How to Get an Antique Appraisal

There are some different kinds of appraisals of antique furniture. Understanding why you should have the appraisal helps you decide which kind you should get. Decide your reason for having the antique appraisal before you begin looking for an appraisalist. Then, choose the best service, who can provide you an accurate value. Here are a few types of antique appraisals:

Historical Antique Appraisal –

The most popular style of antique furniture appraisal involves determining the current condition of an item. Based on information from its original description as it was first described in its books and sold. This is the most time consuming of the three kinds of antique furniture appraisals. It requires research, studying, and the ability to read antique furniture appraisal guides. You’ll probably need an additional person to help with the historical appraisal. Such as a carpenter, an expert locksmith, or an antiquing expert.

Professional Appraisal –

Professional appraisers examine items in person. They use historical evidence and scientific methods of measurement to determine the condition of the item. You have to be very careful with this type of antique furniture appraisal. Because if the appraisers make a wrong or non-representative judgment, then you could lose a lot of money. Some professional appraisers work only for major manufacturers; others may work for individual manufacturers and/or private sellers. Either way, both kinds of appraisers require you to be very clear and detailed about what you want them to do and why.

Personal Appraisal –

The second most popular style of antique furniture appraisal is done by just asking the people who own the antiques. If you have found a piece of furniture at a garage sale, thrift store, or an estate sale, chances are good that one of the people there will have some information about it. Just ask the owner whether they know anything about the piece of furniture, and then tell them how much it might be worth.

Free Online Appraisal –

Although this is not really an appraisal, it is still considered as an authentic appraisal. Since you won’t get to physically inspect the item before you buy it. You have to rely on your instincts and your “gut feelings” when deciding if it’s a bargain or not. Antique furniture appraisals that are done using this method have a 90% accuracy rate. So it may be safe to use this option for your antique furniture appraisal needs. However, these free online appraisals usually don’t give a very accurate estimated reading time. Because they are based on your own knowledge of the piece of furniture.

Handmade Appraisals –

There are many people who would rather hire a professional antique furniture appraiser to determine the value of their antique furniture instead of doing it themselves. The only problem with this option is that it can be quite expensive. You would need to hire a professional appraiser, and even then, they would be charging you a lot of money just so that they can help you with your Antique Furniture Evaluation. If you are going to do it yourself, then you will need to spend time researching about the furniture and making sure that you have enough information to present your case to the appraiser in a professional manner.

This way, your antique furniture appraisal should give you a fair idea of what your furniture is worth. Unfortunately, most people end up paying way more than what they should for their antiques, so in order to protect yourself from this, it is best to hire the services of a professional antique furniture appraiser to determine the value of your antique furniture collection.

Professional Antique Appraisers Near You –

If you want to get an appraisal done quickly, then you should try to find one near you. There are some antique furniture appraisers that will only work in their local area. But there are others that will also appraise antiques all over the United States. These appraisers will usually charge you for more time because it takes them longer to complete these appraisals, but the truth is that they will still be able to get you a good appraisal because they are experienced and they know all of the ins and outs to determining the value of something.

Do a little research before hiring one of these appraisers so that you can make sure that they are going to give you a proper appraisal. You can also request that they send you the documents that they need so that you can look them over and determine if you agree with them or not.

Antique Furniture Valuations –

If you feel that you are not a great appraiser, then you can always hire an Antique Furniture Appraisal company to determine the value of your collection. These companies are usually very good at what they do. So you will most likely not have a hard time getting an appraisal for your items. Just be prepared for them to charge you a lot more than if you were to do it on your own. There are some companies that will allow you to place a larger number of items for them to look at. But you have to make sure that you are not putting your items at risk by allowing your valuables to be evaluated by someone who does not know what they are doing.