Appraisals in Probably Stolen provide an additional source of income, but they become increasingly complicated as you progress through the Appraisal Board. Some items require careful price calculations, while others challenge you to recognize counterfeits, manufacturing details, or combinations of valuable features. Understanding how these different inspections work can help you earn more Credits and avoid costly mistakes.
Jump To Section:
How to Appraise Items
How to Unlock Appraisals
All Appraisal Item Types
Calculating Appraisal Values
Appraisal Board Promotions
Tips for Better Appraisals
Appraisal Slips
How to Appraise Items in Probably Stolen
To complete an appraisal, examine the customer's item, compare its characteristics against the appropriate appraisal manual, calculate its correct value, and submit your assessment. Accurate appraisals earn Credits, while poor results can reduce your earnings and cause customers to leave.
The most reliable approach is to divide each inspection into three parts:
- Check authenticity and any conditions that automatically determine an item's value.
- Calculate the individual bonuses and penalties associated with its features.
- Determine whether it qualifies for additional bonuses that require specific combinations of characteristics.
This order helps prevent a common mistake: spending time calculating valuable features before noticing something that invalidates the item or overrides its normal price.
For example, a Cybernetic Hand might qualify for several upgrades but fail to receive a set bonus because one required component is missing. A Ribwich with opened packaging, meanwhile, receives a fixed valuation regardless of its other characteristics.
Appraisals have no completion timer, so there's no advantage to rushing through the inspection.
How to Unlock Appraisals in Probably Stolen
The Appraisal Board becomes available after you've spent several days operating your shop. A representative eventually visits and offers you the opportunity to join for an upfront fee.
Once you've joined, you can display your Appraisal Certificate in the shop window to advertise your services and receive appraisal customers.
Cybernetic Hands are among the first items you'll learn to inspect. More complicated merchandise becomes available as you progress and receive promotions from the Board.
Why Are You Not Getting Appraisal Customers?
Make sure you've joined the Appraisal Board and placed your certificate in the display window.
The certificate advertises your appraisal services, so obtaining membership alone isn't the entire setup process.
If you're receiving appraisals but not certain item categories, those assignments may require a higher Appraisal Board rank.
All Appraisal Item Types in Probably Stolen
There are six documented appraisal categories. They don't all use the same inspection rules, so it's helpful to recognize what type of assessment you're dealing with before examining the item.
| Item | What to Check |
|---|---|
| Cybernetic Hand | Material, damage, interface, attachments, set bonuses |
| Plasma Cartridge | Casing, plasma grade, manufacturer requirements |
| Ribwich | Packaging, production dates, factory codes, ingredients |
| Food Stamps | Denomination, printing, security seal, chip |
| Hemingway Cigarettes | Branding, logo, packaging colors, seal |
| Immunivax | Serial number, label, injector color, indicator |
Cybernetic Hands: Check Features Before Set Bonuses
Cybernetic Hands begin with a value of 100 Credits. Their final price depends on construction material, condition, control interface, and installed equipment.
Attachments can add considerable value. Armor contributes 50 Credits, while a blade adds 80 Credits. Both bonuses apply when both features are present.
The control interface also affects the appraisal. More advanced interfaces, including EMG+ and Neural types, are worth more than basic alternatives.
Finally, check the item's set requirements. The Tactical set, for instance, requires Carbon Composite construction, an EMG+ interface, no damage, armor, and a blade.
Only apply the set bonus when every required feature is present. The ordinary component bonuses still count independently.
Plasma Cartridges: Separate Casing Value From Plasma Quality
Plasma Cartridges start at 300 Credits and require two different inspections: the physical container and the plasma inside it.
First, assess the casing. Light wear reduces value by 45 Credits, heavy wear by 90, cracks by 150, and exposed screws by 30. Reinforcement adds 60 Credits.
Multiple conditions can apply to the same container, so a reinforced cartridge can still receive penalties for damage.
Next, inspect the plasma color:
- Dark blue: standard grade, no adjustment.
- Light blue or cyan: low grade, -150 Credits.
- Dark red: high grade, +150 Credits.
Manufacturer bonuses add another consideration. A valid manufacturer seal is required, but the seal alone doesn't guarantee the bonus.
Each manufacturer has its own preferred combination of plasma grade and container condition. Wild's Rides accepts standard or low-grade plasma with any casing condition, while Ignition Lab requires high-grade plasma and an unmodified casing.
Check the manufacturer's full requirements before adding its bonus to your calculation.
Ribwich: Verify the Manufacturing Details
Ribwich appraisals depend heavily on identifying genuine production characteristics.
The sandwich starts at 150 Credits, but torn or opened packaging reduces its value to 40 Credits. Production dates, matching logos, packing facility numbers, and Deluxe Edition ingredients all need to be checked.
One particularly valuable variation contains a second meat patty, which adds 800 Credits to the appraisal.
Ribwiches also have two distinct manufacturing periods, so a genuine-looking logo can still be incorrect when paired with the wrong production date.
For the complete inspection rules, including valid factory codes and how to recognize counterfeit Deluxe ingredients, see our Probably Stolen Ribwich Appraisal Guide.
Food Stamps: Check the Denomination and Chip
Food Stamps use a combination of printed security details and electronic verification.
The valid denominations are 40, 80, 120, 160, 200, and 240. A stamp displaying a different amount doesn't match the accepted values.
Stamps worth more than 160 require a security seal. That means the 200 and 240 denominations need this additional feature.
The chip also matters. A damaged or missing chip prevents the stamp from functioning properly, even when its printed value appears legitimate.
