So you would like to know the value of antiques you own?
There are several methods available to arrive at the value of antiques.
You can research the price yourself or let an antique appraiser or valuer do the work with his professional resources.
A paid antique appraisal will normally also include an authentication of your item at the same time.
Doing the research yourself: You can check published Antique Price Guides or searchable price databases online.
For a fee The simplest you can do is to look for an appraiser in your area or online, and have him/her do an appraisal against a fee. The appraiser will then authenticate your item and attach a value to it. If you already know what you have you can use a service like PriceMiner (fee) or Prices4Antiques.com yourself, or use one of the free methods mentioned below.
Sometimes a paid valuation is not the way to go before you have a basic idea what you have. Many collectors and other people own items that are vintage or more recently made, which may be beautiful but not have any significant value in themselves. A preliminary idea of the value of antiques can be obtained by one of the following methods, before you decide whether or not to go for a paid antique appraisal.
For free There is a way to get an approximate idea of an antique's worth yourself, but first you need to identify the antique and determine what exactly you have. If you already know what you have, skip to step 2.
To identify your item online you can search out one of the online forums which help people with free antique identification of Chinese or Asian antiques. Of course, offline there is a number of other alternatives open, like asking an antique dealer at an antique fair for a verbal opinion, or participating at an antiques roadshow, etc.
Once you know what you have, you can check out a number of websites for the price of similar items.
Check the web sites of auction houses for the reports or catalogs of past auctions. Usually, it will be possible to find past sales prices or estimated prices of upcoming auctions.
Check Ebay's completed auctions for similar items (enter via "Advanced Search")
Whichever method you choose, please be aware that if your item seems to be fairly valuable it is always better to seek a second opinion and perhaps spend some money on fees just to make sure you don't sell your item too low.
Value of antique ceramics The following five points are decisive factors regarding the price of antique items. Depending on market demand the price may never be the same at any two points in time.
Age
Quality
Rarity
Condition
Market demand
The type of location or business where antiques are sold or bought also may influence price. High-end or low-end antiques are usually only traded in certain locations where their high or low prices are accepted by customers.
