How much does it cost for professional appraisal of collection? 0

[jcjames]

So how much should one expect to pay for a pro appraisal of a comicbook collection for insurance purposes? 

[SkOw]

[SkOw]

Check with shops that still specialize in older back issues.  I know one here in Michigan will do that for people, and they charge about $50 an hour for the service. How big is the collection?  Depending on the size, you could be looking at anywhere from 100 bucks to thousands. 

[jcjames]

12 minutes ago, SkOw said:

Check with shops that still specialize in older back issues.  I know one here in Michigan will do that for people, and they charge about $50 an hour for the service. How big is the collection?  Depending on the size, you could be looking at anywhere from 100 bucks to thousands. 

Thanks, depending on how many I want appraised. LCS quoted me $2-5/book (raw) depending on the book. Is that reasonable?

Total collection is maybe 1500 but certainly don't want to pay to appraise  each one.

[SkOw]

5 minutes ago, jcjames said:

Thanks, depending on how many I want appraised. LCS quoted me $2-5/book (raw) depending on the book. Is that reasonable?

Total collection is maybe 1500 but certainly don't want to pay to appraise  each one.

I would find someone who can do it at an hourly rate, and give you an estimate for the time.  That seems odd. Are they charging less if it is a key?  For example, why would it cost more to value a NM98 vs some other drek book in that run?  There are substantially more data points and sales for keys than random other books in a run for example. 

[jcjames]

1 hour ago, SkOw said:

I would find someone who can do it at an hourly rate, and give you an estimate for the time.  That seems odd. Are they charging less if it is a key?  For example, why would it cost more to value a NM98 vs some other drek book in that run?  There are substantially more data points and sales for keys than random other books in a run for example. 

Thanks. I think the idea is that if he needs to do more work a) examining/grading the book and b) finding an equivalent recent sale/value to appraise it at, it will take more time hence more cost for that book. Like if a SA book grades at FN, then he looks up recent ebay sales and then has to examine if the few "FN" sales are really FN or are they actually G/VG. That kind of thing. He said it could take a day to go through a short box, book by book, grading and valuing. 

Has anyone had their collection appraised for insurance purposes? How'd it work? Most of my books are raw, but the most valuable ones are CGC graded - those should be much easier/quicker to appraise. I've also heard to avoid any insurance with the word "comic" actually in the name of the company because they are very unreliable. 

 

 

Edited July 15, 2021 by jcjames

[William-James88]

1 hour ago, jcjames said:

Thanks, depending on how many I want appraised. LCS quoted me $2-5/book (raw) depending on the book. Is that reasonable?

Total collection is maybe 1500 but certainly don't want to pay to appraise  each one.

Yes, its reasonable. But you have all the tools at your disposition to do it yourself.

[jcjames]

8 minutes ago, William-James88 said:

Yes, its reasonable. But you have all the tools at your disposition to do it yourself.

Thanks, but my insurance company says the collection has to be independently appraised if it is collectively over $10,000 value for them to insure it. 

I've heard it's easy to get "comicbook insurance" from online places, but I don't think it's reliable to get a claim, and have heard horror stories of huge books like AF15 being reimbursed for only face value not appraised value. 

 

 

[William-James88]

20 minutes ago, jcjames said:

Thanks, but my insurance company says the collection has to be independently appraised if it is collectively over $10,000 value for them to insure it. 

I've heard it's easy to get "comicbook insurance" from online places, but I don't think it's reliable to get a claim, and have heard horror stories of huge books like AF15 being reimbursed for only face value not appraised value. 

 

 

face value, like 12 cents?

Anyways, now I get your conundrum. The price the comic book shop gave you is fair. Just appraise your books worth more than $1000 and insure those. By the way, heritage Auction also apraises comic book collections but they would charge you way more.

 

EDIT: Personally, what bothers me most about your plan to have your LCS appraise them is that now more people would be in the know of the big books you have. And plus they'd know they are insured. It's the perfect crime. 

Edited July 15, 2021 by William-James88

[shadroch]

Where in Arizona are you? 

There are plenty of shops in Phoenix and Tucson that can do it for you, but there is no reason to appraise 1200 books. Forget anything under $20, and you might want to only insure the books that are over $100 or even more. Any CGC book you can appraise yourself by using GPA. 

Check out any policy very carefully. The more popular ones like CIA cover your books when shipping them and don't need an exact listing of your collection. Insurance companies are great at collecting premiums but not so great at paying out. It might be better to pay a competitor $50 to explain what is missing from your policy then to ust accept your agents word on it.

