Appraisals Things to Beware of in Appraisals
We provide complete, detailed, professional appraisals which include: grading and plotting of diamonds 1/2ct and up, accurate, detailed description, value, and a photograph. You won't find a better appraisal anywhere!
Some Types of Appraisals: Retail
Insurance
Estate
Fair Market Value
Liquidation
Things to Beware of in
Appraisals
You don't want a "Fantasy" Appraisal, in other words one that gives
you an over-inflated value. It may make you feel good - like you're s
sharp shopper and you got a really good deal, but let's face it... it just makes
you pay higher premiums for your insurance. When the time comes to replace
your piece, the insurance company is NOT likely to pay the appraisal
amount. They usually pay you what it will cost THEM to replace the
piece. And they pay less than you do!
A good appraisal will usually be pretty close to what you paid for the item,
assuming you paid a fair price (and that's almost always the case). If you
can buy another one for the same price, then why pay high premiums to insure it
as if it could only be replaced at a much higher price?
I have people come in and show me appraisals that show a value of $2,500 on a
ring they paid $995 for. These are usually supplied by the seller of the
piece (no conflict of interest there!) and they make the buyer feel like he got
a really great deal. That's great, but now he will pay insurance premiums
on $2,500. Then he'll get a really raw feeling when it has to be replaced
and the insurance company writes him a check for $700 (that's about what it
costs them to replace a $995 item).
Some red flags to look for are:
One page appraisal with
a "scrambled egg" design around the borders. These forms are purchased
at the office
supply store and can be filled out by anyone.
No signature or an unreadable
signature. Isn't the "appraiser" proud of his work?
No credentials and no affiliations
with professional appraising organizations.
No statement of what kind of
appraisal it is and a definition of that kind of appraisal (Insurance,
Liquidation, Fair market, etc.).
True Appraisal Story
A few months back a customer was selling me a piece of jewelry. Another customer
happened to come in and she noticed the ring the first customer was selling. She
said: "That's my ring!"
She was sure that the ring was one that had been stolen from her a few months
before. Customer A (selling the ring) told us that she had owned it for years.
Customer B said it was stolen from her recently.
The ring was an unusual one. Not one that there are thousands of just like it.
What would you do? Who do you believe? Both customers are known to me and nice
people who I would tend to trust. Yet their stories contradict each other. It
seems that one is lying (or very wrong). Maybe one is a thief. What to do?
I said, well let's see what we can observe here. What are the facts? I checked
to see if there was an appraisal on file. By great good luck, the stolen ring
had been appraised by us in the past and the copy was in the file. (How often
does that happen? Heh!)
I looked at the appraisal. I weighed and measured the ring in front of me. The
photo looked like the same ring. The weight of the ring was different though.
When I checked the measurements of the diamonds, those were also different.
Voila! The two rings were not the same even though they looked much alike.
What a relief! Customer B was no longer upset at the thought that here was her
stolen ring, and I could now know that Customer A was neither a liar nor a thief
(or buying from a thief).
Moral of the story? An adequate appraisal needs to have a detailed description
including measurements and weights. A photo is good, but it's not enough. These
two rings looked alike, but one was heavier and the diamonds were not the same
sizes. Without a good appraisal, there would have been at least some hard
feelings and probably the involvement of the police!
Whew!
Paradise Jewelry
The Friendliest Store In The World!
5455 Airport Rd. North
Naples, FL 34109
Toll Free 877-591-2645
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