Also called STR · sell through rate
Sell-through rate, explained
If you hold 500 names and sell 5 in a year, your STR is 1 percent. Rates are low for most investor portfolios, because each name waits for one buyer who needs it, and they vary widely with name quality, pricing and how broadly the names are listed. Higher prices usually lower STR while raising revenue per sale, so read it together with average sale price.
The break-even test is simple: STR multiplied by the average net sale price must exceed the yearly renewal cost per name. A portfolio with a low STR needs high prices per sale; one priced low needs volume. Compare STR across your own years and segments rather than against industry averages, which are rarely published with their method. Pruning weak names before renewal raises STR and cuts costs at the same time, which is often easier than chasing more sales with lower prices.
Example. With an STR of 1 percent, each sale must bring in about a hundred times one name's yearly renewal cost just to keep the portfolio at break-even.
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