COPENHAGEN.- Ever wondered what your old chinese vase is worth? Or that vintage design chair you have inherited from you granddad? To get your item appraised from a leading auction house can feel intimidating and at times cumbersome. Mearto.com, a new appraisal service, has streamlined this process and helps private collectors around the world with free auction estimates, by joining all auction houses on one platform. When your item has been submitted, multiple auction houses can appraise the item, which gives the user a much more precise estimate of the item.

Today auction estimates serve to create a context for the private sellers when they want to sell their arts and antiques. It helps them understand the potential value of their item. Many collectors contact a single auction house and believe it is indifferent to contact others. It is a grave mistake.

Says Mads, “With the rise of the online art market, collectors should not settle with a single offer from the local auction house. Reaching out to multiple houses for an appraisal estimate is the best way to find the right place to sell. Many collectors would be surprised about the different estimates we receive and we can only urge collectors, with valuable items, to research and collect multiple appraisals. Many people hire an art advisor to do this, or spent countless hours researching an emailing with various auction houses. We have made this process easy and free.”

Sometimes it makes sense not to sell your art and antiques at the local auction house. Sometimes there is an auction house specializing in your category, sometimes it is much more valuable in another city, and even moving the item to another continent can be wise. The best way to check this, is by requesting appraisals from multiple auction houses. Mearto have shared 3 interesting items appraised in 2017 that proves the importance of doing your homework if you want to sell.

Says Mads, “The auction industry is experiencing an important lift in transparency, aided by online databases. We are tapping into that trend, with our own database, and more importantly by making it easier for everyone to collect estimates online, from multiple auction houses”

Appraisals from the auction houses can take up to a week. But mostly, if the item is valuable, people will receive answers within 24 hours or faster. Mearto can’t guarantee an appraisal. It depends on the interest from the auction house and in some cases it is impossible to do online. In this case, we have our own specialist, former appraisal specialists at top auction houses, that will review items for free. The Mearto specialists will go through all items and provide an appraisal where it is possible.