Fair Market Value From Sold Comps: Donations, Estates and Insurance

You're donating a camera to a charity auction, settling a relative's estate, or listing what was in a room after a flood. Someone needs a number for each item, and "what I paid" isn't it. The number that matters is the fair market value: what the item would sell for today, used, to an ordinary buyer.

For secondhand goods, the best evidence of that is what identical items actually sold for recently. That's exactly what sold comps are. This guide explains how the IRS describes fair market value, how sold comps fit its comparable sales method, and where the limits are.

This is general information, not tax or legal advice. For a large deduction, an estate filing or a claim, check with a tax professional, an attorney or your insurer.

#What fair market value means

The IRS defines it plainly in Publication 561: fair market value is "the price that property would sell for on the open market." More fully, it's the price a willing buyer and a willing seller would agree on, when neither has to act and both know the relevant facts.

Two things follow:

• It's not the original price. The IRS notes that used household items are usually worth much less than the price paid when new.
• It's not an asking price. A listing at $300 that never sold proves nothing about value. A sale at $180 does.

#The comparable sales method

Publication 561 describes several ways to establish value. The one that fits everyday goods is the comparable sales method: compare the item with several similar items that have been sold. The IRS lists the factors that decide how much weight a comparable sale deserves:

The publication also expects comparable sales to be arm's-length transactions between people acting freely. Ordinary eBay sales between unrelated buyers and sellers usually are. Watch for cancelled or suspicious sales, which fake eBay sold prices covers.

#Worked examples (real sold comps)

eBay US sold listings, last 90 days, pulled Oct 30, 2026. The first two are limited to used condition. Clean sales exclude lots, for-parts listings, empty boxes and outliers.

Prices move. Pull fresh comps for your valuation date.

The KitchenAid is a well-defined item. 126 clean used sales is plenty, and a $148.28 median is a defensible fair market value for a working Artisan in good used condition. Note the condition filter: searched without it, the same mixer shows a $249.99 median, because new ones are mixed in. A used item's fair market value has to come from used sales. If yours is a rare color with extra attachments, search for that specifically. If it's worn, lean toward the 25th percentile.

The AE-1 is similar, as long as you match what's included. A body only and a body with a 50mm lens are different items.

"Lladró figurine" is not a valuation. The middle half runs from $30 to over $100 because the search mixes hundreds of different figures. For any real collectible, search the exact name or model number. If there aren't at least a few clean sales of that exact piece, you need a broader approach, or an appraiser. See how many sold comps you need.

#Donations: the rules that matter

For noncash charitable donations in the US, the key IRS rules, from Publications 526 and 561 and the Form 8283 instructions:

• Good used condition or better. You generally can't deduct clothing or household items unless they're in good used condition or better. There's an exception if you deduct more than $500 for a single item and include a qualified appraisal with Section B of Form 8283.
• Used clothing. The IRS says what buyers actually pay in consignment and thrift shops is an indication of value. For everyday clothing, thrift prices are often lower than eBay sold prices, so don't overstate.
• Over $500 in noncash donations: file Form 8283 with your return.
• Over $5,000 for an item or group of similar items: you generally need a qualified appraisal by a qualified appraiser. Sold comps are useful evidence for the appraiser, but not a substitute.

Whatever you claim, save your evidence: the search you ran, the date, the number of sales, the median and range, and links or screenshots of the closest comparable sales. If the value is ever questioned, that record is what you'll point to.

#Estates and probate inventories

An executor often has to list the estate's personal property with values as of the date of death. The same method works: comparable sales close to that date, for the same items, in the same condition.

The practical approach is the one from pricing an estate sale: sort the contents into items worth valuing individually (brand-name, vintage, collectible) and items to value in bulk (everyday furniture, linens, kitchenware). Value the first group with sold comps, one by one. Get a professional appraisal for anything high-value or hard to compare, like fine art, jewelry or antiques. Your attorney or the court will tell you what level of evidence is needed.

#Insurance claims and property division

Two other places the same evidence helps:

• Insurance claims for used items. How a claim is settled depends on your policy, so read it or ask your insurer. Where a policy pays the current value of a used item, recent sold prices for the same model are a clear way to support the figure you claim.
• Dividing property. In a divorce or between heirs, sold comps give everyone the same neutral number for things like electronics, tools, cameras and collections, instead of arguing from memory or retail prices.

#Use the median, not the best sale

The temptation in every one of these cases is to quote the highest sale you can find. It's also the easiest number to challenge. The median is the middle sale, so one unusually high or low result doesn't move it. It's the honest summary of what buyers paid. Median vs average sold price explains why it's the better figure.

If the item is in worse shape than typical, use the 25th percentile. If it's genuinely exceptional, search for exactly that version and document why.

#Getting the numbers

For a handful of items, a free sold comps lookup shows recent eBay sales with lots, parts and outliers excluded, plus the median, middle range and count. For a whole household inventory, put item names in a spreadsheet and fill in the comps with the Google Sheets formula, so every value comes with the same evidence.

Fair market value is a question about real sales. Sold comps are the answer, as long as you compare like with like and keep the record.