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Antiques Roadshow Needs to Appraise the Appraisers
I totally get both comments. Readers enjoy sharing experiences of others which is in fact one of the compelling draws of Roadshow itself. Many of us look at the car accident when we drive by or maybe we take pleasure in enjoying the discomfort of the train wreck called Jersey Shore. We are curious creatures. That wasn't my point. What if Mr. Dimock didn't quite tell the whole truth? And what if maybe Mr. Sanford didn't quite do enough research on what he presented as fact. Why couldn't Mr. Sanford interview people from the show? I think that might have been interesting if Mr. Sanford was really sincere about sharing the experiences of San Diego attendees. I was just looking for a little balance. And what really set me off was Mr. Dimock's assertion that we as appraisers took a percentage off the appraised amount as a fee for making the property more saleable. Again I can't speak officially for the Roadshow but if you are going to call me a crook don't expect me to sit around and not at least attempt to offer some perspective to the discussion. I have talked to thousands of Roadshow visitors and heard countless stories which I personally find fascinating. And in fact because we are all working, the first time I see the shows is when you see them. I know nothing about collectibles, furniture, or paintings; however, I love to hear the stories and to educate myself on a new area. That is what Roadshow is all about. It is not about let's trick the appraiser or let's see if we can get on television to make our antique worth a bit more. The Roadshow is about people where the vehicle for telling the story just happens to be art and antiques. And let's hope it stays that way.— January 24, 2011 7:05 a.m.
Antiques Roadshow Needs to Appraise the Appraisers
Let me say from the beginning that I am not a spokesperson for Antiques Roadshow and am not in any way representing how the show might respond to this article. I have been on Antiques Roadshow as an appraiser for 15 years on the Ethnographic table, so I do consider that I know something about the show. If Mr. Sanford was going to do a piece on Roadshow, I am soemwhat bewildered that he never interviewed any of the appraisers or producers of the show. We are all very reachable with addresses posted on the Roadshow website. Some of these facts are just wrong. For example Mr. Dimock was quoted as saying: “Say a well-known appraiser certifies a collection as being worth around $300,000,” says Dimock, “and someone buys it. The appraiser will get from one to ten percent of that value for putting their name on the collection. That’s $3000 to $30,000.”. In 36 years of appraising tribal art I have never heard of this and have never been offered a percentage of the appraised value. That is considered to be not only unethical but it no doubt opens up potential civil and criminal problems for the appraiser. Mr. Sanford has extensively quoted Mr. Dimock as being an expert on the Roadshow as a result of his two attempts to get on television. I wouldn't give immediate credibility to his story of what happened on these two ocassions. The appraisers have been selected to participate on the show because they have over years demonstrated their credibility in the marketplace. We certainly, like everybody on this planet, are capable of making a mistake. But I can assure you that Antiques Roadshow is committed to getting it right. If an appraiser was consistently making mistakes, they would not be asked back. And even though we do volunteer, it is by invitation only. If you are really interested in how this show works, our Executive Producer, Marsha Bemko, has written a great book which is available either on the Roadshow website or on Amazon. JB— January 23, 2011 1:35 p.m.