When a domain value has to be defended, use a consensus appraisal: five independent valuations converged into one range, with the methodology, comparable sales and an independence statement in writing. Our Letter of Appraisal documents it on letterhead with verifiable certificate IDs, free with any consensus appraisal; a signed and sealed original can be mailed. It is an independent opinion of value, and your advisor will tell you whether the filing in question needs a licensed appraiser as well.
Short answer: a value that will be questioned needs three things a quick estimate does not have: a stated methodology, independence from the parties, and a number that another run of the same method would reproduce. A consensus appraisal with a Letter of Appraisal gives you all three, in a document the other side, the court or the accountant can verify online.
Below: what each situation typically needs, what the letter contains, what it is not, and how to get one.
Selling or buying a business. The domain is often the most valuable intangible on the list and the least documented. A per-domain range with comparable sales lets both sides allocate purchase price to it with a reason, rather than leaving it at a nominal figure that one side will regret.
Estates and probate. Executors need an inventory value for every asset, and domain portfolios are easy to overlook and hard to price. A portfolio letter lists each name with its range and a verifiable certificate, dated, on letterhead, which is what the court and the heirs need to see.
Divorce and partnership splits. Each side has an incentive to argue the number. Independence is the point: the letter states that no party had input into the values, the methodology is uniform, and the consensus can be reproduced. That takes the argument out of "whose appraiser" and into the evidence.
Taxes and accounting. Capital contributions, intercompany transfers, impairment tests and donations all need a supportable figure. Our letter documents an independent opinion of value with its basis stated; your advisor decides whether the specific filing also requires a credentialed appraiser's report, and some do.
It is an opinion of value from a uniform, documented method, not a certified appraisal under the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice, and we say so in the letter. For most negotiations, estate inventories and internal accounting that is exactly what is needed. For a filing that names a credentialed appraiser as a requirement, use our letter as the market evidence your appraiser builds on, and tell them every figure in it can be reproduced.
Already have a standard appraisal with us? Upgrade it to consensus for 6 credits; it becomes one of the five opinions. The consensus appraisal help article has the measurements behind the method.
That depends on the filing. Our Letter of Appraisal is an independent opinion of value with a stated methodology and verifiable certificates, and it is accepted as supporting documentation in many contexts. Some filings, for example a noncash charitable contribution over a set threshold, require a "qualified appraisal" by a credentialed appraiser under specific rules. Ask your accountant or attorney what the particular form demands; we state our scope plainly in the letter so there is no ambiguity.
Reproducibility. A single valuation varies between runs by 29% on a typical domain. A consensus runs five independent valuations, drops the highest and lowest, and converges the middle three; replacing any one opinion typically moves the result by 0%. The letter also states that no party had input into the resulting values, which matters when the other side asks who paid for the appraisal.
Yes. Consensus appraisals can be run in batch for up to 500 domains, and the Letter of Appraisal in portfolio mode lists every domain with its range and certificate ID on a schedule. This is the usual format for an estate inventory or a company sale.
Order it from the letter page: $19 plus $12 for USPS Certified Mail. It carries an ink signature and the company seal, and is addressed to the recipient you specify. The electronic PDF is valid without a signature and is free.
Then there are two assets. We value the domain name as a name: what the right buyer would pay for the bare registration. The business, its revenue, its customers and its content are valued separately by a business appraiser. Keeping the two apart is what makes each figure defensible.
A consensus appraisal runs five independent valuations and converges them into one range. Download the Letter of Appraisal with it, free.
Get a consensus appraisal with a Letter of Appraisal