If he is not using his Appraisal ability all the time, for even the most trivial of things, like buying the freshest groceries, not to mention high-finance and/or life-altering decisions like the ones he is making now, then he would be the world's biggest fool. There is a trope called the
Idiot Ball, and in most cases, it is not a sign of good writing. Let us hope that the writer is just engaging in a little misdirection, and not just making the MC do dumb things so that the plot can happen.