Pricing
Priced by the work, not the worth.
Two schedules: household contents are quoted per item, and vehicles, boats, and equipment are quoted per asset. Both are a guideline, so you can size a job before you pick up the phone. Neither is a quote — every assignment is priced on what it actually involves.
The Principle
Why the fee never follows the value
Every appraisal here follows the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice. USPAP forbids tying a fee to the appraised value, and we would not want to anyway — an appraiser who earns more for a higher number is not an independent appraiser.
So what you pay reflects one thing: how much research an item takes to value properly. A dining table is quick. A signed piece with a thin market is not.
Guideline · Schedule One
Household contents, per item
Standard
$10 per item
Common household goods, furniture, electronics, basic decorative pieces, brand-new in-box items, and ordinary collectibles. The market for these is well documented, so the research is limited.
Specialty
$25–35 per item
Antiques, most artwork, designer and vintage pieces, and collectibles that need real market research and analysis behind the number.
Complex & High-Value
$50–75 per item
Fine jewelry, significant or rare artwork, high-end designer pieces, rare collectibles, and anything with few comparable sales to work from. These take extensive research.
Guideline · Schedule Two
Vehicles, boats, and equipment, per asset
These are priced per asset, not on the household per-item scale above. Each vehicle, vessel, and machine carries its own market research, so each one is quoted as an asset of its own.
Vehicles and boats
- One vehicle or vessel — insurance, estate, or personal use
- from $250
- One vehicle or vessel — donation, divorce, claim, or other IRS or court use
- from $350
- Typical single unit
- $250–500
- Additional units in the same assignment
- quoted, often less than the first
Equipment and machinery
- One machine or equipment line — standard report
- from $350
- IRS, lending, claim, or court use
- from $450
- Typical assignment, depending on the mix and whether photos are enough
- $450–1,500+
- Plant lists and mixed yards
- quoted after we see the list
- You get a fixed quote before any work starts.
- The fee is based on the research the assignment takes, not on the value we find.
- If photos cannot support the value, we say so before you pay.
- If the fee will exceed the likely value of the property, we will say that too.
Mixed Assignments
How an estate with a car in it is billed
The two schedules run side by side in the same assignment. The contents of the house stay on the per-item household schedule. Each car, boat, or machine becomes an asset line at the vehicle or equipment floor — not item 41 at $10.
Large household inventories are usually quoted from the $10 tier after we see the list. Vehicles and equipment in the same estate are quoted on the asset schedule alongside it, and the quote you get shows both parts.
Your Part
Better information, lower quote
The fee follows the work, so the work you do first comes off ours. A detailed spreadsheet of your items, with each row linked to its photos, is the single biggest help. It lowers your quote and it shortens the time your appraisal takes.
Documentation does the same. A certificate of authenticity or a prior appraisal answers a question we would otherwise have to research, so send whatever you already hold along with your list.
Minimum & Fine Print
One report, however short the list
A minimum engagement of $150 applies to any assignment. A report has to be researched, written, and certified before it is worth anything to a court or an insurer, and that work happens whether you send one item or twenty.
- Your tier is set after we review your photos and documentation, not before.
- Extremely rare, unique, or highly complex items are quoted on their own.
- Everything on this page is a guideline. The quote you receive is the price.
Straight Answer
When we will talk you out of it
If an item is worth less than what it costs to appraise, we will say so. Nobody should pay more for the appraisal than the thing is worth.
Most people who call have no real choice — a court, an insurer, or the IRS is asking for a report, and that settles it. But if nobody is asking, and the numbers do not justify the work, we would rather tell you than take the job.
Want a real number?
Send a short list of what you need valued. We'll tell you which schedule it falls on and what the whole assignment will cost, before any work starts.