Online Antique Appraisers

debodun

debodun

SF VIP
Location
way upstate in New York, USA
I've been researching the contents of the house I inherited trying to find a fair market value of some of the antiques. There are many online sites that say they do appraisals, but when I ask, I am usually told to look it up eBay or Etsy. To me, an "appraisal" is a professional opinion by a person "in the know", not getting it from an online auction. Some issues I have with looking for values on eBay is that I can usually never find the "exact" same thing that I have and if I do, the prices are all over the place. Now why do online appraisers offer their services only the fob it off on another online site?
 

Maybe because the items aren't worth that much and they can't be bothered with little things or things they have no interest in buying for themselves. I think they are only after high value items.
 
I think you hit it on the head, RR. We've been trying to get an appraisal on a picture that belongs to the Spousal Equivalent's mother. WE know it's worthless or darn near to it, but she's convinced it's worth a fortune and won't give up on wanting to know the value. We've contacted art appraisers in the area and they say, "send us a photograph of the art and for $50/$80/$100, we'll tell you what it's worth." We're not spending money to "send them a photo". I'll be glad to stop by their studio and pay $50 for them to actually look at it, but "send them a photo"? No.
 

You can also do your own research, look up in a price guide for example,


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Antiques are out. Young couples, these days don't have the room and desire for antiques. When I first began decorating and getting together furniture, I had a big old country home with a wrap-around porch. I took every thing that my family offered me (my dad use to say, that the living room was big enough to be a dance hall). It was a shot gun house type hse, but the hallway/living room went from front door to the back porch. Recently my sister moved from a "painted lady" house in Atlanta to a condo. She couldn't give her antiques away. Try to get someone who sells antiques and has been in the business for a while.
 
When I was trying to get rid of my mom's antiques, I could barely give them away. I was able to sell a few pieces and "guilt" some relatives into taking some others; I did end up giving the beautiful oak pump organ away. I wasn't happy about it, but I had absolutely no room for such a massive piece of furniture and I just couldn't see storing stuff for years and THEN ending up getting rid of it. I talked to a guy in Georgia who has a "pump organ orphanage" and he has over 130 of them in his barn and can't find any takers.

My great-grandmother's 1904 Singer treadle machine I did manage to sell to an elderly lady who planned to actually sew on it. She was delighted to get one in perfect working condition. I was delighted that it was going to a good home.
 
The trend now is decluttering and minimalism and many people are tired of stuff everywhere collecting dust. Older people are trying to get rid of and young people prefer clean modern lines. Maybe its best to put it into storage for a few years and see what happens or keep the things you like the best and donate the rest to charity.
 
The only way I can describe is to be an 'educated caretaker'... of heirlooms.

I place value on my future-ancestors thinking of me as the guy who had the foresight to preserve this 'n that. It seems more important. I don't need the money.
 

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