[Rip]

I did an appraisal of a collection that took all day around 3 or 4 years ago. Charged only $30 per hour in a hot large storage facility. Took me all day. From around 9 to 5.

I should have charged more. The person used to own a comic store, store was run into the ground and picked over to the bone. 150-200 long boxes of garbage. Plus other junk.

Edited July 15, 2021 by Rip

[thehumantorch]

1 hour ago, jcjames said:

Thanks, but my insurance company says the collection has to be independently appraised if it is collectively over $10,000 value for them to insure it. 

I've heard it's easy to get "comicbook insurance" from online places, but I don't think it's reliable to get a claim, and have heard horror stories of huge books like AF15 being reimbursed for only face value not appraised value. 

 

 

If I were getting my collection appraised I would only include books of significant value, probably books of higher value than $100.  It certainly wouldn't make sense to pay someone $5 per book to appraise $5 books and the same goes for $10 books, $20, etc.  I would only insure books that I would absolutely want to replace if something bad happened.  The rest I would be sad to lose but could live without them. 

Don't forget that an insurance company is a profit generating business and they assess the risk of loss and the likely payout and calculate your insurance payments and they add a spread to cover their significant overhead and a profit.  Always insure what's very important, what you couldn't live without, and what has to be insured to avoid life threatening harm, ie damage or death you could cause driving your car.

Cost of a appraisal?  How long do you think it would take to remove a book from a mylar, examine it cover to cover, inspect for restoration, put the book back in mylar, record that information and then search for comparable values?  I'd think 3 to 5 minutes per book would be a good ball park time.  Graded books are quicker as the grade is established but doing a proper search for value using various websites still takes time.  I think a professional appraiser would reasonably ask $50 per hour and could do 20 books per hour give or take.  

[jcjames]

1 hour ago, shadroch said:

Where in Arizona are you? 

There are plenty of shops in Phoenix and Tucson that can do it for you, but there is no reason to appraise 1200 books. Forget anything under $20, and you might want to only insure the books that are over $100 or even more. Any CGC book you can appraise yourself by using GPA. 

Check out any policy very carefully. The more popular ones like CIA cover your books when shipping them and don't need an exact listing of your collection. Insurance companies are great at collecting premiums but not so great at paying out. It might be better to pay a competitor $50 to explain what is missing from your policy then to ust accept your agents word on it.

Thanks, in around phoenix area. I've contacted a few of the established ones, only one said they will appraise, none of the others even knew who to go to. 

I would definitely only appraise the ones over $100 each to be included in an insurance policy. 

My homeowners insurance said they would accept collections over $10K in value but only with an independent appraiser, I can't assign grade or value myself for them. 

Once I get what I want appraised, and a quote from my insurance, I can then shop around a couple of places. But I've heard from several to avoid "comicbook insurance" companies and that it should be antique/collectible insurance. 

This started when I looked up the value of my most valuable comicbook and my jaw dropped at the most recent sales. I could not imagine a house fire destroying the whole collection and homeowners only paying out $10K. 

I don't know what others here do who I know have way WAY more valuable collections than me.

 

[KCOComics]

35 minutes ago, jcjames said:

Thanks, in around phoenix area. I've contacted a few of the established ones, only one said they will appraise, none of the others even knew who to go to. 

I would definitely only appraise the ones over $100 each to be included in an insurance policy. 

My homeowners insurance said they would accept collections over $10K in value but only with an independent appraiser, I can't assign grade or value myself for them. 

Once I get what I want appraised, and a quote from my insurance, I can then shop around a couple of places. But I've heard from several to avoid "comicbook insurance" companies and that it should be antique/collectible insurance. 

This started when I looked up the value of my most valuable comicbook and my jaw dropped at the most recent sales. I could not imagine a house fire destroying the whole collection and homeowners only paying out $10K. 

I don't know what others here do who I know have way WAY more valuable collections than me.

 

I think most people here use CIS.  It's a simple process where you can determine the value and set your limits. You will need some type of proof of ownership.  

I haven't heard horror stories about people being paid face value for valuable books,  though I will admit I've never filed a claim. 

 

 

[707comics]

3 hours ago, William-James88 said:

face value, like 12 cents?

Anyways, now I get your conundrum. The price the comic book shop gave you is fair. Just appraise your books worth more than $1000 and insure those. By the way, heritage Auction also apraises comic book collections but they would charge you way more.

