From the desk of Bob Baker, Vice President, HSCA:
Rome wasn't built in a day.....neither is a career as an appraiser.
Becoming or being a good appraiser is a simple matter of constantly learning.
It is your responsibility to gain knowledge of your specialty. If you don't know what something is, know where to find the information! Being an expert is simply a matter of knowing where to look to find out what something is and what it is worth.
No one can know it all.
I have been selling and appraising antiques and collectibles since 1970. I was twenty five years old and didn't know diddley-squat. I am still learning things about the plethora of items both on and constantly being added to the market. I have a general knowledge of many things. How? I worked for an importer in the 1970's. I traveled and did shows for years and while I was at these antique shows or flea markets, I studied what other people had and what they were selling their items for. I bought books, went to museums and to auctions. I attended antique shows. I ran a shop and sold on Ebay. I talked to intelligent people who were happy to share their knowledge with me. Was it easy? No. Was it fun. Absolutely.
You learn from everything you touch, see and do.
You will say, "I'll never be able to learn all that!" Well, you're right. But after you have handled enough, looked at enough, talked enough about it with others who "know" what it is, you'll be on the right and only track a good appraiser needs to be on. Appraising is doing, not knowing. After a short while you will begin, if you will allow me, to get the feel and sense of what is good. You may not know what it is but you will sense it is something special. How? Usually by the quality of the item you are looking at. How? Because you have been looking at quality things! Example: if you look for arrowheads and read about them, you find out what they're all about. If you look at Tiffany glass lamps and study about them, then you find out what they're all about. However, arrowheads are a hell of a lot easier to find. And if you think you have found an original Tiffany lamp in your grannies attic, remember, stained glass lamps have been reproduced for at least the last 40 years. Plus they're selling good quality reproductions on the Home Shopping Network every week! Plus several other notable companies made them during the late 19th century and early 20th century.
If you study, you will be a good appraiser. If you don't, well, you'll be found out soon enough as a fraud and your career will be over or you'll end up in court over your actions or your lack of scruples and your career will be jeopardized. A good appraiser must have good ethics.
Being ethical means do your level best to describe and evaluate the item or items you are hired to be the expert on. Being ethical means you do not intend to purchase the item you are appraising. You must learn to remove yourself from being interested in buying any object you are appraising. Otherwise, you cannot be objective about its value. Ever hear of "conflict of interest"? Well, appraise it for what it's market value is, then if you want to buy it pay all you can for it.
Getting a bargain can be the same as stealing. Little old ladies selling off their sterling to pay the utility bill is not a good moment to get a bargain. Ethical means being fair to them, to yourself and to others. Being fair will bring you more and more business. Cheating people will get you nothing in the long run. The ability of an appraiser to gain new clients is good referrals. If you have no sense of ethics, then you will eventually fail as an appraiser or end up doing time for being dishonest. Do not compromise your career by letting greed be your co-pilot. Use the old "do unto others" rule and you will find you will one day have to turn away business.