Why Lenox China?

[kathianne]

I have a complete 12 place setting of Lenox Monroe pattern, chosen for my wedding. In 25 years of marriage, I've used it maybe 3-4 times. Its too "fine" to use for casual dining, and, of course, you wouldn't want to us it with children. Its packed away from our last move, never even opened.

Our Christmas dishes ar a set I boutght several years ago from Walgreens, after Christmas, discontinued pattern, got the whole thing, 10 place settings, pluse all the serving pieces you could ever want, total $15! That even includes salt and pepper shakers! We love, has Santas on it, kids consider it the Christmas set. I bought a corningware set for Thanksgiving with a harvest pattern. So, why am I keeping those Lenox china dishes, in case the president come over for dinner? They're a pain, you need to hand-wash them, always afraid of breaking one, perhaps I'll just sell the set and not worry about it.

Of course, as soon as I sell it I will regret it, but could use the money for Christmas presents. Anyone have any idea how to go about selling Lenox China?

 

[TwistofLemon]

I agree with you 100%. That's why I never registered for any of the "fancy" stuff when I got married. I don't have the high-dollar china, crystal or silver. I saw what my mom went through when she used hers. Too much work for me! Polishing every freakin fork and knife with that disgusting silver purple silver polish, yuck!
As far as selling it, I'm hearing some really good things about Craig's list. You don't really have to worry about shipping if you sell it on there.

 

[kathianne]

I agree with you 100%. That's why I never registered for any of the "fancy" stuff when I got married. I don't have the high-dollar china, crystal or silver. I saw what my mom went through when she used hers. Too much work for me! Polishing every freakin fork and knife with that disgusting silver purple silver polish, yuck!
As far as selling it, I'm hearing some really good things about Craig's list. You don't really have to worry about shipping if you sell it on there.

Yeah, and that silver polish ruins your nails! I also have a nice silverplate set, never use it, had a nickel-plarted stainless set that knows its plce--it goes in the dishwasher! My mother tried to talk me out of thr "fancy" dished, said I could always rent them if needed for a special ocassion!

 

[Donnask8pro]

I'm totally on board. I also own 12 piece setting and full silver. I think I have used it maybe 4 times. I keep saying I am going to have a dinner party just so I can use it. Nope hasn't happened. Looks good in my china cabinet though

 

[kellia]

I wouldn't have the stuff if it wasn't given to me from dh's grandma. She carried it over on the boat from Poland, so there's no way I can get rid of it! It is beautiful and looks great in the china cabinet, but I HATE using it!! Who wants to hand wash anything after cooking all day for a big party?

Personally, I'd sell it! Look on Ebay and see what it is going for or list on Craigslist. DON'T SHIP THROUGH THE POST OFFICE!! I have sold a lot on Ebay and never had any problems with the post office EXCEPT for a couple of sets of kitchen canisters I packed very well. And even though there was insurance on them, they wouldn't do anything about it because I couldn't prove they weren't broken to begin with.

 

[rbork]

I'll be the first to say- I have Lenox Charleston and Old Maryland engraved silver set. I use it often as I entertain often. I polish the silver once a year and still wash the china by hand with my husband after our quests leave. (A friend piles her's in the dishwasher though.) We've taught the kid's how to handle and use the china as well. It's ol'fashion I know but I happen to enjoy the tradition of china and silver.
About selling it- if you never use it, go for it and sell it. I've seen ads in our local papers occasionally for china. Perhaps you can sell it local and not worry about the shipping. I know I'd buy specific china in excellant shape from an ad in the paper! Good Luck selling.

 

[StillPinballFamily]

We were in exactly the same situation a few years ago (but our china was Wedgwood).

We finally sold it on ebay to a bunch of delighted buyers (some were brides). No problems shipping *any* of it.

The other thing we did - which HUGELY maximized our profits was to sell the pieces in broken-up sets - 4 dinner plates or 4 dessert plates or 4 soup bowls or one platter, etc. instead of by place settings. That way, people could bid on just the items they wanted/needed, and it drove the prices higher for our stuff than other sellers of identical items were getting.

Everyone was happy and no, I don't miss the china. It was truly lovely, but we never used it and it was picked out a long time ago and my taste has changed (in lots of things - but including dinnerware!).

