<p>Ema… Overstock sends lots of coupons too. Today there’s a 20%off. </p>
<p>Because of this thread I bought some vintage Haviland plates and a matching platter on E-bay. All Ema’s fault! ;)</p>
<p>Have to. Stay. away. From. This. Thread. 
Dangerous for my budget and cupboard! </p>
<p>Hey china mavens, I’m going to go the other route. If someone wanted to sell complete sets of good china (Lenox, Wedgwood, Haviland, etc.) - complete and potentially with serving pieces, etc. - what is the best way to go? In other words, I don’t want to sell to any of you since the goal is to get a really good price :-). Ebay? Craigslist? Is there a china-specific service worth investigating? Thanks in advance. (Ditto for crystal and silver)</p>
<p>If the china is in excellent condition/rare/and desired…I would go to a local auction house and antique dealers… Beware…the utenseil use scratches. Look at Replacements.com and see what they are getting for pieces. Look at ebay.</p>
<p>My aunt lived in Palm Beach. She sold a set of her china…never used for $7,000. A great price…until I saw that the soup tureen was up for sale at the store…$5.500…sold within hours.</p>
<p>You’re welcome, Consolation! :P</p>
<p>One of my friends just sold his lasagna dish,in my Villeroy & Boch pattern (pictured), for $2000 last night. The woman really wanted it! Gee, I wish I had a lasagna dish. You don’t have one, do you, nymom?</p>
<p>When I sell something, I check e-bay and replacements, to get an idea. If replacements doesn’t have it and none have sold or are listed on ebay, I recommend subscribing to worthpoint. I believe they’re owned by e-bay, but they have a lot that has sold during the last 5 years. Once I set my price, I’d list on craigslist IF YOU LIVE IN AN AREA THAT COULD HAVE A MARKET. Most likely, you’ll get your best money by selling on ebay because of the wide audience. The key is taking nice pictures and then being able to carefully pack the items. Selling items separately usually brings more money than selling an entire set. </p>
<p>Just a bit of info from my personal experience to share with you all. Some time ago I posted on CC to seek advice about purchasing from Ebay international sellers. I had decided to try to assemble a set of china we had when I was a child, and found that many international sellers offered pieces I wanted. The pattern, Chinese Bouquet in Green from Herend, is manufactured in Hungary. It comes in two edge styles and I prefer the one that’s more common in Europe and less common in the U.S. Searching using the European name for the set, “Apponyi,” revealed more sellers.</p>
<p>I ended up purchasing from several different international sellers as well as some U.S. sellers. Twice, pieces arrived broken. In both of those cases the seller worked with me. One sent replacement pieces and the other refunded my money. All other pieces arrived intact. One international seller was brand new to Ebay. I exchanged several emails with him and he sent me detailed photos before I decided to buy from him even though he had no feedback record. He was very fair and very helpful. Aside from him, I only purchased from sellers with excellent feedback. I found most pieces at a fraction of retail price (ore Replacements.com price) but it was still quite an investment.</p>
<p>The first pieces I bought were from an out-of-state Craigslist post. The seller was selling her mom’s coffee set. Again, we exchanged several emails with photos and talked on the phone before finalizing the transaction. The seller happened to be an ebay seller so she was willing to pack and ship to me.</p>
<p>My tastes are very simple, so this china with its highly ornamented serving pieces and gold trim is quite a departure for me, as is spending lots of money on…well, just about anything! I’m really enjoying it, though. I’m keeping the teapot, coffee pot, sugar and creamer out on an old silver tray. It’s a touch of frou-frou in my otherwise subdued home!</p>
<p>PG, I think a LOT depends on how old, and the patterns of your china. I work in a charity thrift store. We get some very nice china…lots of Haviland and wedgewood. We price it very fairly and we can’t give some of it away…and I’m talking whole sets with serving pieces. I suspect ours are not favorable or collectible patterns. I would start by looking on eBay to see what you have is going for. Then go from there.</p>
<p>ETA…if its sterling silver, there will be places that will buy it, and really the prices I’ve seen are very good. If its silver plate…it’s not worth much.</p>
<p>Crystal is a funny thing. Wine glasses, for example, are now larger than my old (expensive) water goblets. There is a small market for the tiny wine glasses…very small. </p>
<p>PizzaGirl, do you have a junior league chapter in your town? If so, I’d contact them and see if they have a for sale board on their site. Those ladies know and value china and you’re more likely to get a better price.</p>
<p>Thanks - these are great suggestions! This isn’t for me - this is for someone else. The china is nice, but I don’t think it’s particularly unique / rare / collectible. Just sort of generic “nice china that someone got for their wedding.” </p>
<p>Do you know what the pattern is? (I can’t help myself. )</p>
<p>I just noticed BunsenBurner’s avatar. Is that Bunsen on the burner?</p>
<p>Lol, he is named after the greatest composer of his native country, but as swimcatsmom noted, he does have his “buns on burner” in the picture! Funny story about the cat: when D took him and his sister to the vet, the vet was appalled that someone had the audacity to name a cat after the greatest composer ever! Lol, the vet obviously did not watch Beethoven. :)</p>
<p>Someone has listed on ebay 12 dinner plates in a very unusual Coalport pattern of which I have 12 soup cups with saucers. (Purchased at the Harrods china sale decades ago.) I am DYING to purchase them, but I really can’t afford it. </p>
<p>RueLaLa has some V&B dinnerware and glasses on sale today.</p>
<p>Consolation, I’m a bad influence, but here goes: If you don’t buy them, you’ll always regret it.</p>
<p>ETA: Sorry; I just realized I’m responding to a two-week-old post!!</p>
<p>That’s okay, he’s already listed them twice! I’m going to check and see if they are relisted. (Shoot me now…
)</p>
<p>If anyone here is interested in a set of Haviland Gainsborough china, please PM me. My mother is moving to a small independent living apartment and will be getting rid of her good china. </p>
<p>I posted this in the good buy of the day thread, but shepherd hills pottery has some Denby patterns for up to 90% off. They are very high quality seconds. Other brands may also be on sale. </p>