Thread: Appraisals

Originally Posted by Euclid440

“Appraisal is completely subjective to the buyer. Add to that what it is worth today, to what the unknown value will be tomorrow are two completely different things. So appraising today has no real bearing on the value of tomorrow. It is just someone else’s opinion."

“This I don't agree with, sorry, just my feelings.”

I would wager just about every mortgage lender that made a loan in the early to mid-2000’s, based upon an “appraisal value”, would disagree with you. An appraisal, if at all accurate, is only valid on the day it is made. Any of a number of things can alter the “opinion” of value, the very next day.

Personally, I do not buy razors as an investment, I buy to use and enjoy them.

I don't buy razors as an investment either.
I also think that you missed the whole point of the OP.

Originally Posted by pixelfixed

Appraisels IMO mean nothing,Esp. with Jewelery,Today the best way to figure value on almost anything is ebay.

I agree.

One of the limitations of online shopping is that you can't tell with absolute certainty that there isn't something wrong with it based on photos alone. I think some people at antique stores or ebay simply aren't knowledgeable about the things they sell. One dealer told me that he sells items based on what he pays for it, which means that in reality some deals are great and some are (unintentional) rip-offs.

I've had a recent experience with a straight razor that was twisted. Why was my honing job better on the toe side of the razor than on the heel side? Why did it take five passes to accomplish the kind of shave I can usually get with three? I read this (Blade Centering - Straight Razor Place Wiki) then sent if off for a second opinion because I had never heard about anything like this before.

The prices at the Classified section here are fair. I think the odds are greater that they are sold by people who know razors and more or less just try to get what they put into it, or minimize their losses if there is nothing wrong with it and they just prefer other razors. Selling for profit or using the Classified section as a personal storefront is highly discouraged. This is where I have gotten the majority of my razors.

There was a book that went out of print around 2007 that attempted to identify razors and provide guidelines for determining value, but it was confusing and didn't really seem to be more accurate than a determination an experienced member could make here. It had a base price, plus add on values depending on the condition and the bells and whistles it may have.

This is the whole reason we have the "no appraisal" policy. It can't be done. Things with no fixed market value are worth whatever one individual will pay. But who's to decide that? Who counts as an expert? How would one make any appraisal hold up in court/claims/etc. We, as people in the niche, may say "Individual X is qualified to appraise straight razors," but that wouldn't hold up either.

If you want to know out of curiosity, look around at what similar stuff has sold for. If you want to know to sell, ebay it. If you want to know for legal purposes, you'd have to talk to someone who is qualified in that area.

I would just like to restate that I am NOT looking for any appraisals or valuations. It is just becoming a curiosity of mine has my razor collection grows!... I thank everybody for their responses and respect everybody's opinion on here!
Regards and have a great holiday weekend for those of us in the US,
Tony

Considering the size of some collections, keeping track of the values of your items would make good sense if nothing else from an insurance point of view, unless you don't want to be able to replace the lost items due to under insurance, even assuming an average price of $100 that would be $10,000 per hundred razors, plus all the other good stuff, which in some cases would probably be at least another $1,000.