| I'll be glad to inspect a reasonable number of your items to help
you identify the medium, play speed and, for tapes, track specifications.
Though not essential, I'd appreciate enough stamps with the box to
pay for its return trip.
I charge my hourly rate if the content has to be determined. If you think you have records of family members mixed in with dance bands recorded from the radio and you only want the former, it can be worth the effort toward getting to a realistic budget. Tapes are the most confusing items to figure out. Playing speed, thickness, track width, mode- mono or stereo- and condition have to be determined before I can arrive at any idea of the playing time and condition. All quotations are estimates. I'm never sure until the job is well along as to what problems will require attention. Internal tape splices come undone or stick, tapes may change speed in the middle of a track, discs can have hidden physical and electronic problems such as sudden patches of hum or static, etc. I travel to appraise large collections at $800 per day plus expenses.
This site ©2001 Steven Smolian. rev 2 |