Call it the un-official Blue Book of the Internet.

To help domain name owners figure out the current market value of their domain names Verisign Monday says it is launching two new appraisal services.

The Mountain View, Calif.-based company says its PremiumAppraise and FastAppraise services are great valuation tools that give accurate and up to the minute pricing on all of the current Top Level Domain Names (TLD).

"Domain name holders have long demanded the opportunity to obtain credible appraisals of their domain names -- some holders just need a quick and inexpensive snapshot while others require more in-depth insight," says VeriSign vice president of Web Identity Services Steve Lorenc.

Covering The Four C's

Both of the services are based on the company's proprietary domain name evaluation models. The appraisals are based on four key criteria (Character, Commerce, .Com and Comparables).

The analysis begins with the assignment of a value to each of the criteria, which produces a preliminary rating and estimated value. The values are constantly updated and cover all of the current domain names including the seven new generic top-level domains in addition to .com, .net, and .org and the more than two hundred country code top-level domains.

PremiumAppraise is designed for the domain name holder that thinks he or she might be sitting on a gold mine of a name. The service includes an in-depth analysis including a consulting team, comparison data dating back to 1999, and a 13-page report that shows the possible high and low values.

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The comprehensive valuation goes for USD$75 per domain and is delivered within three to five business days. VeriSign is also offering an expedited overnight service for an additional $200.

On the lighter side, FastAppraise is targeted for people who deal in high volumes especially those who have a large volume of names to price and sell on the secondary market.

The service goes for USD$19.95 per domain and provides an online valuation report within three business days. One-hour Express Service is also available for an additional $10. The company is offering bulk discounts with savings up to 20 percent for those who have multiple submissions.

What's In A Name?

As in all business of course, it really comes down to what people are willing to pay for a good domain name.

For example, Pasadena, Calif.-based WebMagic held a fire sale of a number of its URLs back in July.

The venture creation firm, think-tank, e-commerce and wireless software developer best known for getting Pets.com and Toys.com off the ground says it had to sell off the names for both business and humanitarian reasons.

Some of the prices are going for more than 50 percent off the original price.

Antiqueshows.com was $40,000 - now $6,000
Plumbers.net was $20,000 - now $3,000
Grandchildren.com was $50,000 - now $8,000

But, the title of "Most Expensive Web Site" goes to Sex.com.

A federal judge named San Francisco-based entrepreneur Gary Kremen the rightful owner of the domain name and awarded him $65 million after Stephen Cohen was found liable for fraud and forgery in a five-year battle over the ownership of the URL.