I scheduled an appointment with Mark Lawson to do a complete estate appraisal more than a month in advance. We agreed that he would do a write up of the approximate value to the estate and highlight any key items for $375.00. A few days before my appointment his secretary called me to rescheduled and pushed my appointment out more than month and a half. The day of the appointment Mark Lawson was about a half an hour late. He casually walked in and acted as though he was annoyed and bothered by being there. He pointed out the ballpark prices of some furniture noting that the market was depressed and said there wasn’t anything that stood out to him as having good value. We showed him about 250 photos (on a laptop) of china, vases, plates etc and he clicked through them so fast I don’t know how he could have possibly know what the pictures were of. He glanced at the photos so quickly I was having trouble fallowing what they were, and I was the one who had taken the photos. He declared there was nothing there of any value. After the pictures he quickly scanned the kitchen we were in and abruptly asked if this was it. He suggested we not sell any items piece by piece, as this would reduce the interest of the people who might attend the estate sale. He recommended that we call his friend when then time came for said estate sale. Fortunately, we got a second opinion and found that this would better serve his friend and her commission than our own interests. At that point he requested his payment of $375 for his scheduled hour and promptly left half an hour early. What was especially off putting was he left his car running the whole time as though he never intended on staying long.
We never received our write up of the value of the estate, and in hindsight I’m not surprised because he made no attempt to take notes while doing his hasty walkthrough.
We felt that Mark Lawson was demeaning and dismissive in a house that has multiple rooms that are packed with antiques. He acted as if his paid visit was a waste of his time.
We’ve subsequently obtained the opinion of other antique dealers and have received professional appraisals and feedback as to the true value of our estate. After doing our own research on eBay and other auction sites, their appraisals seem to better match the market value of these antiques. If you’re considering using Mark Lawson’s services save yourself the time money and aggravation and look elsewhere.
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