An appraisal that holds up when it matters.
AAA-accredited. USPAP-compliant. Signed appraisals of Japanese animation art by Heather Russell, the only US AAA-accredited appraiser in the category, prepared to the standard the IRS, insurance carriers, courts, and museums require.
All-in with the authentication. We do not appraise a piece we have not examined, so an examination is always included. From $575 with a remote examination instead.
For Japanese animation artwork only.
The IRS requires a USPAP-compliant appraisal from a qualified appraiser for non-cash charitable donations over $5,0001. Insurance carriers, courts, estate attorneys, and museums require the same standard.
Many "appraisals" sold online are not prepared by a qualified appraiser or in conformance with USPAP. If yours isn't, it may not satisfy the IRS, your carrier, or a court at the moment you need it to.
USPAP (Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice) is the federal standard for appraisal practice in the United States, set by The Appraisal Foundation and authorized by Congress in 1989. A qualified appraiser holds a designation from a recognized professional organization (Appraisers Association of America, American Society of Appraisers, or International Society of Appraisers), follows USPAP, and meets continuing-education requirements.
Heather Russell
Accredited Member of the Appraisers Association of America since 2022. Appraisals are prepared in conformance with the current edition of the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice (USPAP).
The only AAA-accredited appraiser in the United States specializing in Japanese animation. Over twenty-five years inside Japan's collectibles market.
Heather meets the credential, education, and experience requirements for a qualified appraiser under IRS Reg §1.170A-17. Qualified-appraiser status is assignment-specific: it also depends on the appraiser's relationship to the property, the donor, and the donee. We confirm qualification in writing before accepting any donation engagement.
An appraisal is an independent opinion of value. It is not a sales tool, and we will not accept an engagement where our own commercial interest could reasonably be seen to influence the number.
We decline every engagement on:
- • Pieces Heather Russell owns personally, in whole or in part
- • Pieces owned by Rinkya, Inc. or any affiliated entity
- • Pieces currently or previously listed for sale on the Rinkya or Rinkya Authentic marketplace
- • Pieces Rinkya is currently consigning or has agreed to sell
- • Pieces Rinkya or Heather Russell intends or has offered to acquire
We decline charitable donation engagements on:
- • Pieces Rinkya sold, brokered, sourced, or bid on as proxy for the current owner
Under IRS Reg §1.170A-17(b)(5)(iii), a party to the transaction in which the donor acquired the property cannot serve as the qualified appraiser, and the rule names agents for the donor as well as sellers. If you acquired the piece through Rinkya, we cannot appraise it for your deduction. No disclosure cures it. We will tell you before you pay us, and we can refer you to another accredited appraiser in the category.
This exclusion applies to charitable donations only. For insurance, estate, equitable distribution, or sale-planning appraisals, a piece acquired through Rinkya is eligible, and Rinkya's role in the acquisition is disclosed in the report.
Inherited pieces. If you inherited a piece that Rinkya originally sold to the person you inherited it from, the donation exclusion does not reach you. The acquisition transaction that matters is the one by which you acquired the property, and Rinkya was not a party to a bequest or estate distribution. Rinkya's history with the piece is disclosed either way, and often improves the provenance record.
Estates: we appraise or we sell, not both. Where we appraise an estate or collection, we will not buy, broker, or consign any part of it for twelve months following delivery of the report, unless the executor waives this in writing after the report is complete and in hand. Appraisal fees are flat, billed to the estate, and never drawn from sale proceeds.
What we disclose rather than decline. If Rinkya Authentic performed an authentication, grading, condition report, or any other service on the piece within the prior three years, that prior service is disclosed to you in writing before we accept the engagement and is stated again in the appraisal certification, as USPAP requires. The appraisal is a separate engagement from that work and reaches its own conclusion.
Fees. Appraisal fees are flat and quoted on scope and complexity. They are never contingent on the appraised value, a predetermined value, a direction of value, or the outcome of any related authentication.
Scope. Appraisals are issued for Japanese animation artwork (production cels, genga, douga, backgrounds) only, the category our appraiser is accredited in.
Pricing. From $650 all-in with the authentication, or from $575 with a remote examination. Flat fee per appraisal product. Final price quoted after we see the work. By professional standard, appraisal fees cannot be a percentage of the item's value. If an examination returns an inconclusive or negative result, no appraisal is issued and the appraisal is not charged: you pay for the examination alone.
Separate engagement. The appraisal is contracted under its own agreement, separate from the authentication. Its fee is never contingent on the appraised value, a direction of value, or what the examination concludes.
Turnaround. Appraisal adds at least two weeks beyond authentication turnaround, depending on item complexity, comparable sales research, and report length.
Examination first. Appraisals are only issued for pieces Rinkya has examined, either a full authentication or a remote examination. A signed valuation is only as defensible as the attribution behind it.
1 IRS Form 8283 instructions; IRS Publication 561. Definition of "qualified appraisal" and "qualified appraiser" at IRS Reg §1.170A-17.
2 Pension Protection Act of 2006 added the qualified-appraisal requirement to IRC §170(f)(11).