Selling a set of china

[HM]

Oooh, that one is quite pretty! I'd never seen it before.

The Rosamor belonged to my great grandmother and we just never, ever use it. It literally sits in my Mom's china cabinet at home untouched, and has for like 15 years. I don't really care for the colors, so I passed on it. Pretty sure everyone else is going to pass on it as well, but oh well. Worth a shot! Haha

I just looked to see if this was the same set my FIL gave to my son (up in our attic). It's not. Close.

I don't own china. I knew I wouldn't use it, so we didn't ask for any when we married. We now have two sets in our attic, that my FIL had and gave to each of my kids. He still has a least one other set. I have no idea why they got so many over the years. (One may have been his parents).

 

[RangerPooh]

I've got my grandmothers set, my mothers set, and a few pieces of my great grandmothers. Needless to say I did not feel inclined to purchase my own set. Unfortunately when I purchased a hutch at an estate sale a set of china from the 1930s came with it. It was pretty, but I didn't need a 4th set. I tried to sell it on 3 local fb pages but no takers. Posted it to my own fb page for $50 and a friend purchased it.

While you might prefer to sell it, you can look to see if a local group like Parks and Rec hosts manners/etiquette classes for kids that might be interested in using the set. I donated three tea sets to our local Girl Scout council when we moved, as they host mother daughter tea parties.

 

[Disneefun]

I donated a lot of china and silver to the local college theater program. They use that stuff for props. It was worthless to try to sell it, but the college really wanted it.

 

[dashofsunshine]

I just looked to see if this was the same set my FIL gave to my son (up in our attic). It's not. Close.

I don't own china. I knew I wouldn't use it, so we didn't ask for any when we married. We now have two sets in our attic, that my FIL had and gave to each of my kids. He still has a least one other set. I have no idea why they got so many over the years. (One may have been his parents).

We didn't ask for any for our wedding either, haha! We aren't fancy people and don't really host 20 person dinner parties - just no real need for fine china. We got a nice set of every day dishes from Bed Bath & Beyond that we use all the time

 

[Sadie22]

Charitable organizations will take it. There is a local place here which helps homeless women get set up in new residences. Perhaps there is such a place in your community.

 

[Colleen27]

I agree with the previous posts - there is no resale value for china. I have my grandmother's set, a fairly popular Noritake pattern from the 1940s, and even that has zero value. Not as an antique, because it is something so many people hold on to, and not as china. Replacements.com made a halfway decent offer but the cost of shipping and insuring eats up a lot of it and there's no commitment on their end until they inspect the china upon receipt which makes me reluctant to try that route.

 

[chicagodisneyfan]

I have had luck selling items at auctions and have made significant amounts. It just usually needs to be fine china. So it might be worth it to check first - I would hate for anyone to see this thread and assume their china is worthless.

 

[gotomu212]

Based on the resale value I gave up hope of selling and just threw caution to the wind and started using our china as every-day dishes (even with my then 4-year old). I can't put them in the microwave but other than that there was no reason not to use them.

My mother thinks I'm crazy (I guess China is suppose to sit in a hutch and be used only 3-4 times a year???). Funny enough in the 3 years we've been using them we haven't cracked or chipped a single thing.

 

[North of Mouse]

Based on the resale value I gave up hope of selling and just threw caution to the wind and started using our china as every-day dishes (even with my then 4-year old). I can't put them in the microwave but other than that there was no reason not to use them.

My mother thinks I'm crazy (I guess China is suppose to sit in a hutch and be used only 3-4 times a year???). Funny enough in the 3 years we've been using them we haven't cracked or chipped a single thing.

I agree about using china. I have a 12 pl. Lenox Butterfly Meadow set that we dearly love - it's so pretty! We use it often, plus a large collection of Fiestaware in several colors - love to have a cheerful table!

That's why I 'never' contribute to any china or chrystal that new brides think they 'have' to have. I always give a gift that I 'know' (from years of experience) will be used!

 

[yoopermom]

I have a huge set of Franciscanware dishes that I've been making a stab here and there to sell for a couple of years. Three antique dealers have told me to hang on for two more years and values will go back up again. They said right now, china and pottery are in the "basement" value-wise. They're just not selling.

The only thing you can count on with antiques and collectibles is: #1 If you want to buy them, they're very valuable and #2 If you want to sell them, they're worth nothing. Sigh.

I have Franciscan Desert Rose that we got for our wedding in 1991, plus some antique serving pieces of the same pattern. I see them all the time at estate sales and auctions for pennies on the dollar . I love the apple pattern, too, but refuse to start down that path!

I can't see china prices going anywhere but down, unfortunately....

Terri

 

[sluggozmom]

I thought maybe I could take a few pieces off of you hands but I have Carthage

What Carthage pieces are you looking for? I have a service for 8 in my basement....are you near Massachusetts?

 

[Liz]

When I got married 32 years ago, my future mother-in-law suggested I not register for fine china. I can't remember why, but at the time I, of course, thought I knew better and it was just the thing to do! Now I realize she was so right. My mother has a beautiful set and I'm an only child so it will be mine some day. Why did I need my own?! I like the idea of just using it as every day dishes. Why not!

On a related topic, I now have three sets of sterling silver that I have no use for. If anyone has suggestions on selling that, I'd love to know!

 

[Halle]

My DM gave her china and Sterling silver to my DD. I plan on giving my china and Sterling her daughter....if she wants it.

 

[Halle]

My DM gave her china and Sterling silver to my DD. I plan on giving my china and Sterling to her daughter....if she wants it.

 

[gotomu212]

On a related topic, I now have three sets of sterling silver that I have no use for. If anyone has suggestions on selling that, I'd love to know!

Ugh sterling silver is even harder. There's almost no market for it because it takes so much work on upkeep (plus some of those polishing solutions are kind of scary when you're talking about things you put deliberately in your mouth).

I have my great grandmother and grandmothers sets. They are appraised at thousands of dollars but no one wants them. Someone suggested to me that selling to a silver broker was really the only good option (and even then you aren't getting the most out of it).

 

[daughtersrus]

What Carthage pieces are you looking for? I have a service for 8 in my basement....are you near Massachusetts?

I have service for 10. I don't use it often but it's now on display in the china cabinet that I found last year on Craigslist to match my 20 year old dining table This thread got me looking on ebay. I'm looking for serving pieces. I ended up buying two serving platters for $40 with shipping I could use some serving bowls and maybe a gravy boat if I find them at a good price.

 

[starry_solo]

The only thing you can count on with antiques and collectibles is: #1 If you want to buy them, they're very valuable and #2 If you want to sell them, they're worth nothing. Sigh.

AGREED!

 

[Sadie22]

I would find a local place which deals in china and silver.

 

[Sagginit]

You could try listing on ebay the odd pieces to see if there is an interest (gravy boats, platters, tea service). People may be trying to finish off a set they inherited themselves. As a set many people don't want to buy it as they would want to just buy new for the price it will cost to buy and ship. i found that out when i wanted teacups for a tea party and ended up using the less pretty stuff we had on hand as the shipping on just two old teacups was outrageous.

i know several people that have used ebay as a side income by breaking up sets of things and selling individually so often that is the route (ex. old lego sets with missing pieces, buy the set cheap at a garage sale and sell pieces on ebay.... lots of mismatched collectibles, buy enough miss matches and you can put together a whole set a collector may want).

 

[georgina]

This thread caused me to look on the replacements site for my china pattern. Wow they want $140 for the teapot (which I have and don't use) and $42 for the sugar bowl and $34 for the creamer. I may have to look into selling some of these things, even if I can't get that much for them.