GPPA: To Take Or Not

Designations

GPPA: To Take the Class or Not To Take the Class

By Edith Parrish-Kohler

It was during auction school in October 2013 when I first learned about appraisal work as an adjunct to auctions. Honestly, appraisals and auctions never crossed my mind as overlapping professions. I was immediately drawn to appraisal work as it offered a way to satisfy my need to investigate and research subjects in depth (my background was in viral research). vI KNEW this was something I needed to do for my career in the auction industry.

I attended the Graduate Personal Property Appraisal course in December 2013 in Las Vegas at the NAA’s Designation Academy. WOW! The classes were thorough and informative – there was so much information. And while all of that was incredibly valuable, the best part of that weeklong class was the people. I met people that are still friends and/or valuable resources to this day. In fact, I met my auction mentor for the first time in the USPAP class! (USPAP stands for Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice – the agency that oversees appraisal industry standards.)

Thinking back over my almost ten years of doing appraisal work, I realize what that credential means to me and I want to share it with you.

As I mentioned before, the people I met in my GPPA course are top of mind, but that is not the only benefit I gained. Appraisal work is a great alternative income stream to the auction business. I can say without trepidation, that my business survived COVID because of the appraisal work that I did during the shutdowns. (City/County of Denver’s mandates kept my live auction business shut down for 11 months). I was able to do enough appraisal work during that time to offset my auction losses and keep my entire staff working part-time. one less phone call to make to procure that service, they are ecstatic. And almost always, one client knows another client that will benefit from auction or appraisal services. Finally, appraisal work gives me the opportunity to be exposed to assets that I might not regularly encounter. I have seen museum-quality artwork worth hundreds of thousands of dollars held in private collections that most people will never see. I have seen firearms and accessories that predate the Civil War. I have seen documents signed by Abraham Lincoln. I have seen diamonds the size of dimes. I walk into every appraisal wondering what treasures I will encounter.

Being a Graduate Personal Property Appraiser has enriched my business and my finances. If you are on the fence about it, I encourage you to talk to others who hold the designation and find out more. It is one of the best things I have done in the auction industry!

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2022 NAA

Designation ACADEMY

Because my appraisal credentials are through my national professional organization and the NAA requires that I maintain my USPAP compliance every other year, my appraisal credentials carry a lot of weight with paraprofessionals. The NAA has gone to great lengths to ensure that their teaching materials are current and relevant which makes it easy for me to market my services.

Additionally, my appraisal services are a great conduit to additional auction business. When my appraisal clients find out that I can also sell their property, and they have