<p>I have not used my china, crystal or silver in over 20 years and don’t see using it in all but a rare occasion. I host Thanksgiving and we have almost 30 people and I only have service for 8-12 depending on which pieces, besides the fact I don’t even like my china anymore!! My children like many young people, have no interest in any of the pieces as it means nothing to them, they don’t like it and most of the young married adult don’t even register china.</p>
<p>I know there are online replacement companies and there is one big one in my city. I would guess that I would not get near enough money to warrant selling it all to them as I would selling it myself, but don’t know how to go about trying to sell it myself. Looking for suggestions as to how to make the best price as well as where I might look to sell it.</p>
<p>Look up your pattern and pieces on ebay. Use that as a guide, search the completed listings. If you are comfortable with Craigs List that is another option again using ebay and Craig’s List completed listings as a guide for pieces. How quickly and how badly you want to sell it will also determine your price. Look at prices of individual pices vs. selling in lots.</p>
<p>Some consignment stores will take full sets of dishes, but they are the types of consignment stores that people my age frequent, not people starting out who might be looking for dishes.
The patterns also are fairly staid.
What patterns do you have?</p>
<p>There are plenty of places to sell your silver flatware if it is sterling, for the melt value. If it is silver plated, you won’t get much for it.</p>
<p>Check the prices at Replacements…you might just decide to work with them. I have bought and sold from them and it’s pretty easy. Maybe not the highest prices…but if you don’t want the stuff…</p>
<p>Echo those who say do some online research to know the true value/history of your pieces. You may end up getting more money for them or even decide they’re worth keeping after all. </p>
<p>Ebay to check viable current market value and if you want to deal with shipping/potential paypal, customer dispute, fraud hassles.</p>
<p>Craigslist if you want to do face to face deals, good at negotiating/holding firm on one’s price, and aren’t in a hurry to sell. Not the best place for those in a hurry to sell at max value and/or those who can’t be hardnosed about negotiating/holding firm on prices. Even if something is listed with a price on CL…potential buyers will try negotiating lower prices. </p>
<p>Unfortunately, you’ll also be selling in an economy in which most people don’t have the discretionary funds for what amounts to a luxury “nice to have” purchase. </p>
<p>Personally, I’d try holding out until the economy gets stronger so there are more potential customers and thus, potentially higher prices.</p>
<p>You are brave. I just can’t sell mine because it makes me feel like I’m giving up on some family member (albeit deceased). I now have four sets of china (for twelve) and two sets of silver (for 12). Fortunately i have 4 fancy holidays: Easter, Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve and Christmas so I rotate I, too, would look at Replacements and eBay to get an idea of the value. Some patterns seem to garner more than others.</p>
<p>I’ve been trying to figure out for years what the pattern is for the one set of crystal I have. I’d love to complete that set but I’ve had a dickens of a time figuring out the pattern when no one (living) knows the manufacturer. It’s from the 1920s and I suspect Orrefors and my family is from Scandinavia), but I’m not finding the pattern, oh well, it’s a good web search time waster this time of year after I’ve had the pieces I do use “out.”</p>
<p>momofthreeboys, I had some crystal goblets I received as a gift 30 years ago and couldn’t identify. I took a picture of one with my phone and sent it via email to Replacements.com and they responded with the pattern name and manufacturer. Go to the website and you can find out the exact email address for pattern id. I was amazed at how easy it was after all these years.</p>
<p>mom of three boys, if you send a photo of your crystal to Replacements they will identify it for you.</p>
<p>As some of you know I do estate sales. Most of the time the china/crystal do not sell at all. It’s not a matter of pricing it right it just doesn’t sell no matter how I price it. There are of course exceptions. Most older people who like that sort of think already have it and are looking to not accumulate more or are thinking of downsizing anyway. The vast majority of younger people who are building up their homes and possessions could care less about formal table ware. Sometimes silver plate will sell. Sterling always sells, but they are most probably buying it for melt purposes. So basically you can sell it for it’s weight, not the workmanship etc. It’s all very sad. On a couple of occasions we’ve had to throw sets away. Someday it will come back in style and what is left will be of high value.</p>
<p>I don’t know if I would actually sell it or not; just curious what I could get for all or some of it. I have checked Replacements in the past to get an idea of what pieces sell for; what I don’t know is what they would pay for my pieces. Unfortunately, they have at least 24 pieces of all my china, crystal and silver other than a few serving pieces; I am guessing they don’t pay top dollar when they have large stock. Only my silver is still manufactured.</p>
