I was watching the show tonight and one of the appraisers mentioned that when online searches fail, that’s when they can come to appraisers to get more information. How do the appraisers know or obtain this information? How are they able to estimate prices and give such detailed descriptions of the history of an object? This has always mystified me.
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A positive side effect of TikTok is that it has made it more clear and obvious that so much of the media that we consume (TV in this case) is heavily scripted, staged, and edited.
One thing to watch for on the show is the two types of appraisals.
One, researched. Where the items owner has gone trough a few separate steps full of questions and pictures. Where they then research the item and present their findings on air.
And the other, those little montages between the number 1s that are quick shot appraisals. (What you see all the people in the background waiting in line for). “Oh you have a Barbie from the 50s? You’ll want to be in the mid century toy line” if the story or item is good, they will pull a producer over to add to their montage in between 1s.
They’ll send you to someone who has seen plenty of toys, but you won’t get as much detail on your item as the ones that have been selected to be 1s (usually weeks/months in advance.)
All great comments here. I will add that if the information were not available on line, you wouldn’t know if the appraiser was accurate.
On prices at auction, when the auction is not a big one at a famous house, prices depends on who shows up. When a business I used to work at closed, I bid up the price of an old tractor because I drove that thing for thousands of hours as a young man. It finally sold for twice its value to a younger kid who wanted to use it in his business.
One thing to watch for on the show is the two types of appraisals.
One, researched. Where the items owner has gone trough a few separate steps full of questions and pictures. Where they then research the item and present their findings on air.
And the other, those little montages between the number 1s that are quick shot appraisals. (What you see all the people in the background waiting in line for). “Oh you have a Barbie from the 50s? You’ll want to be in the mid century toy line” if the story or item is good, they will pull a producer over to add to their montage in between 1s.
They’ll send you to someone who has seen plenty of toys, but you won’t get as much detail on your item as the ones that have been selected to be 1s (usually weeks/months in advance.)
If you watch enough Antiques Roadshow, the appraisers will sometimes mention how they consulted with other appraisers on the floor or did research beforehand (before the segment was filmed).
I believe there are two types of Antiques Roadshow appraisals – one is you just bring in your junk the day of, and the other is if you think you have something really special you can submit images of it and they “preselect” you – I would imagine so they can do research, etc.
If you watch enough Antiques Roadshow, the appraisers will sometimes mention how they consulted with other appraisers on the floor or did research beforehand (before the segment was filmed).
I believe there are two types of Antiques Roadshow appraisals – one is you just bring in your junk the day of, and the other is if you think you have something really special you can submit images of it and they “preselect” you – I would imagine so they can do research, etc.
I was at a sketchy car auction where, after the auction was completed the winner would say they didn’t want it after all so the auctioneer would go to the person who had the next highest bid. I’m sure this was being abused as the auction house could have people bid up cars that they had no interest in buying. Just getting people to bid up trying to beat the planted “buyer”
I was at a sketchy car auction where, after the auction was completed the winner would say they didn’t want it after all so the auctioneer would go to the person who had the next highest bid. I’m sure this was being abused as the auction house could have people bid up cars that they had no interest in buying. Just getting people to bid up trying to beat the planted “buyer”
Their entire professional life is dedicated to one particular niche thing. They will have spent thousands of hours studying every detail of that niche: different styles, where they were made, who made them, out of what and why, in addition to likely spending significant time personally handling any relevant objects related to their field. They will also professionally spend their time speaking to other specialists which further helps the exchange knowledge. This is on many levels really no different from asking any person about their job, especially when that job is niche or specialist and when they are at the top of their field; to someone who knows very little, it will seem like they know very much.
Their entire professional life is dedicated to one particular niche thing. They will have spent thousands of hours studying every detail of that niche: different styles, where they were made, who made them, out of what and why, in addition to likely spending significant time personally handling any relevant objects related to their field. They will also professionally spend their time speaking to other specialists which further helps the exchange knowledge. This is on many levels really no different from asking any person about their job, especially when that job is niche or specialist and when they are at the top of their field; to someone who knows very little, it will seem like they know very much.
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