 

EDIT: Personally, what bothers me most about your plan to have your LCS appraise them is that now more people would be in the know of the big books you have. And plus they'd know they are insured. It's the perfect crime. 

On the other hand he might then know the approximate value of his collection for insurance purposes

[William-James88]

5 minutes ago, 707comics said:

On the other hand he might then know the approximate value of his collection for insurance purposes

He knows the value, he just needs a third party because the insurance company wont take his word for it.

[Croatbag]

I don't get the need though, they are basing it on the insured $ amount....so if you wanted say 50K of coverage, wouldn't that be the same cost to insure 50K worth of value whether its really 50K worth of comics or a $1 book you are claiming is worth 50K.......I don't really think the company cares about the items per say, just their potential outstanding coverage liability which is kind of something you can decide on.

[jcjames]

17 minutes ago, Croatbag said:

I don't get the need though, they are basing it on the insured $ amount....so if you wanted say 50K of coverage, wouldn't that be the same cost to insure 50K worth of value whether its really 50K worth of comics or a $1 book you are claiming is worth 50K.......I don't really think the company cares about the items per say, just their potential outstanding coverage liability which is kind of something you can decide on.

Because I can't just say I have a AF15 CGC 5.0 (which I don't) to insure without the company wanting to verify that I actually have one. 

[shadroch]

1 hour ago, jcjames said:

Because I can't just say I have a AF15 CGC 5.0 (which I don't) to insure without the company wanting to verify that I actually have one. 

Take a phone video of your most expensive books. Have CNN on n the background so you can prove the date. 

You are seriously overthinking this. There are plenty of companies you can use without jumping thru hoops. 

CIA( or CIS ,as some call it) only needs documentation on books worth $5,000 or more. 

[marvelmaniac]

12 hours ago, KCOComics said:

I think most people here use CIS.  It's a simple process where you can determine the value and set your limits. You will need some type of proof of ownership.  

I haven't heard horror stories about people being paid face value for valuable books,  though I will admit I've never filed a claim. 

 

 

I am going to preface this by saying, I do not work for or receive any $ compensation from CIS, just want to help fellow collectors and pass on the knowledge/experience I have gained in 40+ years of collecting.

I have been using CIS for close to 15 years now, never had to file a claim, the process is less complicated than going through an insurance company (like homeowners) that does not deal with collectibles on a daily basis.

I always say the best insurance in the world is insurance you have but never have to use, if you use it, something went wrong.

If they were a PITA about settling claims would they still be in business and as popular as they are?

You determine how much insurance you want/need, they give you a quote based on $ amount of insurance, where you live (are you near large bodies of water, etc.) and where/how the books are being stored.

I currently pay $190.00 per year for $35,000.00 in insurance (and peace of mind).

https://collectinsure.com/?gclid=CJu3heLP8cUCFYuPHwod4kgAww

I originally sent them a list of all books/collectibles with some pics, in 2015 I graded all of my books myself (took 6 month's for 2000 + books) and sent CIS a list of all books with grade, I have the complete list (42 page PDF) and pics of every book stored on my laptop and on 2 additional flashdrives.

As I add new things to the collection I take pics/catalog the items and send them the info through e-mail and they add it to my file.

You can send them all of the info and pics on a flashdrive or through e-mail.

You can change the amount of coverage at anytime.

If you have CGC graded books, then you already know the grade and you can find FMV at...

https://comics.gocollect.com/

If the books are raw, then the best place to obtain FMV is eBay sold auctions, eBay sold auctions are what people are actually paying for that book in that grade, you would have to grade the book before checking.

If you have a large and/or expensive collection, IMO, you should learn about grading/handling/storing your comics yourself.

Both of these books are invaluable as far as info is concerned, the price guide actual $ values are probably outdated but the info in the book is valuable none the less.

https://www.gemstonepub.com/en/the-overstreet-comic-book-price-guide-51-daredevilecho-sc

https://www.gemstonepub.com/en/the-overstreet-guide-to-grading-comics-6th-edition

You can also attempt grading a book then open a thread in the...

https://www.cgccomics.com/boards/forum/42-hey-buddy-can-you-spare-a-grade/

Post clear pics of the front cover, back cover, splash page and inside front cover, centerfold, inside rear cover, note if there are any interior issues such as tears, missing/filled out coupons, pinups missing, etc. and see what the group thinks, if they do not agree with your grade, ask why, you will be accurately grading your books yourself in no time flat.

https://comics.ha.com/tutorial/comics-grading.s?show=comicdefinitions

https://comics.ha.com/c/ref/glossary.zx