NCJV NSW will be running a valuation course in August to help jewellery valuers “avoid the legal minefields” surrounding incorrect and/or outdated valuation methods.
NCJV NSW executive officer Graham Easy said the course is aimed at “anyone in the jewellery trade who is offering valuations” and is ideal for experienced jewellers who are still “diligently valuing as they did 20 plus years ago, blissfully unaware that the jewellery industry has radically changed the way its products should be reported on”.
“Many experienced people in the trade know their jewellery but are providing valuations so far wide off the mark that they could be questioned as misleading under the Fair Trading Act,” he said.
“Some people have fantastic jewellery knowledge and issue valuations that may well reflect the correct technical merit of the items, and they then may even arrive at a realistic dollar value.
“But without any knowledge of the valuing process and how to define this on their paperwork, they are most likely issuing documents that are legal minefields just waiting for an opportunity to bite the person who compiled them.
“Equally some valuers (registered or not) are still issuing valuations on the old cost-plus system without any regard to the current massive diversities in the Australian retail market.
“Any valuation must report on a current actual real trading situation, and this must be clearly defined on the valuation – if not then the document is nonsense.
“If they are issuing a ‘Retail Replacement’ valuation then it is a quote to replace that item and it must reflect the actual replacement price in that market, not merely a cost-plus system.
“The implications of ACCC and Fair Trading laws seem to be lost on many retailers and uneducated ‘valuers’.
“They blissfully issue valuations and often sell from them. The valuation price is usually significantly higher the price of the actual figure that the goods were traded at. This is described as two-price marketing. The concept is legal, however if it based on an inflated valuation figure then it renders both the seller and the uneducated valuer liable for prosecution.
“The pity is they do not know that they are doing anything wrong.”
The NCJV NSW valuation course will be held from August 14 to August 22 (rest day August 19) in Sydney.
The course costs $2500 (GST included).
For more information email nsw@ncjv.com.au
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