Appraisals
Formal Appraisals
I charge $275 per hour for research and production of a formal document that can be used for legal purposes such as insurance, estates, gifts, etc.
If appraising a collection which will take more than six hours, I have a daily rate–for between six and eight hours–of $1,600. If extra time, beyond the daily rate, is needed in order to document or prepare the appraisal, $250 per hour will be charged for that extra time.
A formal appraisal usually involves me physically examining the item(s) in question, but it can be done from photographs as long as the appraisal states this fact.
Added to the above are any necessary travel expenses, calculated at .50 per mile if driving or ticket prices if on a common carrier, as well as $50 per hour travel time, with a maximum of $300 per day.
Contact me if you would like to have a formal appraisal or have any questions.
Informal, E-mail Appraisals
Where a formal appraisal is not warranted or is impractical, a less formal, email appraisal may be appropriate. As this procedure does not follow the accepted appraisal standards, many appraisers prefer to call this a “professional opinion of value” (POV).
I charge $75 per item for a POV. A POV is good for those who desire a value for an item, but do not want to pay for a full appraisal. A POV is not for legal matters (such as estates, donations, etc.), but can help you decide how to treat an item for the purposes of selling it, framing it, restoring it, insuring it, and so forth.
What you get with a POV is my considered opinion of the value of the item in question, based upon your description and photographs. You get neither extensive research nor a full description, and I do not provide a professional statement of the appraised worth of your item. What you do get is a statement of my opinion what such items sell for based on my many years of experience in the field. Contact me if you would like a POV.
Ballpark valuations
Many people want to know a value for the map or print, but do not want to pay for an appraisal. I certainly understand this, but as a professional appraiser I cannot give out specific values at no charge. However, in order to try to provide you with some information of the value of your item(s), I will provide “ballpark valuations” at no charge. This is simply a general statement of value (such as “decorative” value or “significant” value) to give you some idea of the value of the item(s) in question. In many cases this will be sufficient; if not, then the alternative is a formal appraisal or POV.
If you would like a ballpark valuation, please feel free to contact me. Please do not send digital images without contacting me first.