Many people collect entirely on their own, seeking advice only from dealers in their respective field of interest, and many enjoy success and great pleasure approaching collecting in this way. However, the art market presents as many problems as pleasures for the collector in the search for quality and authenticity. A key benefit of choosing to work with the independent art advisor is the promise of the advisor's objectivity in the advice and counsel which he offers to his client. A desired image or object should be approached with caution and deliberate consideration. 

Essential questions need to be asked: 

• Is the painting correctly attributed, genuinely signed? 
• Has it been overly cleaned, abraded, heavily restored, flattened because of relining? 
• Is the picture well documented? 
• Has it an exhibition history? 
• Has the piece of furniture been repolished, reveneered?
• Has the leg been broken and the repair disguised? 
• Is the bronze a period cast or a nineteenth century after cast? 
• Has it been repatinated? 
• Are the hall marks on the silver genuine? 
• Is the ornament of a later date? 
• What is the correct value of the work of art in the current market? 

Changing art market and economic conditions may also suggest to a collector that he should seek the service of an art advisor. The qualified advisor can reliably and sensibly guide his client to areas of opportunity in the market while helping his client avoid situations in which values have been inflated or distorted. Though there is for the collector no guarantee of short term appreciation in the value of the work of art acquired at a given time, it is clear that paintings and objects of the highest quality increase in value over the long term.