Good luck with whatever decision you make! FYI - this is a great time to sell china - some hostesses are starting to plan their holiday dinners/parties and realizing they need/want more china to serve their guests.

P.S. Just saw the below post - we sold off our Waterford too! Again...truly lovely, and an insane amount of it - goblets and glasses in all sizes and shapes, but we didn't use it - we love our Riedel wineglasses (now THOSE get a workout around here!) If you use it and love it - keep it and revel in it! If not, get rid of it and enjoy the $$$.

 

[CarolA]

I'll be the first to say- I have Lenox Charleston and Old Maryland engraved silver set. I use it often as I entertain often. I polish the silver once a year and still wash the china by hand with my husband after our quests leave. (A friend piles her's in the dishwasher though.) We've taught the kid's how to handle and use the china as well. It's ol'fashion I know but I happen to enjoy the tradition of china and silver.
About selling it- if you never use it, go for it and sell it. I've seen ads in our local papers occasionally for china. Perhaps you can sell it local and not worry about the shipping. I know I'd buy specific china in excellant shape from an ad in the paper! Good Luck selling.

I was beginning to wonder if I was alone.

I have Lenox Eternal, my grandmother's silverplate and and entire set of Waterford. I do use it, even if it's just dinner with my boyfriend.

 

[czycropper]

I have Lenox Eternal in the gold trim pattern and I make a point of using it at least once a month. My DDs love the "special" dinners as they call them when we eat in the dining room with the good china and silver. We also have another complete set from my MIL that we use more often!

 

[eliza61]

I was beginning to wonder if I was alone.

I have Lenox Eternal, my grandmother's silverplate and and entire set of Waterford. I do use it, even if it's just dinner with my boyfriend.

That's why I enjoy your post Carol, (I think secretly your a maverick )

I use my Lenox china (Hamilton). My kids learned how to handle it when they were very young. It's the only way they get to learn, sure a dish or two bit the dust, such is life.

Op, if you like it & it's pretty to you stop being afraid to use it. You don't have to wait for a dinner party. When I have friends over after church I use it, when my in laws or other family members stop by, I use it.

I'm a bit old fashion, I think it's nice once in a while to have some thing special. No one has time to dress for weddings anymore, etc, etc. I'm not waiting for the president to come over, my family will fit the bill nicely.

 

[kbkids]

Oh, I couldn't get rid of mine. It looks great in my china cabinet, and we use it 3-4 times a year. Mine has some Christmas accessory plates, so we don't have a separate Christmas china. (I do have Christmas everyday dishes from Target though.) We use the china at Thanksgiving and Easter as well. I've got a set of crystal as well, but it's an 8 piece (which is all we really need), but I really want 4 more to make the display look more complete. Mine is discontinued, and I keep watching eBay, but they always go up to high.

That being said, I also have a HUGE set of china my MIL gave me that was hers. It's pretty - could be used at Thanksgiving with the colors - but I just don't like it as much as mine, so it's sitting in a cabinet (literally takes up the whole cabinet). It's got the serving bowls and all, but like I said, just don't care for it as much.

Silver - I never did that. I just wasn't up for keeping it polished. It is about time for me to go buy another stainless set though. After 13 years, we've lost several forks and spoons along the way.

 

[HGD24]

We never registered for anything too fancy either. This past Christmas, my in-laws bought us a Pfaltzgraff set that we picked out for our new house and we love it! We use it everyday. My family were visiting last weekend and my sister wouldn't let my dad heat his lunch on the Pfaltzgraff because she thought it was too fancy. She made him use a paperplate instead. She just couldn't understand how we could use such nice plates everyday...I can't imagine what she would think if we had Lenox!

I say look online to see what your pattern might be worth and then start shopping 2nd hand dealers and stores in your area to see who will give you the best price.

 

[DVCBELLE]

I got Denby Dishes when we got married - and we were afraid to use them (they were our everyday dishes) b/c they were expensive to replace - about two months ago I called replacements ltd. - http://www.replacements.com
and asked if they would buy it. Within ten minutes they had emailed me a quote - I packed it up and shipped it and made $700 on 12 place settings!

I highly reccomend you give them a call!

