Is there an antique appraisal website you know of?

ariel · 20th October 2008, 05:56 PM

This is all good and well, but we all need some insurance for our collections. To do it, one needs to get a professional third-party valuation.
Don't you think that it might be useful to establish and post a list of recommended professional valuators for our collective use?
Also, is there a common procedure? For example, does one need a personal visit from the "valuator" or would digital pics suffice? What is the customary charge ( +/- of course and subject to private negotiation), but are we talking per piece? Per hour? Per value?
I think that with all the high-brow attitude toward money, practical help might be useful.

Rick · 20th October 2008, 06:27 PM

That's not a bad idea Ariel .

They could be linked from here:
http://www.vikingsword.com/ethsword/ethlinks.html

Who's good and who's not though ??

Have to vet them somehow .

ariel · 20th October 2008, 06:52 PM

I am sure some of the members are professional valuators themselves.
They know the procedure orders of magnitude better than the rest of us combined.
Perhaps, they can provide an overview; nothing, of course, of personal nature and promotion, but a general outlook: requirements of insurance companies, procedure, choice of valuators, estimates etc.

Atlantia · 20th October 2008, 08:19 PM

Just a couple of quick points gentlemen.
No insurance company I've dealt with will accept digital photgraphs for valuation purposes, they can also be somewhat demanding when accepting the legitimacy of valuers and valuations. This is a minefield area to get into.
Who is liable if a claim is made and the insurance company decides to querey this valuation?
A definate ID of an item should give enough information for anyone to do some searching of sold items on auctions sites etc to get a good idea of current market value without all the inherent problems of subjective valuations.
'For insurance purposes' valuations and 'current market price' are certainly never the same thing.
I agree that any 'valuations service' offered via this site should certainly be entirely separate from it, if for no other reason than to open the forums to such posts may swamp them.

Just my 2-rupees worth!

G.

20th October 2008, 05:56 PM	#1
ariel Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Ann Arbor, MI Posts: 5,503	This is all good and well, but we all need some insurance for our collections. To do it, one needs to get a professional third-party valuation. Don't you think that it might be useful to establish and post a list of recommended professional valuators for our collective use? Also, is there a common procedure? For example, does one need a personal visit from the "valuator" or would digital pics suffice? What is the customary charge ( +/- of course and subject to private negotiation), but are we talking per piece? Per hour? Per value? I think that with all the high-brow attitude toward money, practical help might be useful.

20th October 2008, 06:27 PM	#2
Rick Vikingsword Staff Join Date: Nov 2004 Posts: 6,347	That's not a bad idea Ariel . They could be linked from here: http://www.vikingsword.com/ethsword/ethlinks.html Who's good and who's not though ?? Have to vet them somehow .

20th October 2008, 06:52 PM	#3
ariel Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Ann Arbor, MI Posts: 5,503	I am sure some of the members are professional valuators themselves. They know the procedure orders of magnitude better than the rest of us combined. Perhaps, they can provide an overview; nothing, of course, of personal nature and promotion, but a general outlook: requirements of insurance companies, procedure, choice of valuators, estimates etc.

20th October 2008, 08:19 PM	#4
Atlantia Member Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: The Sharp end Posts: 2,928	Just a couple of quick points gentlemen. No insurance company I've dealt with will accept digital photgraphs for valuation purposes, they can also be somewhat demanding when accepting the legitimacy of valuers and valuations. This is a minefield area to get into. Who is liable if a claim is made and the insurance company decides to querey this valuation? A definate ID of an item should give enough information for anyone to do some searching of sold items on auctions sites etc to get a good idea of current market value without all the inherent problems of subjective valuations. 'For insurance purposes' valuations and 'current market price' are certainly never the same thing. I agree that any 'valuations service' offered via this site should certainly be entirely separate from it, if for no other reason than to open the forums to such posts may swamp them. Just my 2-rupees worth! G.