We offer an assortment of appraisal services. Our rates vary depending on the type of item, type of appraisal, and location of item or collection. All appraisal services are strictly confidential.
Appraisal vs. Estimate
People often confuse the terms “appraisal” and “estimate”. If you are wanting to sell something, you actually need an estimate of how much we would pay for the item. We do not charge for estimates, assuming you are ready to sell.
Sometimes people really do need an appraisal, usually for one of the following reasons: they’re getting ready to sell the items; to settle an estate; or for insurance needs. A true appraisal is when we come to your home, examine your items, take measurements, photos, etc. and then write a report detailing the items’ information (age, scarcity, material, type of wood, artist, etc.) along with a fair market value. When we’re doing an appraisal, we are not buying anything as this would be a conflict of interest. We charge hourly to do appraisals.
If you just want a rough idea of value, a quick, off-the-cuff “quick” appraisal, we can do that too. We are always happy to examine items for a reasonable per-item charge. Our quick evaluations are not to be used for official purposes such as probate, insurance, etc. Please contact us for more information on these services. Below is a sample “quick” appraisal”.
All Appraisals are not the same.
Depending on your needs, you may want a valuation based on fair market value or replacement value. A fair market value appraisal is defined as “what a willing buyer will pay a willing seller.” Fair market value appraisals are based on current and recent sales of similar items. These appraisals are typically done for estates or for people who are selling off their belongings due to downsizing. Although we may assign a value to an item, there is no guarantee that you will get that price when you try to sell the item. But it is a useful guide for you to use should you want to sell the item.
An appraisal for insurance purposes is a replacement value appraisal. Values assigned for replacement value are typically much higher than those in a fair market value appraisal. In this case, the value is based on what the owner would have to pay should he need to go out and replace the item due to a fire, theft, damage during a move, etc.
Appraisal Rates
For our quick appraisal, we rely on photo and information (dimensions, condition notes, etc) submitted to us via email or text. We then email the completed appraisal to you. Our standard rate per item is $49.00.
For detailed appraisals, or appraisals involving several items to entire collections / estates, we generally will need to see the items in person. Our travel rate is $49.00 per hour; time spend evaluating, researching and formally writing up your appraisal (with photos) is charged at $99.00 per hour. Generally speaking, we can appraise 2 or 3 items per hour, sometimes more if you only need a total price for a grouping of items, sometimes fewer if the item is particularly rare, valuable, or complex. For example, if you have a collection of 50 Zippo lighters, and they are all of approximate similar value, we can come up with a number in pretty short order. On the other hand, if you have a collection of 50 porcelain advertising signs, all different conditions, sizes and products, we will need to research each one separately in order to assess an accurate value to each.
We strongly suggest that you start by sending photos of the collection before we travel to you. We don’t need tons of close-up photos, just some general shots so we have a basic idea of what we are heading into. We don’t want to waste your time or ours; if the collection looks to be of little value, we will advise you of that fact before we start accumulating billable hours.
And of course, as with all our services, appraisals are kept 100% confidential. On occasion we may need to consult with associates of ours with expert knowledge of a particular item, but we will absolutely safe-guard your information when doing so. We take your privacy and security very seriously!
Free appraisals?
There really isn’t such a thing. Any dealer offering you a free appraisal is really offering to tell you what they would be willing to pay; it is an estimate not a formal appraisal. They may be willing to guess at a value for you on an item they aren’t buying, but that still falls short of an appraisal. A true appraisal is impartial, with supporting documentation you can present to your insurance, for example.
Please read our general terms, conditions and disclaimers here.