 

[DisneyHumbug]

I have Lenox Mayflowers. If I were to choose a pattern now, I wouldn't pick this one. But I love using it anyway, it reminds me of the girl I was when I picked it out. I use the china, crystal and silverplate. AND we eat in the dining room every night!!! (but we don't use the china every night)

 

[wall*e2008]

We love our Lenox dishes. We only use them a few times a year, but ours are in the DR, so easy to get.

We always dishwash our Lenox. We were told it was fine as long as we turned off the heated dry. I also dishwash our Waterford Crystal.

We have Pfaltzgraff for our every day dishes and our Christmas dishes.

We did have Corningware dishes, but got rid of them after they kept exploding. We later found out that there were certain sets (ours was one) that got hair line cracks and would explode just being placed on a hard surface. After that DH said no more Corningware.

I use replacements (referenced above) when I need a new piece or a replacement.

 

[srwarden1928]

I have THREE sets of good china--my mother's Haviland, my great aunt's Haviland, and my grandmother's Noritake. Find an excuse to use the china. Christmas, Thanksgiving, Easter, each person in the family's birthday. Any excuse you can come up with. No you wouldnt want to use it EVERY day, but even though it is "good" and expensive, it was made to be used. Enjoy your precious heirlooms. Make them a part of your family's traditions.

 

[bumbershoot]

If you don't like it and you don't use it, then sell it. I think replacements.com is a good place to go, but if you are serious about selling, do NOT look at the pages as though you were buying. Trust me, you don't want to see what they will be selling your stuff at. I did that, and 4 years later I still have my mom's stuff, b/c it just peeves me. But I'm not brave enough for ebay.


So this sounds funny b/c at a time I did want to sell my mom's china, but I do love having china! It's just that my mom's early-80s taste was much different than my early-00s taste. I have white with platinum trim, very basic. She got a cream colored china with flowers and gold trim. Her pattern is now discontinued but there still seems to be a lot out there, and maybe someday the price will go up more and I'll be tempted again.

But on the other hand, she had the gravy boat/stand, a medium serving bowl, and a big oval platter, and I have none of those in my pattern, so when we use them and I want the serving stuff, I mix it all.

My mom loved using her china and I grew up with it being used on birthdays, Thanksgiving dinners, and other nicer dinner occasions. I don't use it as much as she did, but then again, she only got it when brother and I were preteens, and my son is only 4, so I guess I have time. I like it and I use it, so it's right that I have it.

If you don't like or use it, there's just no point in keeping it. Let others who *want* it enjoy it!

 

[Stucas]

I love using china! I'm too much of a wimp for the real good stuff, I almost put some on my registry but was too afraid of breaking pieces. I now have (well I'm still collecting) my china piece by piece. Its not a greatly known brand, Crown Victoria (lovelace), but I love it! I started my collection 2 years ago at a yard sale where I found 10 plates for about $2. Since then I have been collecting pieces at different sales and antique stores. It makes it so much more special for me. All the pieces i have are in like new condition and if I break a piece I know I can replace it super cheap and easy. When I was first starting the collection I was at a sale where I was talking to the lady hosting and telling her I was collecting piece by piece and she got all sentimental and told me that's how her mother got it, apparently it was a bank giveaway (I wonder why my moms bank had such ugly plates now....lol) and took her a few years to get her set. I almost have service for 20, which is my ultimate goal, and we have already used it several times. I did register for silverware though but in stainless steel. I'm not a fan of silver polish.


-Lauren

 

[DisneyWalkerGirl]

I too have been married 25 years and have 16 place settings of my Lenox. When I remodeled my kitchen last year (no dining room), I pledged that I would get the Lenox out of the box, put it in a place where it was easy to get to and USE IT!!!

I am proud to say that I use it at least one time a month even if it is just a simple family meal - Want to feel completely decadent? Serve hamburgers and mac and cheese on Lenox by candlelight I wash mine in the dishwasher because I do have a fine china setting.

I decided that if it was good enough for "company", it was good enough us!

 

[barbarabini]

I use my china and crystal for regular dinners - with the kids (toddler included).
If it breaks, it breaks. Am I going to wait until I am dead - so some other lady can use it?

(note - things do break - so be prepared - i have broken over 10 waterford wine glasses)
such is life.