Mystified by some domain prices

Where do they get these figures from?

[mooperlee]

I think there must be something I don't understand about domain names. I get that shop.com is far more valuable then shop-now-4-you.ws, that bit is obvious. And other things are obvious too, like if there's a pagerank 8 website sat on your domain name that's been there since 1996 then it's gonna cost you a fortune.

But other times...the numbers just don't make sense. There's a domain I'd like for an expired website, which died about 4 years ago and has been hemorrhaging links since. It's valued by the domain broker at $30,000. It is a .com, but it's not keyword rich or particularly memorable. It doesn't get type-in traffic, and it's been for sale ever since the original site died.

How can it be worth $30,000?! I suppose my question is - why do some brokers seem to sit on domains rather than price them reasonably and sell them? Do they really make enough from parked domains or is it something else?

Plus, there seem to be a tonne of good domains in my sector, proper keyword rich .coms that are just parked by the big companies. Why don't they sell 'em?!

[reprint]

"why do some brokers seem to sit on domains rather than price them reasonably and sell them? Do they really make enough from parked domains or is it something else? "

I think it depends on whether it is truely the broker's domain or they are representing someone. My experience with brokers is that they prefer to inflate the price and bargain downwards. Perhaps they are making sufficent money from type-in traffic and remember all they have to pay for is renewal and wait for a good return on their money.

If there is an owner behind the broker, then there are many reasons including an emotional attachment, unrealistic expectations, eternal plans for the site that do not materialise and so on.

My advice is to just go ahead and make an offer you think is reasonable in a polite manner. Do not try to point out all the problems with their domain because that can backfire especially if they have an attachment to the domain/website. If you get no reply or a no, then just move on. I keep a spreadsheet noting the domain/website, the date i contacted them and offer I made, whether i got a reply and so on. This way i make sure i am not pestering anyone and quickly can look up the offer i made if someone does bite. Sometimes i get a reply long after I had given up on getting a reply. I prefer not to reveal that I may own related names/sites because this may cause them to inflate the price.

Keep an eye on the sites for any changes and keep an eye on the names to see if they appear in any auctions.

Best of luck