Valuation & Pricing - Storehouses

Overview

Accurate valuations are essential for insurance, investment tracking, and estate planning. Storehouses uses both automatic pricing for precious metals and manual valuation for other assets to provide real-time portfolio value tracking.

How Valuations Work

Storehouses supports two valuation methods depending on asset type:

Automatic Pricing

Precious metals get real-time spot price updatesRequires: weight, purity, metal type

Manual Valuation

All other assets use your entered market valueRequires: periodic manual updates

Automatic Precious Metals Pricing

How It Works

For precious metals, Storehouses automatically calculates current value based on:

Spot Price - Real-time market price per troy ounce
Weight - Amount of metal in the item
Purity - Fineness (e.g., .9999 for 24k gold)
Quantity - Number of identical items

Formula:

Current Value = Spot Price × Weight × Purity × Quantity

Supported Metals

automatic

Real-time spot pricing in USD per troy ounce

automatic

Real-time spot pricing in USD per troy ounce

automatic

Real-time spot pricing in USD per troy ounce

automatic

Real-time spot pricing in USD per troy ounce

automatic

Real-time spot pricing in USD per troy ounce

Price Update Frequency

During market hours: Every 15 minutes
Market closed: Last available price held until markets reopen
Weekends/holidays: Price frozen until next trading day

Precious metals values update automatically throughout the day. You don’t need to manually refresh or update these items.

Setting Up Automatic Pricing

When adding a precious metal item:

1

Select Metal Type

Choose gold, silver, platinum, palladium, or rhodium

2

Enter Weight

Specify weight and unit (troy oz, grams, kilograms)

3

Enter Purity

Input fineness (e.g., .999, .9999) or karat for gold

4

Add Quantity

Enter number of identical items (default: 1)

5

Save Item

Value automatically calculates and updates going forward

Premium Over Spot

Automatic pricing uses spot prices only. It doesn’t account for numismatic premiums, collectible value, or dealer markups.

For rare or collectible precious metal items (e.g., rare coins, limited mintages):

Use automatic pricing for melt value baseline
Add a separate manual item or note for numismatic premium
Or enter a manual Market Value override to include premium

Example:

1 oz Gold American Eagle
Automatic value: $2,050 (spot price × 1 oz)
Actual market value: $2,150 (includes$ 100 premium)
Solution: Add $100 to manual market value field

Manual Market Valuation

Asset Types Using Manual Valuation

All non-precious-metal assets require manual market value entry:

Luxury watches
Gems and jewelry
Wine and spirits
Fine art
Arms and armor
Other collectibles

Entering Market Value

currency

Current estimated market valueDefinition: Amount you could reasonably sell the item for todaySources:

Recent auction results
Dealer quotes
Online marketplace prices
Professional appraisals

When to Update Market Values

After Professional Appraisal

Update immediately after getting items professionally appraised. Add appraisal date to item notes.

Quarterly Reviews

For actively traded assets (watches, art), review values quarterly based on current market conditions.

Annual Updates

At minimum, review and update all values annually, especially for insurance documentation.

Market Events

Update after significant market events affecting your asset class (e.g., artist retrospective, brand announcement).

Condition Changes

Immediately update if item condition changes due to damage, restoration, or wear.

Finding Current Market Values

For Watches:

Chrono24, Bob’s Watches, WatchBox
Recent auction results (Christie’s, Sotheby’s)
Authorized dealer quotes

For Wine & Spirits:

Wine-Searcher
Liv-ex (for fine wines)
Auction house results
Specialist retailers

For Fine Art:

Artnet, Artsy, Invaluable
Gallery quotes
Recent auction comps
Professional appraisal

For Gemstones:

GIA price reports
Rapaport Diamond Report
Local jeweler appraisals
Auction comparables

Document your valuation source in the item’s description field. This helps with future updates and insurance claims.

Insurance Value vs Market Value

Storehouses tracks both values because they serve different purposes:

Market Value

currency

What it is: Current fair market selling priceUse for:

Portfolio performance tracking
Investment decision making
Estate valuation
Tax reporting (cost basis comparison)

Typically: Lower or equal to insurance value

Insurance Value

currency

What it is: Replacement cost for insurance coverageUse for:

Insurance policy declarations
Coverage verification
Claims documentation

Typically: Higher to cover replacement costs and premiums

How They Differ

Example: Vintage Rolex Submariner

Market Value: $15,000 (what it sells for on Chrono24)
Insurance Value: $18,000 (replacement cost including dealer premium, taxes, authentication)

Why: Insurance value covers all costs to replace the item, not just raw market price.

Best Practice

Set insurance value 10-20% higher than market value to account for replacement costs, dealer premiums, and market volatility.

