Becoming a "Certified" grader and providing collection appraisals

[Tacguy-migration]

I have been involved in collecting for approx. 25+ years and have seen alot of changes to the market of sales, collecting and reading over those time periods as well as values, grading, etc.

 

I know that certain shops will offer appraisals, some are usually to make an offer to buy for the stores. I see less stores offering appraisals since there are these "newer" style stores that don't carry much of a significant backstock.

 

I was wondering about offering some private services to do appraisals and cataloging of private collections.

 

While considering this I have never seen an individual "certification" if one even were to assist, outside of the certification companies. Certainly a person could have a degree in preservation, history, or any other related papers or collectibles.

 

So to make my services more viable if I were to consider such an appraisal service would there be any other standard certificate one could attain? I would also consider being associated with a shop or group of stores if that would lend credibility besides my experience.

[Mac Man]

My guess would be to take some classes in library sciences (archive-related), art history (focus on 20th-Century America), and possibly a sociology class (20th-Century Pop Culture in America). These would probably give you a healthy background in the field of art, archiving techniques, and general cultural background to the field.

 

Might also shoot a line to one of the major restoration experts and see about doing an internship to brush up on restoration techniques (if they'd even be open to that). You might also want to deveop a portfolio of letters of recommendation from people whose books you have graded and later had encapsulated through CGC. "See? My grading is on par with the most respected grading company out there!"

 

Just some ideas and GL!