Property category limitations

While virtually any type of personal property can be appraised by the traditional appraiser who is qualified, trained, and who has the ability to personally inspect the item, not all items qualify for being appraised online, i.e., without the benefit of a personal inspection by the appraiser. Clients with non-qualifying items should be referred to a professional appraiser who can personally examine the property. 

While many items of property can be professionally appraised through the use of photographs and digital images, some types of property simply should not be appraised online. Examples of items that should not be appraised online include:

• Items requiring testing or certification to prove identity of authenticity. Examples include diamonds or colored gemstones that require testing, or paintings that need to be authenticated.
• Items in which questions as to condition, identity or age exist and cannot be resolved even with the use of extraordinary assumptions.
• Items which are potentially so valuable as to warrant, in the appraiser's opinion, a hands-on appraisal.

An exception to the above would be appraisals done for items which have been lost or stolen, in which case the limiting conditions faced by the online appraiser would be no different than those faced by the traditional appraiser.

Refer to the flow chart.