Valuation History Tracking

Automatic History Records

Storehouses automatically tracks:

Every value change (manual or automatic)
Date and time of change
Previous and new values
Percentage change from purchase price

Viewing Valuation History

1

Open Item Details

Click on any item from your dashboard

2

Scroll to Value Chart

See the valuation history chart showing value over time

3

Review Timeline

View chronological list of all value changes

What the History Shows

Value Trends

Visual chart showing value changes over the ownership period

Gain/Loss

Total and percentage change from purchase price

Peak Value

Highest value reached and when

Update Dates

When each valuation was recorded

Portfolio Total Calculation

Your portfolio total value sums:

Precious metals - Current spot-based values
Other assets - Latest manual market values
Quantities - Multiples counted correctly

Formula:

Portfolio Total = Σ(Item Value × Quantity)

Real-Time Updates

Portfolio total updates:

Automatically as precious metal spot prices change
Immediately when you update manual market values
Instantly when you add or remove items

Viewing Portfolio Value

See your total portfolio value on:

Dashboard - Large display at top
Wealth Garden - Interactive growth visualization
Reports - Detailed breakdowns by category, location, collection

Learn more in the Dashboard guide.

Price Change Notifications

Setting Up Alerts

Get notified when precious metals reach target prices:

1

Navigate to Alerts

Go to the Alerts page

2

Create Price Alert

Click New Alert and select precious metal type

3

Set Target Price

Enter the spot price that triggers the alert

4

Choose Notification Method

Select email, in-app notification, or both

Alert Types

alert

Notify when spot price rises above targetUse: Know when to consider selling

alert

Notify when spot price falls below targetUse: Know when to consider buying

alert

Notify on X% change in 24 hoursUse: Track significant market movements

Learn more in the Alerts guide.

Portfolio Performance Metrics

Gain/Loss Calculation

For each item:

Total Gain/Loss = Current Value - Purchase Price
Percentage Gain/Loss = ((Current Value - Purchase Price) / Purchase Price) × 100

Portfolio-Wide Metrics

Total Value

Sum of all item current values

Total Cost Basis

Sum of all purchase prices

Unrealized Gain/Loss

Difference between current value and cost basis

Return Percentage

Portfolio-wide return on investment

Best/Worst Performers

Dashboard highlights:

Top gainers - Items with highest percentage appreciation
Top losers - Items with negative performance
Highest value - Most valuable individual items
Category performance - Returns by asset type

Tax Reporting Considerations

Storehouses provides portfolio tracking tools, not tax advice. Consult a tax professional for guidance on reporting collectibles and precious metals.

Cost Basis Tracking

Storehouses records:

Purchase price (your cost basis)
Purchase date (for holding period)
Seller information
Quantity acquired

Export this data for tax reporting when you sell items.

Capital Gains

When you sell an item:

Short-term gains: Items held ≤ 1 year
Long-term gains: Items held > 1 year
Collectibles rate: Often 28% max (vs 15-20% for stocks)

What to Track

For tax purposes, maintain records of:

Original purchase receipts
Professional appraisals
Sale proceeds
Transaction costs (fees, shipping)
Improvements or restoration costs

Export detailed item history for complete records.

Best Practices for Accurate Valuation

Use Conservative Estimates

When uncertain, estimate on the conservative side for market value. It’s better to be pleasantly surprised than disappointed.

Document Valuation Sources

Always note where values come from in the item description. Include dates, links, or appraiser names.

Regular Review Schedule

Set calendar reminders to review and update valuations quarterly or annually depending on asset type.

Professional Appraisals for High-Value Items

Get professional appraisals for items worth $10,000+, especially for insurance purposes.

Track Market Conditions

Follow your asset classes to understand when values are rising or falling. Update more frequently in volatile markets.

Separate Sentimental from Market Value

Track actual market value, not what the item is worth to you personally. Use notes to record sentimental significance.

Account for Condition

Be honest about condition when valuing. Excellent condition items command premiums; damaged items sell at discounts.

Compare Multiple Sources

Check several comparable sales or price sources before settling on a valuation. Average if there’s variation.

Common Valuation Scenarios

Inherited Items

For inherited items:

Use date-of-death valuation for tax basis
Get professional appraisal for high-value pieces
Research comparable sales from that time period
Document the estate valuation in item notes

Gifts Received

For gifted items:

Cost basis typically carries over from giver
Ask giver for original purchase information
If unknown, estimate fair market value when received
Document the gift date and giver

Damaged Items

After damage:

Get professional assessment if valuable
Reduce market value proportionally
Keep insurance value at original (for claims)
Document damage with photos and notes

Restored Items

After restoration:

Add restoration cost to cost basis
Update market value based on new condition
Document restoration work and provider
Keep receipts for tax purposes

Valuation on Mobile

Update values on the go:

Quick value update from item detail page
Photo-based valuation support (reference comps)
Offline updates sync when reconnected
Push notifications for price alerts

Editing Items

Learn how to update item valuations

Dashboard

View portfolio totals and performance

Wealth Garden

Visualize portfolio growth over time

Export & Reporting

Generate valuation reports

Editing Items Export & Reporting