult. Check it against your comps: if it sits inside the range of recent sales for similar names, a counter a little above it is reasonable. If it is far under every comp, send the buyer two or three recorded sales and hold your number.
Brokers answering many inbound leads do the same thing in volume, which is covered on the for brokers page.
Step 5 Close the sale safely
Agree the price and terms in writing, use an escrow service so neither side carries the risk, and transfer the name only after payment has cleared. Keep the report you used to set the price. It is a useful record of why you accepted the figure you did.
Step 6 Price the rest of your list
If you hold more than one name, the same steps apply to each. Pricing them one at a time takes hours. The bulk domain appraisal tool takes a list and returns an estimate for every name, so you can decide which to list now, which to hold and which to drop at renewal.
What a sale price estimate is and is not
An estimate built from recorded sales is a data backed range, not a certified appraisal and not a guarantee that a buyer will pay it. Public sales reports list only sales at or above 1,000 USD, so a name that would sell below that may have few or no recorded comps. When that happens, the result says so instead of inventing a number.