I recently loaded a large group of domain names for sale on Afternic. In order to set the pricing, I did what I usually do… looked at my purchase prices and thought about what I think would be a fair sale price, and I set the prices based on those two factors. My gut feel might not be the most efficient pricing model, but it’s done me fine so far.

Shortly after the names were priced and approved, I did a couple of searches on Afternic for keywords related to my domain names, and I saw other domain names listed for sale. Some of the prices varied drastically, and it’s going to make me review the prices I set for some of my domain names. I think you should do this competitive research, too.

When you list your domain names for sale on Afternic, Sedo, Aftermarket.com, or other domain sales platform, you need to do some basic market research to see the prices of similar domain names. When a potential buyer does a search for a domain name that is similar to yours and they find much better pricing for a similar domain name, it’s very possible that they will select the other domain name based on the price. You probably wouldn’t want to lose out on a sale because someone else priced their similar asset $2,000 below yours, especially when you have  more than enough margin to make the change.

No two domain names are exactly the same. However, to some people and companies, it makes sense to buy a different domain name for less money. If PartyPhotographer.com were listed on Afternic for $15,000 and PartyPhotography.com was listed for $9,000, it’s very possible a buyer will choose the less expensive domain name, even if he originally wanted the other domain name.

Even though many of my sales are outbound or inbound via the landing page, doing market research before pricing your domain names is important. There may be only one buyer willing to pay 4 or 5 figures for a particular domain name, and if that buyer sees something similar for much less money, it’s quite possible he will go for that name.