How can you calculate the value of a first name .com?
DNMedia published a quick look at the value of first name domain names over the weekend.
I own one such domain (Cathleen.com), so I found the data interesting.
DNMedia took 5,000 common first names and found sales records for 103 of them, ranging from $500 up.
It calculated that the typical first name domain name sells for about $.80 to $1.25 times the number of people who have that name in the United States.
As the authors point out, there are a lot of caveats. It’s a pretty rough guide.
One important point is that the buyers of high dollar first name domains aren’t using them for personal sites. Jasmin.com, which sold for $310,250, is an adult site. Alice.com was purchased for $250,000 and is a deals site. Lela.com, another six figure sale, is a shopping site. And although Dora.com is still parked after selling for $100,000, I bet a lot of the value comes from your child’s Spanish speaking cartoon friend.
Regardless of how you analyze the data, I think it’s great to have a list of comps to share with a potential buyer of a first name .com domain.
Over 90% of domain name valuers have a clue what to look for in valuing a domain name ~
I think comparative sales are the best guide to value domains, the same way they do in housing, also the revenue earning potential ~
There’s a domain name I found in a forum – I looked up the word and it’s apparently a rare first name used a long time ago. It sounds really nice and undoubtedly doubles as brandable company name. The owner has it listed for 3,200,000 USD. It’s called Avadore it’s a dot com.