Appraising & Insuring Your Collections?

[morrijos]

So, I just signed the dotted line for renter's insurance.  I told my agent that if something were to happen, my first priority would be to recoup the loss of my dinosaur collection (to buy replacements, of course). 

He recommended that I itemize a list of my collection, take pictures, and give an account of each piece's value.  What a project!  I'd estimate that I have between 150 and 200 individual pieces with a total value of $2,000-$3,000.  We'll see how close my estimates are...  If a catastrophe were to befall my menagerie, I'd get the value of the each piece's value as it is on the day of the "accident."  So, it wouldn't necessarily received what paid for each one...

Does anybody have any experience with this sort of thing?  What's the best way to estimate each dinosaur's value?  I was thinking about using Ebay as a reference for most things. 

[stargatedalek]

as a rule of thumb for judging value of used pieces, if its still available start with retail price and take off 10% off the bat just for being owned, and then judge condition accordingly

with pieces no longer at retail it varies extensively so research on each one is recommended, but ebay is probably not the best source

[SBell]

as a rule of thumb for judging value of used pieces, if its still available start with retail price and take off 10% off the bat just for being owned, and then judge condition accordingly

with pieces no longer at retail it varies extensively so research on each one is recommended, but ebay is probably not the best source

If you do use ebay and other auction/sales/trade sites, make sure to look at SOLD values.

But--if you are doing replacement value, you may want to use current sales prices. Because if the only available one of something is ridiculous, it's still the only way to replace it.

I am hesitant to appraise mine. I'm pretty sure it's into 5 digits, notwithstanding the completely-irreplaceable figures.

[DinoLord]

I've sometimes thought about this subject. The only figures I have detailed catalogues of are my Kaiyodos (mainly Dinotales), which tend to be similarly priced according to series. However I don't know if insurance would help me recover every piece after a terrible tragedy, as some of the rarer pieces in my collection aren't really sold anywhere anymore, not even for exorbitant prices.