The Methodology for Market Valuation of Second-Level Domain Names in the .RU and .РФ Top-Level Domains for Secondary Markets has been published on the website of the Coordination Center for TLD .RU/.РФ. (see the Russian version here). Developed by Euroexpert specifically for CCTLD, the methodology sets forth methods and algorithms for estimating the price of a domain name in the secondary market.
The secondary market for .RU and .РФ domain names is rather big in Russia. It is represented by online trading platforms organized by registrars (domain name marketplaces) offering over 200,000 domain names for sale, as well as private online platforms, domain parking, social media channels and groups, brokerage services by registrars and private brokers, and independent owners selling their domains.
With all this in place, there are no publicly available secondary-market cost valuation methods for .RU and .РФ domain names. Therefore, CCTLD enlisted the help of one of its partners to develop a methodology. Moreover, in the future the Coordination Center plans to initiate drafting and legislative approval of a common domain name valuation standard.
“The methodology comprises a set of methods and algorithms based on mathematical models that describe how the value of a domain name depends on pricing factors. It is based on the global practice of domain name valuation, Russian market experts’ opinions and a host of other things. Of course, the semantic part of a domain is rather important and we managed to formalize this parameter in our methodology as well. We hope that the methodology will prove relevant on the Russian market. It is the first document of this kind that will help to make the secondary market of domain names more transparent and predictable,” noted Svetlana Lobanova, Coordination Center Project Manager.
The methodology for .RU and .РФ domain name secondary market valuation is intended for use by accredited .RU and .РФ registrars, intellectual property valuation experts and all participants in the secondary domain name market, including buyers, sellers and marketplace owners.
