It is apparent that GoDaddy has been in the process of revamping its domain name appraisal tool. This became most obvious when expiry auctions in GoDaddy Auctions were missing their estimated values. Recently, domain investor Bob Hawkes noticed what appeared to be a change in the appraisal tool:
I have not seen formal announcement, but the GoDaddy domain appraisal instrument has clearly changed. Many com, org up significantly, but unregistered, non-words generally way down to low $$$ range.
— Bob Hawkes (@AGreatDomain) April 18, 2023
GoDaddy’s Paul Nicks replied that the algorithm hadn’t changed but GoDaddy added more sales data:
The values aren't meant to be static. No algorithm change was made, but we did add a lot more data to improve the recency
— Paul Nicks (@PaulENicks) April 18, 2023
One thing that seems to have gone unnoticed is a tweak to what GoDaddy shows on appraisals for high value domain names. Instead of reporting the value as more than $25,000, the tool now says the value is “too high to estimate.” GoDaddy’s Michael Cyger – who is departing soon – shared this on Twitter this morning:
Nobody else has noticed the "too high to estimate" on the GoDaddy GoValue tool?https://t.co/XxKT6JSn7u
The tools is not 100% accurate for every domain name, but this makes it clear it's not useful for high-value domain names. pic.twitter.com/LhIBFIvmzH
— Michael Cyger (@MichaelCyger) April 23, 2023
I actually think this is a very good change. Instead of putting that $25,000 number on valuable domain names – which can be very confusing unless the disclaimer is carefully read – it emphasizes the high value of the domain name.
With many prospective buyers trying to use the GoDaddy Appraisal as a means of getting a lower price on a domain name they don’t wish to buy, I have come to look unfavorably on this automated tool. That said, I think this new language is helpful.
