50s: Starting with a storage ring

Chapter 306 James's Art Appraisal
His current status is based on a degree from a community college, a degree that is not even recognized by many large companies.

Moreover, his current age puts him at a disadvantage in the job market.

After thinking it through, Sun Zhiwei carefully considered the skills he could use to make money and the parts of himself he could expose, and finally decided to open his own shop.

He plans to open an item appraisal shop because he has the space and can identify the information of items with 100% accuracy.

To avoid looking out of place, he plans to take several certification exams.

In the following days, he applied for the AAA (American Association of Appraisers) exam.

He went to a nearby secondhand bookstore and bought several sets of exam materials. Then he began to study diligently, even carrying books with him when he went in and out of the apartment.

Within a few days, all the residents of the apartment building knew that James, the new salesman who lived on the first floor, was going to take a certification exam in order to find a better job.

This ambitious behavior has earned the praise of many people.

In life, you should be happy if your neighbors or friends have this kind of positive personality and behavior.

The story of "Mencius' mother moving three times" in the Three Character Classic clearly tells us that we need to choose our living environment.

A person's positive energy can influence a group of people around them, which creates a good living environment.

Although most of these neighbors lacked formal education, they instinctively supported and encouraged Sun Zhiwei's actions.

The AAA (American Association of Appraisers) International Certified Art Appraiser certificate exam is quite expensive.

Including the cost of textbooks, courses, and exams, it would cost about $1000, which was a lot of money in those days.

This thing is actually a certificate for appraisers to authenticate antiques and works of art.

AAA is the earliest and most authoritative certification body for bald eagles; obtaining this certificate guarantees a job.

If you work for another three years, you can apply to become their certified member, and then you won't have to worry about anything anymore.

The next exam is in a week, and renting and decorating a shop will also take time, so he can keep busy with both without wasting any time.

He chose to locate the shop next to Georgetown University, which is only about 3 kilometers away from his current apartment.

Georgetown is a historic and affluent neighborhood in Washington, D.C., with many upscale shopping, dining, and entertainment options, and is home to many successful politicians and businesspeople.

What he does is art appraisal, and his clients certainly can't be poor; at the very least, they have to be middle class to have the spare money to collect art.

A store located in an affluent area is more likely to attract customers.

The shop he rented was a small shop, 16 meters long and 6 meters wide, less than 100 square meters, for $1000 a month.

He wasn't particular about the renovation; he just planned to install flooring and wallpaper, and then fill the shop with secondhand display shelves.

In addition, air conditioning, ventilation, dehumidification and other equipment need to be installed, which takes time.

He found a renovation company in the nearby community to handle the work. The company was located nearby, and they immediately sent someone over to give a quote. In the end, they estimated that it would take three to four days to complete the work.

After signing the rental agreement, there's enough time to register the store during the renovation period.

He kept busy like this, and a week later, he went to take the certification exam of the M Country Appraisers Association.

Although he had memorized the exam materials perfectly, he still barely passed.

The reasoning is quite reasonable. Although his space can accurately identify item information, when it comes to authentication, you can't just give a result; you also need to explain how you arrived at that result.

You need to convince others of your results in order to build credibility and authority.

Just like when you're trying to authenticate a Ming Dynasty blue and white porcelain bowl, it's not enough to simply give a conclusion about which era and region it came from.

You must also clearly explain that the bowl matches your appraisal results in all aspects, including material, shape, glaze, pattern, and seal mark, before the appraisal can be considered complete.

For example, if a high-quality counterfeit item is so realistic in appearance that it is indistinguishable from the real thing, you would need to provide evidence to prove that it is a counterfeit.

If appearance alone cannot provide evidence, you can only have a C14 test done. Only the C14 result can ultimately determine whether it is a counterfeit.

Therefore, you can pass the test by relying solely on book knowledge.

It's fair to say he has thoroughly mastered the textbook and has a solid foundation. In the future, he only needs to accumulate practical experience to improve his appraisal skills.

Image: I couldn't find a picture of the certificate, but I found an award certificate issued by them, which looks something like this.
The exam results come out very quickly here; as long as you pass, you can receive your certificate the next day.

He received a call the next day informing him that he had passed, so he quickly took a taxi to pick up his certificate.

After paying the fee at AAA, I received the freshly issued certificate.

With this, the shop can be opened. The shop has already been renovated, and he has decided to open it tomorrow.

Before leaving, he didn't forget to buy a batch of blank authentication certificates from AAA. In the future, when he authenticates items, he will need to fill out such certificates, sign and stamp them, and leave them for the customers.

That damn blank certificate cost him $2, and he couldn't refuse it; that's what authority and credibility are all about.

Just this one certificate with the AAA seal is enough to earn his shop the initial trust of customers.

When he returned to the shop at noon, he carefully examined it and saw the words "James Art Appraisal" written in large characters on the signboard at the entrance.

He was very satisfied with everything, from the interior to the exterior, from the decoration to the furnishings, so he began to arrange the exhibits in the store.

His space also contains tens of thousands of unidentified antiques from all over the world, acquired from the British Museum.

He can then select some smaller items to display in the shop as a storefront.

These items were originally piled up haphazardly in the British Museum's ground floor warehouse, and he believed that no one would remember them, so there was not much risk in displaying them.

Long ago, he acquired some jewelry, precious stones, jade, watches, and the like in China, which he casually displayed on several trays in the counter.

He then found two picture frames and framed his newly issued business license and "International Registered Art Appraiser" certificate.

Then hang the two picture frames side by side behind the counter in a prominent position on the wall.

They then found a wind chime in the space and tied it to the door frame of the shop entrance to use as a doorbell.

He plans to open for three hours every afternoon and rest two days a week. The business is opening tomorrow.

This business hour needs to be written in a prominent position.

He took out a wooden board, tied a rope to it, and wrote the business hours on the board: Monday to Friday, 13:00-16:00.

He hung the wooden board behind the glass door so that it could be seen from the outside.

(End of this chapter)