With the advent of TV shows featuring on-the-spot appraisals of everything from thunder mugs to Samurai swords, and the accessibility of sales venues online through the many auction and mall sites, everyone wants to know what their stuff is worth. Or to be more accurate, everyone wants to hear that their item is worth a ton of money because their grandpa said so 30 years ago. In a time when there is a massive transfer of personal property from one generation to another as people pass away or downsize, trying to decide what's worth keeping or selling and what should go to charity (or the dump) is a big issue. People often ask appraisers what their grandma's Depression glass set is worth, but the answer isn't always obvious or easy to determine. Especially on the spot!
There are three main variables that define the value of almost everything: (1) supply, or how much is floating around out there; (2) demand, or how many people want the thing; and (3) quality/condition. Every appraiser needs to understand these variables as it applies to the item(s) they are appraising, and to apply them to the project.
Let's take Depression glass as an example. Depression glass refers to glassware that was made roughly during the years of the Great Depression, between 1929 and 1939. It was humble glassware often given out as premiums in detergent boxes or for filling your tank with gas at the local station. It was everywhere.
As a collectible, good examples were often hard to find because as everyday glassware it wasn't treated carefully and much of it was chipped along the way. Collectors paid dearly for unbroken specimens, and even for less-than-perfect pieces if that was all that was available and you needed the piece to complete your collection. Demand was high, supply was low, and prices were high.
Depression glass grew in popularity, and more collectors sought it out. Shows like Antiques Roadshow would feature the glassware, which sent a whole new crowd of people searching grandma's attic and basement for boxes of the old glassware. Good quality authentic Depression glass became more readily available. Supply had increased, but so had the quality, so prices remained good.
This didn't go unnoticed by glassware manufacturers, who began to reproduce the old patterns and colors, and even added new colors into the line. True collectors saw the value of their collections drop dramatically as the supply of glassware increased. Many stopped collecting entirely when manufacturers from overseas began reproducing it. To novice collectors or those who didn't care about authenticity, this was "good enough" and they refused to pay high prices for it. Supply was high but demand dropped, as did prices.
Many appraisers are brought items by people who are shocked when their item isn't worth what they think it is. They have an unrealistic view of the value, and often say, "But it's OLD!" It may well be, but if there are many of them out there and/or no one wants them, the value will be low. A knowledgeable appraiser can factor in all the variables and tactfully explain it to owners.
Personal property, the everything furnishings and items that fill our homes, has very little value. Often a family will hold an estate sale and mark up items based on sentimental value ("Grandpa paid $500 for that chair 20 years ago, and it was his favorite"). But we live in a time when there are millions of people in this country who are shifting into downsizing mode, or just getting rid of stuff they no longer want or need. Much of it is high quality. The supply is high.
There are fewer younger people who are interesting in these items, and given the huge supply can pick and choose the very best if they are looking for good used stuff. There is more supply of these items than there is demand, so even when the quality is high the lack of demand pushes prices down. Insurance companies understand this, and insurance value for personal property is very low unless you have a replacement-value-new policy (check with your insurance agent!).
Most of us are not sitting on little goldmines in our living rooms. Everything that we buy to use in our homes, whether it's furniture or appliances, depreciates in value over time unless for some reason it turns into a collectible (old tabletop butter churns for example). A good gauge of what stuff is worth is to peruse classified ad sites like Craigslist or Little Nickel to see what asking prices are for different items. You'll be surprised - and keep in mind that asking price doesn't mean the seller got that amount!
You can hire an appraiser to come out and assess your items without doing a full, detailed appraisal. They can help you identify the things that are likely to be collectible and therefore more valuable. For example, they can stop you from tossing out that big pile of old comics, because there's likely to be more value there than in the fine china!
When cleaning out an estate or helping someone downsize, be realistic about the value of most of the items. The sale prices will not cover big medical bills or finance the purchase of assisted living. It is real property and financial assets that have the job of appreciating in value and covering these critical expenses, not personal property. And even these assets fluctuate in value and can go down in price.
Having the right perspective can make the job a lot easier with less mental anguish. Make your goal be to clean out the house and perhaps get a few dollars extra to put in your pocket. This is the realistic way to approach this task.
