Appraisals

Sharp Auctions provides a full array of Appraisal Services, ranging from certified appraisals for legal, insurance and personal use to customized collection cataloguing. Contact us today to discuss your specific appraisal needs.

Why Do You Need an Appraiser?

Curiosity is one reason to have your valuables appraised. Others include;

• Insurance valuation

• Estate & Trust planning

• Divorce – fair distribution of assets

• Charitable donations (if you are donating items or collections worth more than $5,000 to a non-profit, the IRS requires a “gift appraisal”

• Litigation

• Loan collateral

• Business dissolution
  
  

The Personal Property Appraisal
A personal property appraisal is an independent, objective, impartial, unbiased, reasoned opinion of value developed and reported by a competent, ethical and qualified personal property valuation expert acting as an appraiser.

The Appraisers Task
The primary task of the appraiser is properly understand the client's valuation problem and its intended use. Then the appraiser needs to ensure that the valuation report is worthy of belief and relevant for its purpose. Sharp Auctions offers the services of educated and nationally certified appraisal experts who work tirelessly to provide thorough, well-researched fair market appraisals. 

Knowledge and Experience
Sharp Auctions appraisal team is led by Michael Sharp who has over 15 years of general personal property valuation experience.  He successfully completed his Certified Appraiser Guild of America (CAGA) course work in 2004.  Michael’s education in history & archeology, extensive reference library and network of experts uniquely provides him with the background, knowledge and resources to provide expert valuations of historical documents and artifacts, fine art, furniture, collectibles, firearms, cars and most types of personal property and residential content. 

How is an appraisal performed?
We begin the appraisal process with an initial telephone consultation to determine the services needed and schedule an appointment (Appraisals are performed by appointment only in the client’s home, place of business or designated location). We then conduct anon-site examination of your item(s). An inventory is conducted which includes photographs, measurements and a thorough evaluation.  Extensive market research including sales and history of the item is then conducted off-site to ensure proper valuation.   

Appraisal Results
Clients are provided an appraisal report that contains the following:
Purpose of the Appraisal
A Complete Description of the Item(s) which includes age, measurements, condition
Value and Explanation of How the Value was Determined
Digital Photographs

 

Appraisal delivery can be expected in approximately 2-4 weeks, depending on the number of items appraised and the appraiser’s schedule.  It may take longer in some cases.  Reports are available by printed copy, CD-ROM or electronic transmission. 

Please note: We are not interested in purchasing appraised items that clients are interested in selling.  Such interest would be unethical and perceived as a conflict. 

Confidentiality:
All information pertaining to the appraisal is confidential.  Access to the report by anyone other than intended users will be granted only with written permission from the client or by court order. 

How do we charge for our work?
Sharp Auction’s fees are competitive with today’s market. There is no charge for the initial consultation. For appraisal work, we charge $40.00 per hour with no minimum required; work time is NOT rounded up.  We offer an estimate of the scope of the work at the time of appraisal. We will be happy to discuss our fee structure with you.

Expert Witness Services:
Including deposition, arbitration and court appearances are charged at $50 per hour, with a two hour minimum. Designation may be made only with receipt of the fee minimum. 

What we appraise:
Antiques / Fine Art / Historical Artifacts & Documents / Lighthouse Service & Rail Road Items / Ceramics / Collectibles / Furniture / Crystal / Silver / Sports Memorabilia / Quilts / Glassware / Cars / Guns / Coins / Pre Columbian Artifacts / Civil War Relics and general residential contents 

Other Services offered through our Appraisal Department:
   
    Collection cataloging*, organize your collection of fine art, Coin, Firearm and memorabilia and other collectibles in a customized computerized database with pictures
   
    Private Sale Pricing*, allow us to price your items for your private sale
   
    Residential Inventories*, reference database of your household content

* Call for special pricing