Saw had reasonable appraisals on some domains, but seems to undervalue many two word combos.
This is part of Domain Name Wire’s review of automated domain appraisal tools. See all reviews: Estibot, GoDaddy, Atom, Appraise.net, GoExpired, Dynadot, NameWorth, Saw, Appraise.software, Humbleworth.
Saw is a domain marketplace offering self-brokerage and do-it-for-me brokerage services.
While its tech platform is less than two years old, it’s backed by years of brokerage experience from well-known brokers.
It also offers a free appraisal tool. Andrew has personal experience with these appraisals: a potential buyer used a Saw appraisal against him during negotiations on the platform.
Was this a fluke? Let’s see how Saw’s automated appraisal system performs.
Two word brandables
We evaluated two domain names in this category: MakeMatter.com, which sold for $15,000, and PressBridge.com, which sold for $5,000.
Both of these domains are in the sweet spot for two dictionary word brandables of $3,000-$15,000. Yes, some sellers hold out for higher amounts, and their data will show these domains sell for much more. But looking at overall sale data, it’s reasonable for an appraisal system to return anything in this price range for this type of domain.
Saw valued both at $700. In our tests, Saw struggled with two word brandables.
The upside is that it also valued CloudToaster.com, an unregistered domain we used as a test, at under $700.
One word, high value .com
Saw.com valued our high-dollar test domain, dragonfly.com, at $1.457 million. It appraised midnight.com, which sold for $1.15 million this year, at $2.5 million.
Popular ccTLDs
We ran a solid one word .io, and a plural .ai of lesser quality through Saw’s appraisal tool.
Mike sold expedite.io for $14,995. Saw appraised it for $9,500
We entered another one word .io domain that Andrew acquired last year in an auction for about $500. Saw valued it at $5,000.
Saw does not currently appraise .ai domains.
Exact Match descriptive
What about an exact match, category defining domain?
We ran WaterFilters.com through the tool. It’s listed for $3.5 million, although all but one of the appraisal systems we tested valued it much lower.
Saw thinks it’s worth $40,000. That was on the low end of our tests, but not by much.
Three and four letter domains
Three and four letter domains are some of the most liquid domains on the market.
We tested a pronounceable CVCV .com domain, dujo.com, that is listed on Afternic for $36,000.
Our goal was to see if the algorithms caught that this was not just a random set of letters. Pronounceable, brandable four letter domains are generally worth more than unpronounceable random letters.
Saw valued the domain at $15,000.
We also tested a four letter, non-pronounceable. Logan Flatt sold MOTG.com for $14,888. Saw appraised it for $17,000.
Saw was one of the only services that appraised motg.com for more than dujo.com.
For a three letter domain, we tested VJN.com. It’s listed for sale on Afternic for $39,000. V and J aren’t great letters, so this is likely on the lower end of three letter .com values.
Saw gives it a $280,000 value. That was the highest of any appraisal system.
New TLDs
Saw.com does not currently appraise new TLDs.
Final analysis
Some of Saw’s estimates seem very good. But we were disappointed with how it handled lower end domains, especially two word brands.
On the qualitative side, Saw provides reasonable justifications for its prices. But it’s missing the most important thing: comps.
Domain appraisal remains an imperfect solution for in insubstantial problem. How do you accurately value something that is subjectively always going to be valued differently by its intended buyer?
Domains sell like property and are valued like art, there is never going to be a true objective basis because even the parties who value domains will give more or less weight to certain characteristics.
The most reasonable objective value is past sales data and the most effective use of that data, even if it sometimes dilutes value is a median review of recent domain sales that exclude outliers.
Anyone who seen enough sold domains recognises there are those that have sold for a fortune that might not have been worth registering and others that sold for next to nothing but should have gone higher and domains that go in and out of the market and their sale price depends more on one sellers confidence versus anothers impatience.
Domain valuation is the snake oil of this industry. Everyone claims they have it nailed but in the end when it ends up perfoming as confirmation bias to either party who want to argue the opposite then it stops being useful. Namebio is a great tool but you invert its benefit the moment someone who disagrees with you sorts from low to high, and as much as you may believe the top 5 sales tell the story supporting your domain, a buyer can easily argue the opposite and if you wouldnt share namebio with your buyer to evaluate the value for this reason then how can you objectively celebrate it when it helps you without having bias.
Domains dont become more sellable if you drop the price, you still need a buyer with the right timing who will of course happily buy it for 2k but would have paid 10k just the same. That buyer will keep every domainer up at night because unlike many markets in the world that can moderate their revenue by adjusting their blend of price over volume, domain value is so subjective that appraisal tools will always be a poor substitute for experience,