Appraisal advice

cellrdwellr

Elite Member
Joined
Jul 20, 2014
Messages
19,221
Location
Dirt Cellar, MA
Anyone have any experience with the appraisal process? I unfortunately do not, but I'm looking to either bring my item somewhere, or I saw a local appraisal company actually comes to you and does a contactless appraisal on site. A mobile gemologist/appraiser van if you will. Any input is appreciated!
 
Hi Jeff,

You’re probably already wise to this, but if you have an item that is “appraisal-worthy”, a second or even third professional opinion of value might be a good idea. And, I would not sell it to the party who did the appraisal(s).
 
What type of item do want appraised? Whatever the item is, just remember that the appraised value is most likely NOT what someone will offer for the item if you try to sell it.
 
Local jewelry store where i have done some business will look at an item for me and tell me if it is real or not.

I took two diamond rings for her to appraise. She charges 50 dollars to do a written appraisal of one item. Since i had two items she charged 30 for the second.

I discussed with her what i should ask for the items if i were to sell them to an individual and she said half my appraisal.

She did not offer to purchase the rings even though the shop does buy gold.

Bur her written appraisal allowed me to sell one of the rings for 1400. The cost of the appraisal was offset by the increase in the dollars i received.
 
Hi Jeff,

You’re probably already wise to this, but if you have an item that is “appraisal-worthy”, a second or even third professional opinion of value might be a good idea. And, I would not sell it to the party who did the appraisal(s).

What type of item do want appraised? Whatever the item is, just remember that the appraised value is most likely NOT what someone will offer for the item if you try to sell it.

Local jewelry store where i have done some business will look at an item for me and tell me if it is real or not.

I took two diamond rings for her to appraise. She charges 50 dollars to do a written appraisal of one item. Since i had two items she charged 30 for the second.

I discussed with her what i should ask for the items if i were to sell them to an individual and she said half my appraisal.

She did not offer to purchase the rings even though the shop does buy gold.

Bur her written appraisal allowed me to sell one of the rings for 1400. The cost of the appraisal was offset by the increase in the dollars i received.

Thank you for the replies fella's, I ended up bringing that 14k bracelet in to have it repaired and appraised. Cost me 200$ for both, apparently it was already repaired in the past, and they didnt do a very good job repairing it. I went with the same jewelry store I bought my wife's engagement ring about 10 years ago. It's been a little over a week since I brought it in. They said should be 2-3 weeks so, I'm patiently awaiting the results. I realize the appraisal will only give me an idea of its value, and I think the hardest part will be finding a buyer, if/when I do decide to sell it.
 
KT has done appraisal values for several individuals, but for collections of minerals and rocks, not for jewelry or gemstones.

One important thing to note is what type of appraisal are you asking for? There is replacement value (generally done for insurance companies), there is retail value by the piece, or there is wholesale value, which is for the sale of large collections. Retailers, whether jewelry stores, rock shops, etc., in general have large markups on their merchandise. They expect to buy wholesale and sell retail, which often involves up to a 10X markup. That way when they advertise an annual "sale" for 50% off select merchandise, they still make 5X their investment. KT has done collection evaluations, and these are for insurance purposes. When asked, if I sell the collection to one buyer, what should I expect to get by auction or sealed bid, I generally tell the seller, if you are offered 10 to 15% of my evaluation, take it. Too much emphasis is placed on sentimental value, which has no place in the retail market, although jewelers use it all the time .....remount your grandmother's old diamond, remake your old jewelry, etc.:roll::roll::roll:

Rock and mineral collectors spend a lifetime gathering samples, and all the fun of doing that is part of the hobby, but it adds no value to any particular piece ...the scarcity and perfection of the piece is what gives it any value, and the desire by someone else to own it! :D:D
 
Local jewelry store where i have done some business will look at an item for me and tell me if it is real or not.

I took two diamond rings for her to appraise. She charges 50 dollars to do a written appraisal of one item. Since i had two items she charged 30 for the second.

I discussed with her what i should ask for the items if i were to sell them to an individual and she said half my appraisal.

She did not offer to purchase the rings even though the shop does buy gold.