<p>When I checked ebay, the pieces listed from my set were from Replacement or other similar companies. I am not sure I would want to sell through ebay or craigslist, although I never mind buying certain items from each.</p>
<p>My mother thinks I should save it all for my daughter, although if my daughter kept anyone’s sets, it would be one of my mother’s. Mine are more modern and my mother’s patterns have been around for almost 100 years, and her’s look richer, something my daughter would like!!</p>
<p>While I was excited to pick out the patterns at the age of 23, it just isn’t something I ever use; we are a very casual family. I used it for a few years just because, but it truly doesn’t mean anything to me. I would be happy to get rid if it just to downsize.</p>
<p>You might consider saving one place setting for each kid - not the entire set - but one setting for each. I have one setting from my mother and MIL - it’s nice to have.</p>
<p>Thanks for the tip on sending a photo…i have alerts (with Replacements) that i set up years ago on my patterns, but i never thought to send them a pic. The stem is quite distinctive, clearly Scandinavian or maybe Danish design. I’m doing it…every year in January I look so the time is right to get it identified. </p>
<p>srw that makes me so sad. I collect Bjorn Wiinblad and picked up some beautiful things, reasonably priced at an estate sale down the street from I woman who started picking them up in the 50s when she was in Europe…I don’t think many even knew what it was. They can bury me with that…even my husband is not fond of it.</p>
<p>We recently looked through some of the in laws items to figure this out. We took antique cut glass/crystal to the antique shop. MILS 1970s insurance appraisal is the same value they would retail for today, but the shop would give us 30% of that retail value, only for the couple of pieces in which they are interested. Better to try on eBay, I guess.</p>
<p>They said the same for silver and crystal and china, sell on eBay if you want the retail value and IF you can find a buyer. For some china, replacements said it would not even be worth shipping it to them. All these years the in laws imagined they owned some things of high value and the pleasure it brought them seems to have been based on the value. They were sad to hear that none of it was worth much money.</p>
<p>That is why we use my crystal all the time.</p>
<p>SRW, I am missing some sterling that must have been thrown out, want to watch for pieces for me? ;)</p>
<p>Thrown out silver- my mother taught me to count every piece before the trash left the kitchen! When your guest want to help and clear plates, you never know who might drop a fork in the trash, or down the disposal :(</p>
<p>Yes, snowball, I only realised it the next time I went to use the silver. When we moved to a new town and stopped having 20+ for the big dinner and when the kids got older I must have relaxed my guard. Some one either trashed it or pilfered it, so I go with accidental trash, but it saddens me every time I use the silver.</p>
<p>Sheesh, they want nearly $100 for the fork on replacements.</p>
<p>For Christmas my sister sent me a garden flower made from my Grandmother’s china plates. I love it, and wish I had more. You might consider that option for the china.</p>
<p>I would love to have the sterling silver flatware my mother had. Unfortunately it was stolen when their house was robbed. I couldn’t have cared less about it when I was younger.</p>
<p>My Mom recently died and I found a few pieces of china. They probably came from one of the grandmothers. I now want to collect more pieces and my kids bought me a piece on eBay as a present.</p>
<p>Just this Christmas when D1 was home, I was showing her some of her grandmother’s jewelry that I inherited. I was very surprised that she loved some yellow gold/pearl earrings and a yellow gold pearl ring. She also coveted my old Coach saddle bag. These items would have been no interest to her a few years ago. </p>
<p>So even though your children may not want something now, they might in the future. And how much room or money are you really going to gain by getting rid of it?</p>
<p>Since most of the stuff is no longer valuable (there are exceptions) it best to box it up (in acid free tissue in a sturdy plastic bin with lid), label and forget about it. Maybe someday if will be worth $$, if not when your kids are older they may be delighted to have it, or maybe your grandchildren would be thrilled. By then it will really be antique stuff! Things definitely go in cycles. Even though my mom and I have similar taste many things that my grandmothers had my mom could have cared less about and I was thrilled to receive. Basically I got my grandmothers dining room, furniture, dishes, linens and all! I am not one who dislikes that stuff!</p>
<p>By the way, Replacements tend to be high, they are counting on people really wanting to replace that broken something or other. Also, while ebay is a great place to get general ideas of prices, you really need to look at closed auctions to see what things really sold for. You can ask any price you want, that doesn’t mean you’ll sell it for that.</p>
I, too, would look at Replacements and eBay to get an idea of the value. Some patterns seem to garner more than others.</p>