Getting the most from InstAppraisal

Here are a few tips to increase your chances of getting a response to your antique appraisal listing. Take advantage of them and you could find the InstAppraisal experience greatly improved.

1) Post clear, focused, and well-lit pictures.
Often a minute detail can make the difference of hundreds of dollars in valuations. Make sure that your item is well-photographed from all angles and provide good views of details.

2) Choose your best image as the thumbnail.
When uploading your images they appear in a stack. The topmost image will be used as your item's thumbnail. Since many members primarily view the thumbnails when Browsing our listings it's important that it clearly represents the item to encourage other users to look at the complete listing. A thumbnail of a beautiful teacup is much more attractive than a thumbnail of the bottom of the cup. Also, ensure that your images are rotated the correct way by using the rotation arrows that appear when you put your mouse over the images after uploading them.

3) Minimize distractions in your pictures.
We often find listings where we have to actively seek out the item to be appraised among a bunch of other unrelated items in the photos. Try to photograph your item alone where possible.

4) Provide useful descriptions.
While simply asking "What is this?" gets your objective across, any additional details about the item you can provide only improve the chances of getting a response. Is that piece of furniture solid wood, plywood or fiberboard? Did you find that doll at an estate sale or a thrift shop? Is the paint on that vase on top of or under the clear-coat?

5) Use the Search tool.
We know you're eager to get your item posted but you'd be surprised how many times we see the same items posted over and over again by different members. One example is Lane cedar chests, which are the subject of a large number of appraisal requests. It doesn't get much more 'Insta' than finding the answer already waiting for you!

6) Be patient!
Our free crowd-sourced model relies on other members of our global audience (like yourself) with knowledge of your item seeing the listing and offering their knowledge. For some items this can happen right away while others take substantially longer. If you're in a hurry we offer two low-cost premium services, InstAppraisal Advantage and InstAppraisal Ultimate, that request answers directly from our in-house InstAppraisal Experts in 72 or 24 hours, respectively. If we're unable to complete the appraisal in that time for any reason your payment will be refunded 100% and your listing will be converted to our Standard free crowd-sourced service. There's nothing to lose -- you get your answers or you don't pay!

7) Participate!
Author Robert Heinlein said it best... There's no such thing as a free lunch. Just like you're depending on other members to see and comment on your items, you should be looking at theirs and adding your input. You may be just the person somebody just like you is waiting to hear from! Know what something is or when it was made but don't know what it's worth? Post what you do know! There are thousands of items of all sorts on InstAppraisal. Take a look around, it's fun! And you get InstAppraisal Points by participating which could earn you a $50 Amazon Gift Card every month!