Appraisal and Buying Servicess

Understanding the differences between appraisals and offers is key.

An appraisal is often done for insurance value, which is the value an item carries in the event an item is lost or destroyed and it would have to be purchased, retail, in order to be replaced.

This appraisal value would cover the cost of making an exact duplicate of your item and would also include the wholesalers and retailers profit. Appraisals often ignore the marketability of such items and the condition. An insurance value is, in most cases, often significantly higher than a cash value.

An appraised value is NOT the amount of cash you would receive if you were to sell that item outright

If you are selling something, what you need is an offer, not an appraisal.

An offer is the actual price that someone is willing to pay in today’s market. Many dealers or experts can tell you what you might get for an item retail, but in all likelihood, wouldn’t offer you that price themselves. An offer is what someone is willing to pay and you must take into consideration that the buyer is in the business to make a profit and has expenses and overhead.

At Sands-o-Time we base our offers on many factors. The quality and condition of an item, or estate. This includes, the marketability, meaning how long would it take for the right buyer to come along and the size and rarity of an object or group of objects.

We research items by using our experience, knowing the current market and looking at sales of similar items in similar condition over the past 3 months, then make our fair offer accordingly.

If you are interested in an appraisal value for insurance purposes, we are happy to provide that service. But we will not buy any items we appraise.

Please call 586 295 0979 for appraisal or offer details. Free appraisals every Saturday 12 to 3!