To the poster who said I should raise my evaluation prices, my appraiser would not go for it, I wouldnt either. Maybe it is a Canadian thing but I just think it is better to be honest. And my appraiser has a reputation independent of my business that he has to protect. I get what you are saying though - you are probably 100% right I just can't do it LOL.

I thought I might draw a reaction like that. My suggestion has nothing to do with how honest or ethical you or your valuer are. I have no doubt he does a very thorough job in calculating stone weights & qualities & the carat & weight of gold, etc.

And that part of his work is not up for discussion. What I do know from 35 years in the trade is that some valuers work on a higher mark-up, some not so much. And this mark-up needs to reflect the appropriate retail outlet that applies to this stock.

I will try to explain it with a specific example. Take an antique piece of period jewellery. The stones might be paste, the gold might not be gold at all but rolled gold. If the valuer applies the same standards to that as he does a piece bought from one of the jewellery chains, it isn't going to get a very high price attached to it. But because it might be 200 years old with wonderful provenance, it might be valued far higher than the same piece with real gold & diamonds.

Have you asked your valuer what mark-up he applies on your stock to arrive at his replacement retail cost? Valuers have different rates for different types of shops, as the rolled gold example shows. And some valuers have always been slow to adjust their retail mark-up to reflect the changing times. Plus the public don't understand there is a difference between valuers, they just want the biggest saving over the replacement price.

Most of the time they don't have a clue what something is worth but they sure love getting a bargain. And this isn't peculiar to Oz, Canadian shoppers wouldn't be that different.

I dealt with many valuers & I always knew where to take something depending on whether I wanted a high or low valuation. And often we would discuss what mark-up was appropriate for a specific piece. If we couldn't agree on the numbers, it was easier for me to take it to another valuer.

I do not see this as wrong, what is wrong is when a valuer is pressured into changing the clarity or colour of a diamond. Some things get said to close a sale that can come home to bite the seller later. And I know this comes up all the time from conversations I have with valuers. It's the same as comparing a GIA valuation to an EGL certificate. And when I started, there was a 5% premium attached to GIA, today it is more like 50%.

If your valuer doesn't want to give you his mark-up or it isn't sufficiently high enough, it is time you changed valuers. He can keep his reputation & you can send him postcards from Tahiti after you increase your sales by showing bigger savings. I say that with my tongue in my cheek but it's a tough market out there & you need to do what you can. Think of your kids. Cheers.