When some of my domain names are approved for Premium listing status at Atom.com, I’ve noticed the suggested prices don’t always seem to follow a clear rationale. In some cases, it looks like the suggested prices are influenced by the asking prices I have for the domain names at Afternic, but the exact numbers often feel somewhat arbitrary and contrary to what I’ve generally assumed.
In reviewing my last 13 approved Premium listings, 3 of them came in just above what I would have considered a natural pricing threshold. For example, one domain name was suggested to be priced at $3,099 instead of $2,999, which I would have expected. With a relatively small portfolio, I don’t have enough volume to test this in any meaningful way, but I’ve always assumed that “charm pricing,” prices just under round-number thresholds, was the smarter strategy for listing domain names. Some sellers even prefer -88 endings for their domain names.
I asked Atom CEO Darpan Munjal about the pricing, and he shared some insights about “precise” pricing rather than charm pricing: