Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Just my experience with Replacements, Limited.....
Before you send anything .... check each and every piece before you send it. I sent pristine items that they claimed were not perfect and paid me accordingly.
Also, their website often says they are actively looking for pieces that, when you call, they say they do not need.
Their compensation is below what you can expect from other sources, like Ebay, Craigslist, and Etsy.
I've talked to about 6 consignment shops in my area and most are telling me that china just does not sell any more. They would take Christmas Theme china and serving pieces but nothing else. I found a man with his own ebay homebased business with a good reputation. He is coming out to look at all my stuff and we will work from there. He is limited in space he can accommodate things so I told him he can take his photos here, leave the items here, go home and list and sell on ebay and then come here to pack and ship. That works for both of us. He gets 50% for anything under $500, 40% from $500-$1,000 and 30% over $1,000. That includes his photography, research, selling, packing and shipping. Works for me. I feel better already knowing we are getting off dead center.
I collect china but only certain patterns and manufacturers. The thing is, everybody thinks their china is valuable but most people are wrong. (Most people also think their heirloom jewelry is valuable and they're usually wrong about that, too.)
I'll buy Royal Copenhagen Blue Fluted Full Lace but I'll bet Replacements buys it too. Gorgeous stuff. If you find it on eBay, it's probably seconds and the seller won't tell you that.
But the holy grail of Royal Copenhagen is Flora Danica. Incredibly rare, incredibly expensive. Probably always will be.
Sorry I can't help you find a place for your china. I'm hanging onto mine until the bitter end.
Just my experience with Replacements, Limited.....
Before you send anything .... check each and every piece before you send it. I sent pristine items that they claimed were not perfect and paid me accordingly.
I bought a tea set of Lomonosov in Russia. As the pieces were being tissue wrapped and packed, the girl at the counter tapped each piece with a pencil. A china piece with any kind of damage whether or not obvious to the eye, will be detectable when the piece is tapped. An intact piece will ring and a damaged piece doesn't ring, the sound is just a dull thud.
I never knew that before I watched her and asked what she was doing.
We have space in a resale shop and it's interesting to watch the changing what sells and what doesn't. For china sets, you can hardly give them away. However, if you break up the set and sell them as place settings, then they will sell. Plate, salad plate, bowl, teacup, saucer, etc., then you can sell them as individual place settings. It will probably sell in sets of four but hardly any larger than that. Folks just don't entertain at home anymore, I guess. Or they eat off of paper plates.
Some specific brands or patterns such as Willow ware and Fiesta ware will sell as separate pieces. Anything with gold on it doesn't sell well since it doesn't do well in the microwave. There was a rush on Fire King for awhile, that seems to be dying down.
Figure what ever folks who are between thirty and fifty will resonate to, that's pretty much what sells.
I'm sad that we've come to the end of hospitality as it used to be. I still appreciate tablecloths and nice dishes and silverware. My kids, though, never. Bar stools and counters and paper plates, or at the most, Correll.
I guess I don't have to worry, though, I ended up with small set of really pretty but not worth much dishes that were Mom's and I found lots more of it at Goodwill. So I love it, but at the end, it will probably go back to a thrift shop. Nobody else would stand and hand wash them because of the silver edge. Sad.
I'm one of the rare ones who look for nice dishes at resale places, but just ones that match what I have. No Kudzu, I hope you tell us how your sale went.
Some specific brands or patterns such as Willow ware and Fiesta ware will sell as separate pieces. Anything with gold on it doesn't sell well since it doesn't do well in the microwave. There was a rush on Fire King for awhile, that seems to be dying down.
Figure what ever folks who are between thirty and fifty will resonate to, that's pretty much what sells.
I think it is more an issue of not being able to safely place gold or platinum banded dishes in the dishwasher than the microwave.
And yes it is sad. I would never entertain anybody on paper plates. I like to set a nice table for my family at special occasions like birthdays, anniversaries, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. I think it is important my kids learn how to not only set a proper table but to know how to use proper silverware.
I'm often reminded of my mother who was born and raised in Goldsboro, NC and never went any further than the NC coast until she married my Army Officer father. They ended up in post war Japan and were guests at the American Embassy more than once. She was so grateful she knew what to do when she was seated at a formal table because her mother insisted her kids learn the "right" way to do things.
All 4 of my kids were trained in good table manners, etc. Having said that my only son eats like a bear at a picnic. He surrounds his plate with his arms like he has to beat off offenders. It's very embarrassing and baffling. Nobody stole his food when he was growing up! He's a PhD university professor who eats like he was raised in a barn.
And yes it is sad. I would never entertain anybody on paper plates. I like to set a nice table for my family at special occasions like birthdays, anniversaries, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. I think it is important my kids learn how to not only set a proper table but to know how to use proper silverware.
But proper silverware can be made from stainless steel, and proper dishes from stoneware or Corelle. Bone china and fine silverware versus paper plates and plastic forks is a false dichotomy. The reason fine china and sterling silver table services have faded from popularity is simply that they don't fit modern lifestyles. China can't go in the microwave or the dishwasher. Sterling silver looks terrible if it's not polished regularly. People just don't want to spend their time hand-washing washing and polishing their dinner service, and almost no one has servants to delegate those tasks to.
So enjoy your fancy things now, because there's no point in saving it for the younger generation. They don't want it, for good reasons. We're just being forced to recognize that no object has inherent value, that's all.
But proper silverware can be made from stainless steel, and proper dishes from stoneware or Corelle.
Absolutely and I never said otherwise. My mother never had silver in her family but she got it while married. I think that was how most women of her generation (The Greatest Generation) acquired their treasures. And then they passed them and their values and expectations on to us (Baby Boomers). Maybe of us eschewed all the possessions and values. I certainly did in the 60's as did most of my friends. Somewhere along the line she gave me some of her treasures and I enjoyed using them occasionally. I had hoped at least 1 of my 4 kids would want a few pieces for sentimental reasons but apparently it isn't going to happen.
I do now agree that experiences have more value than possessions. It's just hard to trash the treasures of our family's past.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.