Collection Appraisals

is there such a thing as a "professional" appraiser?  i have tried Googling but only seem to find topics tied to real estate.  i have done a train collection appraisal for the city i live in, but they only required a reference; no specific paperwork or license if that even exists.  does that make me a professional appraiser?  i imagine if it is controlled, it would be at the state level.

DJM, if you're still around, did you ever follow through on this?

cheers...gary

A professional would be someone who makes their living off of their appraisal work. There are certainly professional real estate and jewelry appraisers and real and personal property appraisers that work in the public sector, and professional organizations that go with them. There are also state guidelines that regulate their fields. I'm sure there are a good number of people (like yourself) that are familiar enough with the model railroad market to offer qualified estimates of value, but I doubt there are any professionals in that field (although there may be some part-timers).

Hmmm, I wonder if the same ten commandments of real estate apply...location, location, location. 

quote:

Hmmm, I wonder if the same ten commandments of real estate apply...location, location, location. 

Don't think so..... its condition, condition, condition.

DYI,

A Greenbergs pocket price guide will do you well.

location, location, location may not be such a bad idea. storing in a high humidity or damp location can cause all sorts of trouble for metal parts on toy trains

Ive done appraisals gratus (sp) and for barter.

traded trains for appraisal of the collection.

I had it done once for insurance purposes.  The appraise was as knowledgable as I was, but had a provable background as a dealer.  I paid him and he signed a document.  Probably cannot get any closer than that.

If you do not know what your collection is worth before the appraiser arrives, then be careful.  They will low ball you and try to purchase.

My insurance company is using Greenberg's stating that since it continually updates the valuations there is no better source.  I have replacement value coverage which means I don't really need the receipts as longs as I have a full inventory recorded and in my case I have photos and videos which I update regularly.  I do realize that Greenberg's is not always accurate but next to checking auction results every few months that the best we all have.

Nick

Gary, I'm still around but don't get to post much. No, I haven't followed through yet. I am in the Chicago area and was able to find an owner of a model train store who does appraisals. If I remember correctly I think even he uses Greenbergs Guide but he said he'd make it a formal report with his letterhead in case the appraisal ever needed to be presented to an insurance company. I have to do an inventory first then he goes off of my inventory list. The inventory isn't worked on as much as I would like.  

In my original post I was thinking loosely of an "antique guy" or a "toy guy". Some sort of an expert, whatever that means, that you would see on antiques roadshow or something. The train shop owner was the closest I came.

I am kind of suprised that there are not more people out there providing this service. A person can walk into a jewelry store and get an old ring worth a couple grand appraised or at least get the name of a jewelry appraiser no problem. But if you have ten or fifteen grand or more wrapped up in a train collection after a lifetime of collecting you need to rely on receipts or do your own inventory/appraisal and hope the insurance company honors your work if your collection is lost or stolen.   

And thanks to you and everyone else who responded. It's been almost nine months and I figured the topic was dead.

David

well as someone mentioned earlier, if a "professional" appraiser is a person who makes their living at it, i could understand jewelry and real estate as the demand would be there, but trains specifically or say antique toys in general might not be able to support full time employment.  and unfortunately the farther away you get from a specific field such as toy trains, i've seen a few cases where even people like the Roadshow "experts" use some stock over-generalizations to BS their way through an appraisal.

for the appraisal i took on there were a few features of the lots which made things a bit easier.  it was almost entirely Lionel from 1995 - 2005, all NIB or TRO.  and there was a lot, ... a little over 300 pieces.

many pieces i could find recent sales for and after compiling enough data from auction sites, i then referenced the Greenberg guide and found the sales were falling into the range of 40 - 50% of the book value which i then used as a high and low estimate.  fortunately the word got out on this local auction and the sales pretty much hit the high estimate within a few percent.

of course the accuracy of an appraisal will definitely improve with the amount of items.  if someone brings me one set or a single engine, i certainly qualify any estimate as a fair market value and not something that is guaranteed to be realized in an auction.

thanks for all the comments.

cheers...gary

Noel Barrett, is one that comes to mind. if it's a toy, new or old, he can put a valuation to it. The owner of Trainz, is another. Sorry, his name slipped my mind at the moment.

You have reduced the number of items to those without receipts, so that should limit the number of items to be appraised.

Cost or amount paid, is the best starting point. Then, there's market value and replacement value. But, cost is always king.

I have followed overlandflyer's approach for two collections. eBay sales, auction site sales will provide a lot of points. Items of little activity are more difficult.

The best step to take is to create an inventory in electronic form. That time will save you money on an appraisal.

I do it as a favor to people all the time.

I examine the equipment and grade the items according to TCA standards.

Then I look and see what the item is selling for....shows, ebay etc.

I look in the Price Guides (but they are usually well above what the item is truly worth).

I remind people that I am an amateur.....but I have been living, eating and breathing toy trains since I was 5 (1958), with a respite between years 68-79.

I stay away from items that are clearly not my expertise (Standard Gauge, Flyer, Ives, Dorfan, prewar Marx).

If there are a lot of items, it may take me a while.

I never charge anyone......for me, it's fun.

Good points. Putnam.

The Guides are a published reference that would be accepted by an insurance company. The prices are high enough to absorb any adjustments they may attempt if there were a claim.

For pre-war items, it may be worth paying Noel Barrett, as he is accepted as an expert.(Antiques Road Show. PBS).

Insurance values are probably based mostly on the condition of the item and current selling prices. 

A good practice is to maintain records of purchase by date and price paid.  Photos of the actual item are also very important.

I photograph every item in my collection. A short description of the item along with catalog information and MSRP and actual condition are also helpful.

See the attachment for an example.

great point!  a good deal of my time was taken up creating the spreadsheet list.  if you can give an appraiser your inventory, and i'd heavily suggest Excel, they could spend 100% of their time doing the actual research.

cheers...gary

Wouldn't a significant part of the appraisal be evaluating the condition of each item?

Great advice. 

The time it takes to document your collection is well spent.  You can't afford not to do this.

I had a claim many years ago, with a different hobby, to the insurance company.  Sent the electronic inventory (excel, nothing fancy) and they paid 4 days after the event.  Adjuster said it was the easiest case he ever had because there was great documentation and proof.

Why?

'Agreed value' policy, takes the appraisal piece out of the equation.

i had the advantage of everything being either new in the box (NIB) or test run only (TRO).  condition wasn't a factor (variable).

with my own prewar collection, i have indicated condition on the spreadsheet.  my standards may be different than the next guy, but anyone picking some random examples would see that i am at least consistent.

however, the majority of recent production i see in auctions is typically lightly used if used at all.

cheers...gary

overlandflyer,

Gary you are right on the money with your approach. The service that DJM wants is extremely expensive. He would be money ahead to document everything himself complete with photographs. To have a "professional" come in you have to cover all of the persons expenses in addition to the cost of the appraisal. For the average collector the cost is prohibitive. This is based upon my experience and opinion.