The best way to get a bad appraisal is to give us wrong information, and poor quality photographs! But now that we have that out of the way, let’s talk about the right way to do it!

So, now that you’ve inherited Grandma’s dusty attic treasures or you stumbled upon a flea market find worthy of Indiana Jones, what’s your next step? That would be to get it appraised! But hold on there, treasure hunter. Let’s set you up with some ideas for getting the most accurate results for your prizes.

Preparation is important:

• If you’ve done any research on it, let us know about it. Include details like maker’s marks, historical context, comparable items that you know of, if any.
• For best results, make sure it’s free of attic dust and grime as much as possible. But don’t overclean it to the point where you damage any genuine age patina.
• Gather whatever intel you have on it. “Grandma inherited it from someone’s great-uncle” is fine, but a history with names, dates and other details might be more helpful.
• If you’re dealing with collectibles like dolls and toys and other vintage items, original packaging can be significant. If you have that, make sure we know about it.

When taking your photographs:

• Focus! Focus! Focus! Make sure all your photos are sharply focused.
• Photograph your item from as many angles a necessary.
• Send photos of any appropriate maker’s marks.
• Try to fill the frame with your object, but not to the point where it exceeds the boundaries of your image.
• Try to make the background as uncluttered as possible.

Do not be overly reliant on Internet sales sites for your value expectations. Such sites usually post listings with “asking” prices, which are what the seller hopes to receive. But “asking” prices are often worlds apart from what the item actually sells for. Some sites even promote a marketing strategy where the seller posts an artificially high price, knowing full well that the true selling price will be significantly less. Some sites do allow casual viewers to review sales results. But those records are usually only available for the past few months at best, whereas our resources allow us to cover many decades of confirmed sales results.

So give us the best information you have, and we will give you the most thorough and accurate results possible. Give it a try by clicking on the link below.

www.siscoantiquesappraisals.com