Selling & valorization
Who are the experts auction houses actually listen to?
Auction houses listen to the experts whose authentication they can sell: recognized foundations, official archives, and specialists whose names appear in the credits of premium catalog lots that made records. The market doesn't pay for correctness—it pays for certification that transfers liability and reassures the next buyer. Your private expert may be right, but if their stamp doesn't appear in high-end catalogs, their opinion won't raise your reserve or multiply your result.
The Method's take
The Method: buy with your eye, sell with their stamp. Study who certified the record pieces in premium catalogs—those are the oracle names the market recognizes. In selling, the stamp is mandatory for big multipliers; your accuracy without the signature stays invisible. Institutional authentication costs hundreds to thousands and is non-negotiable IF the piece passes the gate—rare, not seen everywhere, strong presence. If the oracle says no: step down the attribution ladder and sell with liquidity, or wait years and retry with documentary evidence.
The math
Submitting to an unknown or self-declared expert: €500–2,000 wasted on an opinion the house will ignore, and you still start from zero. A major lot without the recognized stamp: €20,000–100,000+ left on the table versus what the certified comparable made. The 24-hour pass is €100; the annual pass €3,800. One avoided submission to the wrong expert, or one ceiling reached because you knew the right name first, pays for the year.
One question answered here saved you a mistake. The engine answers yours — the exact object, the exact number.
Ask the engine — 24h pass €100