Antique China Appraisal

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A free antique appraisal - does it exist?

Free antique appraisals or valuations
Many people new to Chinese porcelain or antiques in general appear to have the misconception that a collector or appraiser can look at an item and instantly knows what it is and how much it is worth.
Maybe such misconceptions come from watching TV programs like the Antiques Roadshow?

Researching an item can be time consuming, and these TV shows will be able to provide free appraisals only because it is important for selecting the final few appraisal objects that people see on TV.
Anyway, a free antique appraisal is not that easy to get... If there was, we would be interested to learn of one that is for real. :-)

An appraisal is the process of identifying and authenticating an item, and possibly its source, age and market value. The whole process may be time consuming, taking time for research in some cases and, depending on the item at hand, it may require combing through many data or books to find information. With an item that may have little real value, except in the eyes of its owner. Would an appraiser do that for free? Learning about the traits of antiques takes years and years of experience and study, thus a professional appraiser will can hardly afford doing this for free.

An informal verbal opinion by a dealer or at an antiques fair seems more likely, but it does not have the value of a written professional appraisal. An instantaneous opinion by a dealer is not the same, as he will be unable to consult books on such an occasion. It is really just a quick identification of an item and an opinion in view to its value, from memory that is.

What is easier to get for free ...
What may be easier to get for free instead could be an antique identification, but perhaps not with a value estimate, because again, the latter may need a database or knowledge of the specific market, or books and records of past sales or auctions, etc.
That is the prerogative of a proper appraisal or valuation, if you don't want to do the research yourself. If you get your item identified, then you can try to find its approximate antique value yourself online. This way you may be able to get an idea what you have or what its value could be before requesting a formal appraisal.
Be sure to get a paid appraisal, or even more than one, if you find that your item could be something of greater value.

Always remember:
Every collector, even experts and professionals, who may deny this, have been fooled by high-level fakes at one time or another. That is normal. Such experiences contribute to the overall growth of the specialist knowledge they have.