Finding the Value of Fine China?

Judy
Gold Post Medal for All Time! 677 Posts

June 19, 20180 found this helpful

Go on eBay or etsy regularly to see what these pieces are actually selling for. If you put them all in a lot, take 10% off the price that you would get if you sold them separately.

Pghgirl40
Bronze Feedback Medal for All Time! 196 Feedbacks

June 19, 20180 found this helpful

I feel your pain! When my nana passed years ago, she left me a huge set of lovely china, but it was service for 18 and I can't even fit more than 6 people at my table and that is squishing it.

We do use some of the pieces, but some I had no clue what they were for so eventually they had to go (when the guilt for selling subsided of course).

After exploring all of my options (which was selling in person, on eBay or on Etsy or some other way) I went with Replacements.com.

I did this because they offered the best amount and took ALL of the pieces (I was lucky my dishes were highly in demand...almost everyone I know who has sold with them has had between 85-100% of the pieces purchased. Sometimes you can check back with them a few months later and they will bid on the items they didn't take the first time.

I went to their site, followed the instructions to get a bid sheet, printed it out, marked off how many of each piece I had, packed it up and off it went. 2-3 weeks later, a nice check arrived, which was needed MUCH more than the dishes.

Now the caveats with this vs. selling in person...

1. You must follow their instructions to a "T" . If you live any where near their offices in North Carolina, go there in person. I have heard it is a really nice experience! I wanted to do that, but it didn't work out (12 hour drive from me and no time).

2. If you can't get to them, you need to SHIP the items and because they are fragile, as you can imagine, you will need to pack VERY carefully and remember that the boxes get heavy fast.

I am good at packing things, I got tons of bubble wrap and cardboard and wrapped each piece individually filling many, many large USPS one price boxes with as many pieces fit safely.

The Replacement site tells you how to mark the boxes when you have more than one box--which is another reason you need to read their info carefully.

My one friend is NOT good at boxing things and she had a coupon or AAA or AARP discount for either FedEx Kinkos or the UPS store and she had them pack and ship. It was more expensive than my method...but to her, that was worth it as they did it much better than she could have. Either way (USPS one price or FedExUPs, make sure you have the insurance) if things break.

I was VERY, VERY pleased with my transaction and so was she.

If you go the in person route--meaning trying to sell the dishes to a store or selling them in person to someone (Craig's list etc.), you can look up the "current market value" of the pieces on eBay (only use SOLD auctions to find out what the pieces sell for--asking prices on current auctions NEVER show value--value is only what someone will actually PAY for an item at any given moment.)

Then add up all the prices and come up with your total.

Dishes are a hard sell...it is based on someone's whim at the moment, trying to get them to meet you etc. Selling on eBay even is the same....the items could sit for months.

Then you will get the people who will contact and only want to buy one dish or one plate...UGH...the in person route for these is a nightmare!

So long story, longer...this why I loved working with Replacements...it was boxed and gone from my house and they sold it when they could!

Good luck! Hope you are able to sell them all quickly!

cybergrannie
Gold Feedback Medal for All Time! 949 Feedbacks

June 19, 20180 found this helpful

Since there are so many pieces it is a good idea to sell as much as possible as a lot but be careful because sometimes a bowl or a platter could be worth almost as much as several pieces (or could be worth more than several pieces or even a set).

• I certainly agree with everything Pghgirl40 stated and I have also sold to Replacements several times and always found them reliable and a pleasure to do business with.
• That said, you should check out individual accessories before going to them. Most sought after are things like; Salt & pepper shakers, sugar & creamers -especially with a top/lid, serving bowls, any size platter, condiment dishes, serving pieces and probably more.
• Most of these will bring top dollar and if Replacements does not offer you the right price, you can always add one of these (but only if they take the lot). Sometimes you have to be a little shrewd as companies have to make money but they do not have to be greedy.
• Always check Replacements for whatever you are trying to sell before you hit the send button.
• If you have a lot of one certain piece (like cups) you may want to think about breaking them into 2 or more lots (unless you feel you are being offered what you want).
• When I had a lot to sell, we made our vacation near their company and saved all that intense packing and shipping and had a nice time with money to spare.
• Good luck...