There are Gloves of Appraisal, but in Sou, not HotU. You can buy Gloves of Appraisal +3 from the halfling rogue (was his name Torias?) in the halfling merchant caravan camp in Hilltop, and I once found Gloves of Appraisal +6 in a random drop. Once you get your stuff back in HotU, you should once again have those gloves, assuming you got them in SoU.
Here's a cumbersome-but-effective trick I use: Before you view a merchant's store for the very first time, save the game. Then talk to the merchant and view his store and note the price of an item. Then save the game in another slot and reload the save from before talking to the merchant. View the store ans see what the price is on that same item. If it is better, save the game over the one from after viewing the store, and whether it is better or not, reload the one from before viewing the store. Repeat until you are satisfied that you will not get a better price.
