Appraisal Tips for Fine Arts

Once you bought a piece of art or inherited it from someone, the first thing that you should do is to have it appraised. This way, not only will you be able to determine the actual value of your piece of art, you will also be able to have it insured for its actual value. Having your fine art appraised is therefore the most important part of insuring it.

Now, when to appraisal, do not trust your dealer or the gallery to have it appraised. This does not mean that you should not trust them, it is just a matter of conflict of interest. They may appraise it for higher value because it will make them look good. 

Second, do not self-appraise. This means that you should hire experts to do the job. Many people, simply insure the art on how much they paid for it. Although this protects you in terms of cost, it does not cover the actual value of the art. For example, your fine art may have already increased its value over the years.

Third, be wary of free appraisals. They do not have any reason to appraise your piece accurately unless you consign it to them. The best thing is to have it appraised by an expert. Do not think about what you can save from free appraisal. Think about how much you can lose if they under value your art. When it comes to art, the best thing to do is to hire an expert appraisal. 

What you should know about free appraisals

When it comes to art appraisal, free is not always good and not always free. It may seem free and it may seem a good deal, but the truth is, it may just cost you more. So, if you have a new piece of fine art and you need to have it appraised, steer clear away from free appraisals offered by auction houses and collection stores. Here are the reasons why:

 

Firsts, the way they appraise an art piece is different. Why is it different? Because basically, they only consider the resale value of the object. This means how much the object will be sold at the soonest time possible. 

Second, they do not have the expertise in assessing art pieces. There are many things to consider when it comes to assessing the value of an art pieces that even auction houses seek the help of expert appraisers when it comes to valuable pieces. 

Third, having them appraised your art piece is like asking a buyer how much your art piece is. Even if you tell them that you are not interested in selling, they know that they should give you an amount that will be profitable for them should you decide to sell it to them later. In short, it is a conflict of interest. If you are interested in selling, better have it appraised by an expert before bringing it to them to sell.