Where can I find a good and reliable antique dealer (in PA) that won't give me the run-around?

Question

I have been looking for an antique dealer and or apraiser to find out the true value of an antique coffee percolaor that my mom has aquired about 20 years ago. We know that the percolator has been estimated to have been back in the 1920's. The person that said that is was a 1920's model also told us that he wouldn't be able to afford what it could be worth but no amount was said. In the past few years we have had three other people say that saw the percolator and said that they would not be able to afford what the pot could be worth. Once again no amount was stated. Two of those people that said that they wouldn't be able to afford it were dealers themselves but they weren't appraisers. The percolator is in excellent condition. No wear and tear on the percolator and on the original tags that are still attached to the pot. The pot also has the original coffee still encased within the pot. Any more information would be greatly appreciated.

Answer 1

You might want to check with the Better Business Bureau to see if your local shops have complaints against them and, if so, what the complaints are about.

You might also visit these sites:
http://www.paappraisers.org/about_our_org.html
http://absolutely-antiques.com/kw.php?k=antiques%20roadshow
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/roadshow/series/appraisers/index.html
http://www.crawforddirect.com/worth.html

Good luck