Bur her written appraisal allowed me to sell one of the rings for 1400. The cost of the appraisal was offset by the increase in the dollars i received.

Good advice, thanks. I never thought about about this.
 
Thank you for the replies fella's, I ended up bringing that 14k bracelet in to have it repaired and appraised. Cost me 200$ for both, apparently it was already repaired in the past, and they didnt do a very good job repairing it. I went with the same jewelry store I bought my wife's engagement ring about 10 years ago. It's been a little over a week since I brought it in. They said should be 2-3 weeks so, I'm patiently awaiting the results. I realize the appraisal will only give me an idea of its value, and I think the hardest part will be finding a buyer, if/when I do decide to sell it.

You might be surprised. I found a 950 platinum ring with 10 diamonds a few years back and took it to the local jeweler to be appraised. He gave me the appraisal and I used it to sell the item on eBay, and I got exactly what the appraisal sheet said.
 

Attachments

  • plt-ring-6.jpg
    plt-ring-6.jpg
    42.6 KB · Views: 671
Years ago my wife inherited a sterling flatware set that we did not need. I took it to 13 different appraisers\buyers. The offers ran from $700 to $1700. A thousand dollar range.

I took 2 Morgan CC silver dollars to a coin shop. One was 1880 and the other 1884. Both in wonderful condition. Was offered $40 each. Another store offered $400 each.

Be careful
 
Years ago my wife inherited a sterling flatware set that we did not need. I took it to 13 different appraisers\buyers. The offers ran from $700 to $1700. A thousand dollar range.

I took 2 Morgan CC silver dollars to a coin shop. One was 1880 and the other 1884. Both in wonderful condition. Was offered $40 each. Another store offered $400 each.

Be careful

$40 each for CC silver dollars? Which location of "Crooks R Us" did you take them to? :)

$400 each (unless we're just talking about an offer of $800 for the pair) would indicate a lower grade 1880-CC and a higher grade 1884-CC. As far as CC dollars go, 1884 is a more common year, but still valuable, with 1880 being rarer.

-- Tom
 
The appraisal and repair are complete, more than happy with the end results! I might jazz up the shadow box a little more though. Thanks for the advice everyone!
 

Attachments

  • 20210819_134327.jpg
    20210819_134327.jpg
    10.5 KB · Views: 488
  • 20210922_115718.jpg
    20210922_115718.jpg
    43.5 KB · Views: 410
man when i first saw it I thought THats amazing i bet that thing is worth 5 or 6 grand....but dang $10,000 !!!!!! Congrats on the good news
 
Boom chakka lakka! That's awesome! Nice job!

man when i first saw it I thought THats amazing i bet that thing is worth 5 or 6 grand....but dang $10,000 !!!!!! Congrats on the good news

That's insane man, wow! Put it on ebay starting at maybe 20% of that and see what happens!

Excellent advise, zeemang!

Thank you all! I as well was thinking MAYBE 4 grand. I'm not sure if I want to go the ebay route when I do sell it. Now you have to report your earnings to the IRS every year and I havent even mentioned Ebays cut. I'm not sure what their slice of the pie is, but it will be a few hundred dollars on a few thousand dollar sale I'm sure. I stopped selling on the bay, too much hassle nowadays. I have so much stuff too, and ebay is where I unloaded alot of it. Good luck out there fellas!
 
Thank you all! I as well was thinking MAYBE 4 grand. I'm not sure if I want to go the ebay route when I do sell it. Now you have to report your earnings to the IRS every year and I havent even mentioned Ebays cut. I'm not sure what their slice of the pie is, but it will be a few hundred dollars on a few thousand dollar sale I'm sure. I stopped selling on the bay, too much hassle nowadays. I have so much stuff too, and ebay is where I unloaded alot of it. Good luck out there fellas!

E bay requires your social security number now, No Way! I closed my e bay account.
 
Dang Jeff... how you gonna top that ??? Might as well hang up the detector now, cuz it's all DOWN HILL from here.

See you Saturday at the MTHA Hunt. Weather forecast looks good so far. :cool3:
 
Back
Top Bottom