Accredited appraisal reports are typically written and researched using one of two types of values, either Retail Replacement Value or Fair Market Value. Retail value is what an item would cost in a retail establishment, and are most often used to establish insurance coverage or to settle a personal property insurance claim. Fair Market Value is what an item would cost on the secondary market (auctions or wholesalers). More specifically the IRS defines Fair Market Value as “the price that property would sell for on the open market. It is the price that would be agreed on between a willing buyer and a willing seller, with neither being required to act, and both having reasonable knowledge of the relevant facts.”

Certain reports have to be written using Fair Market Values because they will be used in situations where only the intrinsic value of an item can be counted and not the additional markups/overhead pricing that are added into the cost of an item from a retail establishment.