How to Buy a Violin
Reuter's Consumer Report on Stringed Instruments and Bows
Copyright© Fritz Reuter and Sons, Inc. 1971, 1996-2000, 2006 All rights reserved

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An appraisal is an oral or written assurance, either of Replacement value, Fair Market value, Probate value -- or of value vis-a-vis any other stipulated market. It states and takes account of an instrument's physical condition. And, in light of the above, it specifies the price of a violin or bow as determined by the appraiser.

1. Verbal (Oral) Appraisals

A verbal appraisal is a statement which the appraiser makes to the owner of a violin or bow. The appraiser's statement specifies an instrument's present Replacement value, Fair Market value, Probate value -- or value with reference to any other specified market. The same statement also takes account of the instrument's physical condition.

A written appraisal is, most importantly, written. It is addressed to an Insurance Carrier, legal administrator of estates, or the Internal Revenue Service. And it specifies a given instrument's present Replacement value, Fair Market value, Probate value -- or value with reference to any other specified market. Like its verbal counterpart, it also takes account of the instrument's physical condition as of the date of appraisal.

Appraisals favorably received by the Internal Revenue Service and the courts are written by appraisers held in good standing by various appraisers' associations. Insurance companies, in particular, tend to accept appraisals written by almost any seller of violins or bows. With this in mind, appraisers usually overvalue any violin or bow which they appraise -- for the following reasons:

1. Customers feel good about the overvaluation -- assuming that they will receive a higher profit from their insurance company, should their instrument be destroyed or stolen, than if they had sold it.

2. Fees for appraisal are often based on the established value or price of the appraised violin or bow. The higher the evaluation, the bigger the appraiser's charge.

3. Insurance companies profit because high appraisals translate into high premiums. Generally speaking, however, these up-front profits become long-run losses -- since the companies' low standards for appraisals allow for racketeering and grossly unethical practices.

Advice to the buyer: A written appraisal done for an insurance company specifies a dollar value. This is never the amount a private buyer would or should pay. Fair Market or Cash value appraisals come closer to the wholesale price of an instrument or bow. And the wholesale market is the only market where no real and/or artificially high mark-ups are added to accommodate "finder's fees," kick backs, payments to third parties (teachers and others), etc.