Always check the lettering and logo alongside the denomination. A correct number isn't proof that the entire item is genuine.
Hemingway Cigarettes: Look for Packaging Inconsistencies
Hemingway Cigarettes require close comparison against the legitimate packaging design.
The lettering, font, logo, colors, and security seal should match the reference. Differences in the brand name's appearance or logo details can indicate a counterfeit.
Pay particular attention to the seal. Broken or missing seals are a warning sign, even if the rest of the packaging looks convincing.
For these inspections, identifying the incorrect detail is more important than trying to estimate the item's value from its appearance alone.
Immunivax: Inspect the Serial Number First
Immunivax combines physical inspection with manufacturer identification.
Certain serial number prefixes immediately indicate counterfeit products. These include 250, 251, 301, 355, 385, 386, and 421.
Checking the prefix first can save time when examining a suspicious injector.
You should also examine the label, casing color, overall condition, and indicator. The indicator should be green. A yellow or missing indicator identifies another authenticity problem.
A valid serial prefix doesn't guarantee the rest of the injector is genuine, so continue inspecting its physical characteristics before completing the assessment.
How to Calculate Appraisal Values Correctly
Many appraisal errors happen when individual modifiers are confused with conditional bonuses.
An ordinary modifier changes the value whenever its feature is present. A conditional bonus requires a particular combination of characteristics before it can be applied.
Consider these two examples.
Example 1: Cybernetic Hand With an Incomplete Set
Imagine receiving a Cybernetic Hand with Carbon Composite construction, an EMG+ interface, no damage, and a blade, but no armor.
| Starting value | 100 Credits |
| Carbon Composite | +50 Credits |
| EMG+ interface | +45 Credits |
| Blade | +80 Credits |
| Tactical set bonus | 0 Credits |
| Final value | 275 Credits |
The hand has several valuable components, but the missing armor prevents it from qualifying for the Tactical set bonus.
This demonstrates why you should calculate ordinary features first and evaluate set bonuses separately.
Example 2: High-Grade Plasma With Damaged Packaging
Now consider a Plasma Cartridge with heavy wear, exposed screws, a reinforced casing, and high-grade red plasma.
Its starting value is 300 Credits. Heavy wear subtracts 90, exposed screws subtract another 30, reinforcement adds 60, and high-grade plasma adds 150.
The result is 390 Credits before any applicable manufacturer bonus.
Even though the plasma is high-grade, you shouldn't add a manufacturer bonus unless the cartridge satisfies the manufacturer's full requirements.
This is an important distinction because visible high-value features don't automatically make every other bonus valid.
How Appraisal Board Promotions Work
The Appraisal Board offers promotions as you build experience with its services. These promotions provide access to more advanced item categories and better-paying assignments.
Promotions require additional upfront payments, making them another investment in your shop's earning potential.
However, advanced appraisals are also less forgiving. Repeated poor performance can damage your standing with the Board and potentially result in losing your certification.
When Should You Accept a Promotion?
I'd prioritize becoming comfortable with your current appraisal categories before paying to unlock more complicated work.
For example, if you're still making frequent errors with Cybernetic Hand set bonuses, adding Plasma Cartridge and Ribwich inspections will introduce several more rules to remember.
Promotion becomes more attractive when your existing assignments are consistently accurate and you're ready for the additional earning opportunities.
The goal is to increase profitable appraisal work without undermining your results through unnecessary mistakes.
Tips for Getting Better Appraisal Results
Use Different Inspection Methods for Different Items
Not every appraisal needs the same amount of calculation.
For Food Stamps, Cigarettes, and Immunivax, identifying invalid security or manufacturing details is especially important.
Cybernetic Hands and Plasma Cartridges involve more numerical adjustments, while Ribwiches combine authenticity rules with collectible bonuses.
Recognizing the type of problem you're solving helps you concentrate on the relevant information.
Check Conditions That Override Normal Pricing First
Before adding bonuses, determine whether the item has a condition that fixes its value or makes it invalid.
A torn Ribwich wrapper, for example, immediately changes the valuation to 40 Credits. A missing Food Stamp chip creates a different problem because it makes the item unusable.
These aren't interchangeable outcomes. Use the rules for the particular item rather than applying one general counterfeit penalty to everything.
Don't Assume a Recognizable Brand Means a Valid Bonus
Manufacturer markings and recognizable packaging can be useful evidence, but they don't always guarantee authenticity or extra value.
A Plasma Cartridge still needs to meet its manufacturer's requirements. A Ribwich logo must correspond to its production period. A Hemingway Cigarette box must match several packaging details, not just its brand name.
Check whether the surrounding characteristics support the identification you've made.
Review High-Impact Adjustments Before Submitting
Some appraisal modifiers are much larger than others.
Missing a small condition penalty is inconvenient, but overlooking a Ribwich's 800-Credit double-meat bonus or incorrectly awarding an entire equipment set can produce a substantially different assessment.
Before submitting, check any large bonuses, fixed-value conditions, and requirements involving multiple features.
Since there's no time limit, an additional inspection is preferable to losing accuracy on an otherwise straightforward job.
Don't Rush Customers With Multiple Items
A customer can present more than one appraisal item during a visit.
Poor performance may cause them to end the interaction before you've evaluated everything they intended to bring.
This means accuracy can affect more than the payment for a single item. It can also influence how much appraisal work you complete during that encounter.
Take the time to finish each assessment carefully, particularly when several valuable items are involved.
What to Do With Appraisal Slips
Appraisal Slips record the results of completed appraisals, including your accuracy and earnings. They aren't required for future appraisal jobs, so you can discard them after reviewing the information.
