I'm trying to find out about this Meito china that we found in an old house. The only thing I've been able to find is pattern MEI147 on replacements, but no stock, info, etc. I am going batty googling and searching with never anything coming up with my china. Does anyone know anything about this? I have a whole set.
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Have you actually emailed replacements.com? They should be able to give you a value. Another route would be to send pictures to a dealer
What a lucky find!! I wish I found neat stuff. Usually I just find dust bunnies and trash :(
So Meito china is one of the brands that made a whole bunch of patterns which glutted the US market for years and years and years. Some of them were quite popular because they were low to moderately priced and young married couples could afford to get them.
When they are listed on Replacements with just a number like this one, my understanding is that it is one of the lesser valued pieces and basically they made so many it was just listed as a production run or it was unpopular and the name just got dropped along the way. That Replacements has it categorized is a good sign that there may be some market for it (fingers crossed).
I had one of my grandmother's china which was from Hungary and Replacements basically said it is totally valueless because they don't even have a name for it in their system (which means no demand). Sad. I still have it.
Replacements is generally very good. They will give you a price sheet if they want to buy it (it is out of stock in the moment and you have stock...so if they have any demand of it, you may fetch something there). I can tell you that about 2 weeks ago, I pitched a set of out of supply dishes to them that were given to me by a friend and that I decided I didn't like. They said no thanks to this one. I was disappointed as I have sold a ton of my other grandmothers dishes (she had some super duper rare and still valuable Homer Laughlin pieces) and when I sold those, I think it it was in 2010, I made great money and the process was quite user friendly.
Anyhow...your pattern looks to be from the 40s or 50s. I don't see any on eBay or Etsy at the moment (they are the biggest venues for china sales outside of Replacements) so you may want to keep checking back there to find a value. VALUE = sold price--never use the asking price--sold will tell you what someone was willing to pay. Asking is the pie in the sky price the seller wants for it.
The challenge is since most people don't know about Replacements and how to find a name if it isn't stamped on the bottom, they will just list it with the brand and a description--like flowers or floral. Maybe with the color--like yours is pink and gray color. So you will have to shift through hundreds of listings to see if you get a visual match in the sold column. You may want to find an active one and watch it to see if it sells. Try a variety of search methods and you may hit on it fast.
Generally 3/4 of the china sets out there in the world are totally valueless--meaning no one wants them and no one will pay anything for them. The kids these days hate china dishes and the oldsters like me are trying to get rid of our sets ,which sets the market up for NO demand and a huge supply.
I hope for you that your set is in the 1/4 of those with value, but knowing the market, I am not hopeful as those from Japan are almost always in the low end of sales just because there were so many produced. Now anything you get for them is "free money" so that is a plus for you!
You can take them to an expert in your town and get their take on it. They will know your particular market, where I am speaking to you from my Pittsburgh market and what I see here. You could be in a place where there is a big demand and low supply.
If you talk to an expert and get a low value, the best way to sell these then would be to put them on a site like Facebook Marketplace, Nextdoor or Letgo and ask for what a higher value and then take best offer (OBO = or best offer). If you get a high value, see if they will sell them for you as shipping can be a huge hassle with breakage. The USPS is not gentle with packages and buyers are quite unhappy when they get a box of shards.
Post back what you do with them and how much you fetch and where you are located! I love learning about values in other parts of the world! Thanks!
I have recently read postings from appraisers and they are saying almost the same as Pghgirl states; the market is glutted with all brands of china and they are saying at least 90% of china (and maybe even more) has little to no true value. It is becoming even more difficult to sell high end brands at low prices.
They seem to think it is due to two things:
1.) Younger generation does not want to be burdened with the kinda stuff their parents and grandparents had. They are happy with dishwasher safe stoneware and the likes - even paper most of the time.
2.) The middle and older generations are selling all this stuff to bolster up their Social Security and/or add to their fixed income. They no longer have any use for all this stuff and their children/grandchildren do not want it (or they immediately try to sell if it is inherited.. Or - leaving it in an old house for someone else to deal with.
I have been seeing complete sets of really nice brand name china at Thrift stores for $30-$45 and sometimes at half price. China sets are not fast movers even at thrift stores.
Pghgirl has given excellent advice on this question as well as other questions about the value of china so I do not see any need to repeat her answers.
Replacements is an excellent site to find values but they have warehouses full of china and do not have sets sitting in their dining room (just taking up space) as many of us do. They can afford to hold on to an item for a few months and wait for someone who is looking for that one or two pieces of a set they like.
Please do not even think about shipping a set as this usually ends in a disaster. You may be able to sell (and ship) one or two pieces but never a set (even to replacements).
Replacements is a good site to check prices but not for an appraisal of your china. If they are interested in your set, they will supply a list of items they are interested in and the price they will pay (you would be responsible for all shipping and insurance cost).
If you look at sold items on eBay you will find that most of this brand (Meito MEI) is selling for very low prices. One large sale but that is a real fluke as this is rarely seen.
www.ebay.com/
You can always ask for a free appraisal just in case you have a more valuable set. They will need lots of information and several pics.
www.whatsellsbest.com/
if you wish to sell your set, I would suggest listing it of a local site such as Craigslist, Nextdoor.com, USA4Sale, or any other site that has customer pick up in your area.
This way you can start your set at a higher price and lower it if no one shows an interest.
I may be thinking of another brand but it seems this may have been one of the brands that were sold as premiums in some supermarkets (one or two items each week) several years back.
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