What to say? It's Asheford! I've been following this school for years, but finally decided to enroll recently after a change in professional status (retired teacher). So far it's more than met my expectations in every department. The staff are very good at creating an inspiring environment, providing you're willing to put the effort in - which I really like.

By working closely with tutors, professors and supervisors on the e-Course, I had the opportunity to develop my own interests, and at the same time, to be assisted by true experts in the antiques and decorative arts field. Ashefords tutorial system is excellent, as it allows students to spend a lot of time focusing on their own potential, while simultaneously acquiring a deeper understanding of broader subject matters. I have been, and am, very happy with this school and its quality of teaching.

Recently finished this course and was very impressed with how it turned out. Good business practices on almost every level. Fast response times, and zero lame excuses when it came to shipping of learning modules. They even answer the dang phones with a person!!!



I've taken two other online programs before, and this one left them in the dust - by miles!



I'd rate this business/antique school very highly.

I would just like to thank the staff at the school for being so patient and understanding with me. I am hearing impaired and have some physical disabilities that required me to extend my study completion deadline. At no time did the school and faculty show anything but the utmost respect and understanding for me while struggling to finish my studies. On top of that they did not charge me anything for the lengthy additional time I needed to complete the program. Thank you so much for your help and patience. Your excellent reputation is obviously well deserved!!!

My Review:



- Very prompt in their response times to my questions.



- Sales literature and web site was accurate representation as to what you were getting.



- Looked them up first on the BBB, and they had an A+ rating and good reviews, so that also influenced my decision.



- I attended the big Pier Antique show in New York and actually met some of the school's reps who were at the show. That's what finally sold me on this program. They were friendly, but more importantly, they were clearly knowledgeable when it came to antiques and appraising.



Conclusion: very good program.



- Don

Very, very pleased with this school.



Finished taking their classes this past November, and really liked what they offered.



Their customer service was good and they were actually helpful instead of just being call-center automatons!



A+

I’d have to echo the sentiments of the last poster, as I just finished taking their new e-Course, and can't say enough about these folks too...

Sometimes you enter wearily into waters such as these, since it can be difficult to know what’s legit and what’s not when it comes to online

offerings, but after reading through a horde of reviews and actually locating and talking to people who took this course, I decided to take the

plunge.



A Few Of My Thoughts:



-The e-Course was actually far more than what I was expecting. Sometimes people say “not as advertised” - this program was waaaay more

than what they advertised! I was thinking along the lines of a Plan a week, but it ended up being more like a Plan of study a month! Be

prepared to sit and study!!!



- I found the content was truly comprehensive with all the videos and links that directed you to related antique sites. No knowledge of the

Textbooks, since I didn’t have those, but the pictures and all the other multimedia in the e-Course were outstanding. It’s almost like they

knew where to place a video in anticipation of you being stumped. I really liked that.



-The office and online reps were also super friendly, and literally helped me every step of the way when I would continually call or write with

questions - which I did all the time! :-) That had a big impact on me, as getting help or assistance from any company or business rep seems

almost non-existent theses days.



-All my lesson assignments and exams were also graded and returned quickly, and my final essay and diploma were mailed and received on

time, so no complaints there either (well, except for a spelling error with my name, which they rectified immediately).



In the end, I found the entire experience from start to finish was truly enjoyable. It was a great eye-opening course, but it was also a

pleasure doing business with an organization that not only kept their word, but went beyond that in order to help a student when required.



Kudos Asheford!

I did a considerable amount of research on this school myself, and found a trove of reviews and first-hand accounts in a variety of online forums and publications (most of which was quite good).



However, what intrigued me most during my research about whether or not to enroll in this school, weren't necessarily the "written" reviews of people taking the course, but rather the information I found on the graduates who'd already completed the program. In a nutshell, this literally covered the gamut; from Museum curators, to people working as appraisers in auction houses, to antique journalists working for large trade publications. Finding this information is what helped me to decide on whether or not to take the program - which - eventually, I did.



From my perspective, this course was outstanding from beginning to end. As an auctioneer, I found the materials to be helpful in understanding all areas of the decorative arts, and making the connections between them. The materials presented were of good quality (I see a reviewer mentions otherwise), but in my case the textbooks, and other courseware was excellent. The descriptions, illustrations, and photos were well laid out and the course itself seemed to be designed in a logical fashion, so as to lead the reader from one pertinent step to the next. Being in the business for over thirty years, I was surprised at how much information I was "not" aware of... That was also refreshing, if somewhat humbling! However, I believe that's the point in taking classes or courses such as these - to learn, and from that perspective I certainly did.



As a side note, I also found the staff and people working at the school to be amenable as well. And by that, I mean that they actually answered the phone when I called, and were able to help answer my questions, which was literally worth the price of admission in itself.



Overall, I would rate this program very highly. It has benefited me greatly since graduating, both from a knowledge perspective and from a business one as well. I would certainly recommend it to anyone looking to further their professional knowledge of antiques and appraising.

I have taken the course and also looked for reviews before making the investment. I did quite a bit of research and was not able to come up with much, which after taking the course I was quite surprised. Here is my unbiased review.



I ordered the course and received the materials in about four or five days. I was exited to begin exploring the material and learning. However, my first experience was that they had put another students appraisal card in my kit. This could have been an honest mistake, but after paying for the course in full instead of installment plans at close to $1000, this did not leave me with a good feeling.



Inspecting the kit I found the material for the course was not intended to present itself very professionally and worth the money paid. The books were all what appeared to be simply bound pages run off on a copier. I dismissed this again only thinking who cares what the material look like. There must be a wealth of information that will help me in my business.



I took a few days to review some of the books. I believe you get five days to send it back for a full refund. I skimmed through most of the books and was not overly impressed. Again, I though I would give it a try and the five days to return the material for a refund expired.



The series of books mostly contain a profit book and a pleasure book. The profit goes into the business side of things while the pleasure deals with antiques themselves.



I completed the first set of books and did not feel there was much useful information. The profit section was mostly common sense material for anyone that has taken a general business course or high school equivalent. The pleasure section mostly focused on furniture, history, and the restoration of furniture. I passed this all off again and thought it only had to get better.



Finishing the series of books I found it did not get any better. At best close to 3/4 of the pleasure books focused on the history of furniture, the restoration of furniture, and identifying furniture. In addition, there were many grammar errors in the books and I even found one to have duplicate pages.



Another book focused on the travel of either the founder or an instructor with the course and it did not focus on antiques at all. This almost seemed as though it was used as a fill for the book to make it seem to have more information.



The conclusion is do not waste the time or money on the Ashford Institute of Antiques course. The course is outdated, poorly put together, and will not add any value for the money spent. It is a money maker for the people running the course and this is intrinsically reminded at the end of each book as the author reminds the reader to send in a payment if they are on a payment plan for the course. There may be two or three hundred dollars worth of material with the price guide in the course. The remaining balance is profit for Ashford. This may explain why they are able to write about their European travels so extensively.



You can get the same education by reading some antique, restoration, and business books from the library and paying a few dollars in late fines.