Appraisers: booking short slots for valuation days

Run a valuation day as a grid of short bookable slots, one person and a few objects per slot, rather than an open door with a queue. Open the day as its own service with a clear description of what you value and what you don't, ask people to note the objects and send photos before they come, and keep longer appointments for collections and home visits. A booked grid keeps the day on time, lets you prepare the difficult pieces and turns the best finds into follow-up appointments.

An open valuation day draws people in waves: nobody at ten, a line out of the door at eleven, and visitors who leave before you reach them. With booked slots, each visitor knows when to come, you know how many objects to expect and you can spread the day evenly. You can still take a few walk-ins in the gaps, but the people who booked never wait long.

A quick verbal estimate of one or two objects takes a few minutes; a box of jewellery, a set of prints or a piece of furniture that needs turning over takes much longer. Set the slot length for a small number of objects, say in the description how many objects one slot covers, and add a second service for larger lots.

Durations and prices are examples: set your own, and say in the description whether the price is per slot or deducted if you later handle the sale. On Book, each service has a name, a price and an optional description shown on your public page, and each slot belongs to one service with one place.

Valuation days often take place away from your office: an auction room, a hotel meeting room, a town hall, a shop. Put the address, the room and the access in the service description, and the date in the service name, for example “Valuation day, 14 November, Town Hall”. Open the slots of that day only, at one place each, and close them the evening before so you can prepare.

Say plainly in the description what you assess: jewellery and watches, silver, paintings and prints, ceramics, furniture, books, toys. Say what you don't take on the day, such as very large furniture, firearms or items that need a laboratory test. Visitors who read this before booking bring the right objects, and you avoid spending a slot on something you can't value.

The booking form takes the visitor's first name, last name, email and phone, plus an optional note that reaches you in the new booking email. Ask in the description for a short list of the objects in the note: what they are, rough size, any marks or signatures, and where they came from. Invite visitors to send photos by email after booking. With that, you can look up a maker's mark or a comparable sale before the day and spend the slot on the conversation, not on research.

Some people will turn up without booking. Fit them into free slots or the gaps at the end, and if you take them, book them yourself into the free slot from your bookings list so your day stays accurate. When a booked visitor arrives late, see them in what is left of their slot and offer a follow-up appointment rather than running late for everyone else.

Valuation days are where you find the objects worth a proper assessment. When a piece needs research, a written valuation or a look at the rest of a collection, book the follow-up appointment yourself before the visitor leaves: a collection appointment at your office or a home visit. First and last name are required, email and phone optional; enter the email so they receive a confirmation with a calendar file. Book doesn't send reminders, so a date in their calendar is what brings them back.

Visitors can't move bookings online: they contact you, and you reschedule or cancel from your bookings list, then tell them yourself, since Book doesn't email clients about changes. Book costs €5/month, everything included: unlimited services and bookings, no commission, no contract.