IF YOU ARE CONSIDERING AN APPRAISAL....
Please do not hesitate to get in touch with us. There is, of course, no charge for phone consultations and we are happy to answer questions to ease your decisions. We ask you to call as early as possible in your own decision process and not to make any inventories, and not to relocate or reorganize books and papers before we talk.. Early conversations can often save everyone time and the client money. Among other things, please do let us know what time requirements or constraints you have. In the case of appraisals related to tax deductions, by when do you or your accountant need the appraisal completed? And has the donation formally been made? And if not when will it be made?
If you are unsure whether you will donate or sell, whether you want a formal appraisal or an alternative-do get in touch. We can probably ask questions which will help you in your decision.
If we think the type of appraisal a potential client desires for the materials at hand do not justify the costs, we tell you that and why and suggests and discuss alternatives.
Alternatives to formal appraisal include (a) an oral statement of value range with identification of high end items following a brief inspection of a collection, or a review of an inventory; (b) a brief letter appraisal-- without any recitation of reasoning or background information and none of the formal apparatus that third parties (IRS, courts, etc.) either require or like; (c) physical separation of books into value rough value categories and identification of higher value books.
Please see: