so how does one go about setting a realistic price for their domain names in an auction?

i mean a name realistically worht $25, may be worth $2,500 to the right customer

so do you plonk them in a 7 day auction with a realistic price or reserve?
or just park them?



and are the appraisal companies worth paying for?


cheers

No appraisal is worth paying for. If it's your intent to sell the domain in the 7 day auction then there is no way you will wait the 5 years for the right customer to come along, so price your domain at price it will sell at.

I would pay a $2500 for a name if it was viable for my interests.

i mean a name realistically worht $25, may be worth $2,500 to the right customer
The truth is, a name realistically worth $25 would most probably NOT be sold for $2,500, even to the keenest buyer.

Auction is just a gimmick. Yes, some people *may* pay more than they should just because there are other competing buyers; but you can't really count on that to boost your price for even 10 times than it's worth.

In my experience the users of domain auctions tend to be quite keen domainers. The channel hasn't got widespead public usage yet. These users know how much domains are worth, usually through their own tools - so as nameslave says - don't count on an inflated value.

I think the best way is to sell the domain for the best price you can get it. Then it would be up to the buyers to bid for it then.