I would recommend this man's service if you enjoy throwing your money away. It is difficult to discern what this man says is true because he is dishonest. I would recommend researching one's own artwork there is usually only one authenticating person or group for a particular artist. Often it is a surviving relative or perhaps an influential publisher of a catalogue raisonne. If you need to know the value of your artwork there are some inexpensive on line services can do the job just fine. Do not fall prey to this parasite. read more

Robert Bruce Duncan (R. Bruce Duncan) accepted $2,500 from my little sister as an advance for travel expenses to appraise our deceased father's furniture. R. Bruce Duncan cashed the check in June (seven months ago at this point) and has refused our phone calls. After researching, I've learned this guy operates out of his residence in Northbrook, IL. The Better Business Bureau gave him an F rating, with six complaints filed within the past three years and three within the past twelve months (make it four). His 'business' is not BBB Accredited. Further, according to the Washington Post, Duncan was sentenced to 10 months in prison in 1991 and fined $47,000 for helping to place mounts of illegally hunted endangered animals in the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences. This is not someone you want to do business with. Note: he refuses to operate via email or on paper. read more

Chicago Appraisers Association - The man of the hour--beware. - Appraisal Services Near Me - Northbrook, Illinois

Terrible,terrible, terrible. Stay away from Bruce Duncan. He is a con artist and deserves a negative infinity amount of stars as possible. A crook, thief and liar by definition. I paid him in advance to appraise some very historical books. Which after through legal and expert advise, I was advised to report him to the Better Business Bureau and have no further dealings with him. I am completely disgusted with this so called "Association." I decided to conduct my own investigation, and I saw on his webpage that it was very clearly noted that "they" do not provide such services, in other words books. I have tried reaching out in a very professional and respectful manner to obtain a refund. He refuses to acknowledge to have ever even met me. However, Bruce has answered phone calls from my colleagues and was happy to assist them within the same day. When they expressed to him that they were calling on my behalf, he threatened to call police and denied that we had even met. He refuses to take my calls, texts, and does not operate through email as the last reviewer describes. He conducts his fraudulent business out of his home (mansion) in Northbrook, Illinois. He asked me to meet him there, and stated that he has a 17 person staff. He told me my appraisal would be ready in two weeks. When i met him there to show him my items, he very adamantly requested I pay him cash and he would have my appraisal and authentication ready in one week or less. This man is a fraud, and my hope is that no one ever trusts him. This man, or business, or whatever his webpage claims to be is not to be dealt with. HEED my warning!! read more

Bruce Duncan might once have known what he was doing, and perhaps he is getting senile, because at this point he does not know how to appraise. He appraised a signed and numbered Chagall lithograph with certificate of authenticity for me in 1999 at $35,000. I am thinking of selling it, so I looked up the old appraisal and called again, 19 years later. Chagall's works hang in art museums all over the world and he is dead, so his work should only go up in value. But Duncan appraised my lithograph at $2,000 with no explanation of why it had gone down. I called him back to talk and he has not returned my call. I don't know if he's a charlatan or senile, but BEWARE! This guy should not be in business. read more

What ever you do don't go to this place he is a fraud.He takes your money and gives you a piece of paper with a seal on it and his disclaimer is longer then what his appraisal is.I brought him a item and he didn't even examine it carefully he was only going off what I was telling him.And when I got my appraisal back everything I told him was what he wrote on the paper lol.Needless to say when you try to contact him he just hangs up on you.Beware Beware stay away from him you will save money in the long run!! Red flags should have been flying when he took my 85.00 and handed his business card to me to say paid in full you don't even get a written receipt what you are asking for.His video too is a big joke Fake Fake Fake how can you say you are here for the people when you hangup on them.Fraud Fraud Fraud!!! read more

I had to give one star to write a review of this scumbag. He ripped me off for a lot of money and never delivered the art appraisal. He should be thrown in jail. I am not the first person he's ripped off. I hope I am the last. I wish I had done a better job of vetting him before I paid him for services he never delivered. He visited our home to appraise the artwork and cashed our check right away but has never delivered the appraisal nor returns phone calls. BEWARE this guy is a thief. read more

After the passing of my grandmother, my family attorney suggested getting some items appraised. I knew nothing about this process and I put my complete trust into Chicago Appraisers Association after my attorney suggested using them. My attorney used them for some work in the past and swore by them. I saw the one review here on Yelp and I was super skeptical, yet in the end, I followed in the direction I was pointed in. My experience was the complete opposite of the other review on here by Clint B. I was treated with respect and always felt like I was in good hands. I was able to correspond via email and I was told what to have appraised and what not to waste my money on by Bruce. In the end he saved me quite a bit of money since I only ended up having 3 pieces appraised rather than the 16 I started off with. I'm glad I listened to my attorney instead of the only review available at the time. I guess that's why I pay the guy! read more

Chicago appraisers - don't waste your money. For your $200 to appraise an item they give you a sheet of paper with about 5 or 6 lines, with only a few words on each line, centered and in large type and and a gold sticker at the bottom. Furthermore it's followed by a disclaimer at the bottom that you can't hold them accountable for the amount appraised. The disclaimer is longer and more descriptive than the appraisal. I called Bruce and he said that is all they could find about the item, however he slapped a dollar value on it, but don't stand behind it. That is a total lack of integrity either it's an appraisal or it's not. Do yourself a favor if you have an item that you think is worth something. Go to Christie's Chicago website. Go to selling and then to Auction estimates. Send them the information on your item and they will value it and if they won't touch it, it's generally not a high value item. I would start there, it's free. Finally, Bruce's wonderful recommendation for selling my item ebay... I hope I just saved you $200. read more