Start With The Right Valuation in Antique Collecting

Wednesday, April 9, 2008

Whenever you come across an antique or a collectible, have it examined and assessed to get the right valuation. You might need to hire professionals to do this for you. Shelling out money for hiring someone to tell you how your antique is cheaper instead of more valuable because you don't know any better.

Also, the value of your collectible or item changes the older it is. This is the whole concept of the antique trading in the first place. So it would be advisable to get a new valuation whenever you decide to put the antique on sale.

Hiring professionals to do the job has a couple of advantages. One is that the assessment is a matter of fact, un-biased, untainted conclusion. Most professionals are not in cahoots with unscrupulous individuals who just want to have your antique at less its assessed value. You will get an honest and fair pricing for your item.

However, even if the professionals are unbiased it is best that you get more than one valuation. Even though they are supposed to be good with their jobs, assessments can be off a little bit due to reasons like untraceable history of the items, unknown market value because the item is really one of its kind, etc. It's like having several doctors look at your condition. A second or even a third opinion could be the right course of action.

Professional opinion matters most in auction houses. The credibility of your items value is dictated by the people behind the appraisal. If you have a respectable professional who did the valuation, you might get to sell an item more than what you expected. Credibility is the key in these kinds of situations.

When experts conduct valuations, it must be done in the brightest room possible. Although, nowadays there are machines that help conduct the valuation. The professional will be looking for scratches, chips, dents, or other similar markings. If you don't know how to clean the item, don't attempt to do so just because it is going to be valuated. Ask for professional advice before you proceed since the overall value of the item might change, and change here doesn't necessarily mean a good one, when you cleaned it.

It is very important to get the right valuation on your item when you are in Antique Collecting. So don't put this off as an optional thing that you can easily disregard. Put this on your must do list.

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