To see the difference between an APPRAISAL and an EVALUATION, see WHAT TO DO FIRST.

What You Receive With An Appraisal: An in-depth legal document of valuation for insurance and tax purposes

With the recognized value of rare records and music memorabilia reaching to the tens of thousands of dollars and more, it is critical that individual items and collections be evaluated and formally appraised.

The appraisal process leads to the writing of a document that is officially recognized for insurance, tax, property issues, and other legal considerations. The methodology followed is called the Uniform Standards of Official Appraisal Practice, or USPAP (use-pap) for short.

As part of this process, first we examine the physical item(s) and take note of all the important value characteristics. These can include the state of condition, the edition, any included extras, and other key aspects.

Then, we conduct research to understand the current market value of the item or collection, based on recent sales figures, professional consensus, trend analysis, catalogs and guides, and other sources. This is the part of the process where we find comparables. That is, items that are the same or similar to what is being appraised. It is always preferable that we find actual final sale prices; what people actually paid for something is more valuable information than what a price guide or expert says something is “worth.”

Although our personal expertise provides the foundation for our research, we do not rely solely on our opinion to conduct an appraisal. Our service provides an appraisal document that details and provides legally accepted justifications for the value estimate of an item or collection in the current marketplace. This document may also include a statement of the item or collection’s overall quality level (condition, pressing edition, cultural or historical touchpoints, desirability, etc.)

Example: You are donating records to a university or foundation and need a formal tax document.

What You Receive With An Evaluation: A document with the potential market value of your items.

For those who only need to know the approximate potential market value of their collection, we offer an Evaluation as an alternative. Working from your list of items, we provide a document with a range of average potential market values. You’ll be able to tell whether you have something worth $1.00, $10.00, $100.00, or more. This process is quicker and less expensive than a formal appraisal, and is most useful in estimating what a sale to a dealer might bring. An evaluation, however, has no legal weight, and cannot be used for insurance coverage or claiming a donation credit. Please contact us for more information.

Example: You have an old Elvis record and you want to know its value to sell on eBay.

For more about Appraisal and Evaluation click on What to Do First