I Inherited Great Postal History.

Hello everyone, need some advice. My best stamping buddy passed away and left me his rather large and expensive collection. It includes the Canadian DLO complete with the die proofs, the complete war tax with of course die proofs. As well as an extensive postal history inventory. This is is not my area of expertise. I collect mnh US classics! I need an evaluation for his estate, and I have hired a respected stamp dealer here in Canada to give me that evaluation. Here's my question, what do you think is a fair fee for this service?

Appraisals are often charged by the hour

Call around to some other dealers. Get a quote. Call the APS and ask them what is the going rate. Good luck.

Couple of things to be aware of:
- You should state the reason for the appraisal. Insurance appraisals are different from fair market value appraisals.
- Set the ground rules in advance - no offer to purchase by appraiser will be accepted. Otherwise, the appraiser has reason to low-ball the appraisal. If you want to sell, get a few offers from different dealers.
- Do hourly or flat fee. If appraisal is done as percentage of value, appraisal has reason to inflate value and give you an unrealistic number.
- Auctioneers can also be useful as appraisers, as they both know the market and have good reason to give you a fair value. If it doesn't meet an inflated reserve value, they don't make any money.

Hope this helps.