Are you joking? On eBay his normal authenticated paintings sell for over $15k here’s a link
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Bob-Ross-Authentic-Original-Waterfall-Oil-Painting-Contemporary-Art/143353174732?hash=item216083dacc:g:WV4AAOSwZFtdUDfb

This one is one of his most famous and easily something over $25k. Can this appraisal be redone by an expert knowledgeable with Bob Ross?

Dear Ryan,

We adapt our estimations to actual and reached auction results of the last years. This process mirrors a comparative value and mirrors and actual market situation. This means also that an object should not just be adapted to the highest hammer prices and you also have to see the mid-range and low range hammer prices to define an adequate estimate. Offers on eBay are often unrealistic prices that are not adapted to a market situation. As mentioned the works of Bob Ross are hammered down in the mentioned price range. I am sorry when you expected a higher estimate but sadly these are the given facts.

With kind regards,
Georg

I still challenge your appraisal the $15-20k are the routine sales I see. Please forward me 2 Bob Ross 18 x 24” paintings similarly authenticated by Bob Ross inc that have sold in the last yr for $2,000-4000.

Dear Ryan,

Thank you for your email. Please have a look at the following links.

https://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/65353483_bob-ross-oil-on-canvas-landscape-v5-000

https://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/62242270_bob-ross-oil-on-canvas-landscape-v1-200

With kind regards,
Georg

Thank you for sending the links of the comparable auctions you used, I hate to claim that your appraisal wasn’t done accurately without basis so I’m glad you you’re open to proving that. I would like to request my appraisal goes to a Bob Ross painting appraisal expert. As an expert would know the two painting you used were 28 x 25” and 20 x 16” but over 90% of authentic Bob Ross’ are 18 x 24 with the next most used size 24 x 36 then round oval pan. Both of the piece you used didn’t have the Bob Ross inc certified authentic catalog authentication certificate as mine had. And lastly the signature one one looks really far off and the second one looks a little off. I do not dispute that a highly questionable signature, wrong sized non authenticated painting is worth $5k. Again my issue is that my painting is none of those things. The lowest authenticated paintings sell for today is $12k and mine is one of his most recognizable TV commercial paintings worth multiples of a regular painting. Please reroute my appraisal to an expert, thank you, Ryan

Dear Ryan,

Sadly I don't see any realistic chance for a painting in this price range of 12.000 USD you mentioned. Have a look at the other results of Bob Ross paintings at the price databases of liveauctioneers and Invaluable and you can see the market situation. Most of the paintings are sold in the mentioned price range of 2.000 to 4.000 USD.

I am sorry that you expected a higher estimate and I often deal with the frustration of the owners.

With kind regards,
Georg

Hello Ryan,

Thank you very much for your appraisal purchase from Mearto. I am sorry to see that you are upset, but would like to assure you that Georg is very experienced and one of our best fine art appraisers. I believe that part of the issue may stem from the fact that you would like an insurance valuation for your painting. Unfortunately, that is not something that we provide. Mearto offers fair market valuations, which means an estimate what you could reasonably expect to sell the item for at auction, based on recent comparable results. This is what Georg has provided.

An insurance or replacement valuation would be somewhat higher. I recommend that you reach out to an appraiser in your area that conforms to the USPAP standards -- this is what is recognized by the IRS and necessary for most insurance companies. We maintain a directory of such appraisers on our website, which is free for you to use: https://mearto.com/appraisers

If you have any additional questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to reach out.

All the best,

Lindsey Bourret
Managing Director, Mearto
[email protected]

Thanks for the email Lindsay, I will say I would gladly take a fair market estimate appraisal. I’m sure Georg appreciates your supporting his efforts but I still disagree with his use of non authenticated likely fake wrong sized painting for the comparison for auction sites when an authenticated correct size eBay painting sold for $15k and $21k in the past 6 months. He’s probably a good fine arts appraiser but I still feel he’s a horrible Bob Ross appraiser. If you have someone that can provide a competent Bob Ross appraisal I would love for you to assign to them.
Ryan

Hello Ryan,

I understand. I will ask one of our other specialists to take a look and will be in touch when I have her response. Please bear with us while we work on this second opinion.

Thank you!

Best regards,
Lindsey

Hi Lindsey, I wanted to see how your second appraisal was coming along? To help out here’s another link of one that sold for $15,000:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Bob-Ross-Authentic-Original-Waterfall-Oil-Painting-Contemporary-Art/143353174732?hash=item216083dacc:g:WV4AAOSwZFtdUDfb

Just wanted to check back Lindsey and see how the appraisal was coming?

Hello Ryan,

Thank you for checking in again. I emailed you on 14 January. Perhaps you didn't receive my message, so here it is:

Thank you very much for your message and my apologies for not getting back to you sooner with a second opinion about your painting. Your request got lost in the pre-holidays hustle and bustle, but I've asked another one of our specialists to take a look and this is what she had to say:

"I agree with the customer that the comps Georg used probably weren't the best. I don't know that I would trust a comp (in this case) that didn't come with the COA from Bob Ross Inc. or another trusted source with verifiable provenance. However, the few auction comps I did find that claim to be authenticated are over 5 years old and therefore aren't accurate (really). Plus, given the MTV connection with regard to the customer's work, I would probably add a premium. It seems that Ross's auction market (authentic works) is very slim and even retail is light, but I had more success there. I read where the majority of his paintings are being donated to the Smithsonian, which would likely explain why there aren't really any on the primary or secondary markets. I would put the insurance value at between $20-25,000 based on readily available retail pricing via Artsy. In terms of FMV, I actually think Georg's initial estimate was okay--I might bump it up slightly to $2,000-$6,000, but that's purely based on old auction comps, so I'm not sure it's the most accurate. As Georg mentioned, eBay should never be used as a source of value, and if he's interested in having an RRV value then he will need to speak with a certified appraiser."

Here's the links to the old auction comps:

https://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/21441508_bob-ross

https://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/21441506_bob-ross

and Artsy's published retail pricing:

https://www.artsy.net/artist/bob-ross?medium=painting

I understand that this is probably not what you want to hear, but I hope, at least, that this answers some of your questions. There is quite a big difference between a fair market valuation (what we provide) and a replacement or retail valuation, which is what you typically need to insure the piece. As a next step, I recommend reaching out to a local appraiser. Please feel free to use our directory to search for one in your area: https://mearto.com/appraisers

If you have any further questions or concerns, please feel free to reach out to me directly. Thank you!

Best regards,
Lindsey Bourret
Managing Director, Mearto
[email protected]

Hello there Lindsey, I wanted to provide the below auction link that happened recently of a similarly authenticated Bob Ross painting. As you can see what the buyers premium it sold for over $49,000. Hopefully seeing this auction value of a fairly plain example we can all now agree Georg’s original auction estimate wasn’t even close? With this information do you think now would be an appropriate time to review my original submission and give an accurate insurance valuation for my Bob Ross painting?
https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot/very-rare-bob-ross-winter-glory-oil-on-canvas-bd74ec3811

Thank you,
Ryan