Avoid Big Mistakes with a Little Common Sense

These are some of the mistakes that people make when buying or selling antiques. Are these all of the mistakes that I hear about? I’m sorry to say, no— not even close.

Shipping Included

I am shocked when people insist on shipping an antique to someone that they do not know so they can have it appraised. In case you were wondering, my office does not accept any packages known to contain items!

A recent caller told my staff that they believed a particular person was reputable because the person belonged to a certain society or association. Based on this affiliation, the owner of the antique planned to ship the antique piece. I strongly advise you never ship your antique to anyone for evaluation.

Why? You could be mailing your valuable antique to a dishonest person, plain and simple. You may never see your piece again. People who have fallen for this scheme have shared with me some of the excuses that they got from the recipient. They have said, “Oh, I never received it” (even though you have proof that you sent it and tracked the package’s whereabouts with the postal service).  

Or they say, “It’s not worth anything, so I’m not going to bother sending it back” (despite the fact that you want the item returned, and you own the item). Odds are very good that your piece WAS valuable. They wanted it, so they kept your antique.

Unfortunately, just because someone calls themselves a professional, has been in business for a long time, or has membership in a particular association, that doesn’t mean they won’t lie to you.

Appraisal and Sale Included

I believe that your appraiser should not be involved in the sale of your object because it is a major conflict of interest. There are many reasons that someone who wants to buy your piece or help you to try to sell it would offer mistruths about your piece’s appraised value. Of course, you don’t know the true value of your Asian highboy chest, so a person both appraising and buying the piece might evaluate it at a lower-than-market value so they don’t have to pay you as much money for it.

And, if they are selling that highboy for you, say at a consignment shop or an auction house, the evaluation of the object’s value may also be low so they don’t have to work as hard to get your piece sold. That way, they more easily get some money out of the piece in the form of a percentage of the sale. These people work on volume; the more they sell, the better.

Also, the appraiser or seller could evaluate your item at a low value so his friend or associate can buy your item cheaply. Then, working in cahoots with your appraiser, they can turn around and sell your piece for its true value—leaving you out in the cold. This is how you are cut out of the profits on an item that you actually own. Exercise some common sense to avoid making a big mistake.

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Celebrity Ph.D. antiques appraiser, author, and award-winning TV personality Dr. Lori presents antique appraisal events nationwide. As seen on NBC’s The Tonight Show, Lifetime Television, and Comedy Central’s The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, watch Dr. Lori weekdays on the national TV morning show, Daytime. Visit DrLoriV.com, Facebook.com/DoctorLori, or call 888-431-1010.