Single Item Appraisal & Valuation by Mark Hill

Description

I will appraise your item and give you my professional opinion of its current market value at auction and, if appropriate, on other sales channels such as a retail environment or an online auction.

You will not only receive an identification, description and value, but also my judgement and expert opinion, with supporting comments. 

What do I need from you?
I will need your email address, as you will receive this information by email. If you contacted me via social media, or asked me in person, I will still need your email address in order to to respond. 

I will need clear, in focus photographs of the piece from different angles in decent light to enable me to see true colours, textures and designs, patterns or marks. Please ensure that your photographs take up the majority of the space in the photograph. If you see any damage, please send photographs of what you see.

I will also need the measurements of the piece, photographs of any maker's marks, and details of any damage or restoration in order to appraise it properly. I may also need you to take further photographs of the piece and send them to me before I can appraise it properly.

If you have any further information about the item or an interesting provenance, please provide details as provenance (the story of who owned or made it, when, and where it has been) can affect the value. 

But can't AI do it all now?
No. Whilst AI and technology like Google Lens are extremely helpful tools, they don’t - and can’t - give us the full, true picture. Physical and other factors it can't handle, such as condition, restoration, variations, fakes, current market conditions, context, provenance, and choice and location of sales venue are of critical importance.

AI also cannot distinguish between correct information from a reputable and trusted source and unverified or incorrect information from someone 'having a go' online. Prices on certain online sales platforms that AI uses by default are also far, far higher than the truth, skewing its results. Furthermore, so keen are ChatGPT, Claude and others to give you a definitive answer, that they will also often make things up - or 'hallucinate' - presenting fiction as fact.

You need experienced human help and expertise to ground and maximise your opportunity.

Terms & Conditions of Engagement
I will usually respond with my appraisal and valuation within 48 hours by email, but on some occasions, this will not be possible and I will send you your appraisal and valuation as soon as I can. I will inform you of any delay above 48 hours as soon as I can. 

I reserve the right to decline to appraise or value an item, for whatever reason. A good example is jewellery, where a gemstone will need to be appraised in person using a loupe in order to give an accurate value. If I do decline to appraise or value an item, your money will be refunded to you.

If your item requires time-consuming levels of research, complex research, or expenses to be incurred, I will need to charge a supplemental fee, or supplemental fees, to cover this extra time and cost. This will be discussed with you before any work is undertaken. I will only proceed when you have paid the supplemental fee(s) via an invoice, either through Shopify or by bank transfer. 

This valuation is not suitable for probate or insurance valuation requests as it will not be accepted by the relevant authorities or insurance companies. Please contact me if you require a probate or insurance valuation. 

For more information about the appraisal and valuation services I offer, please see www.markhillvaluations.com