Do people still buy china? FB prices are absurd!
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Anonymous
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Do people still register for china and/or but it themselves?
I’m in my early 50s and know it was a thing when we got married in the 90s, but do people still spend that kind of money on “fancy dishes”? I was on FB marketplace and noticed someone is selling my china pattern for nearly $1k. I think it might have been 8 or 12 place settings (can’t recall). Seems absurd for FB marketplace despite the fact that more mainstream retail replacement services essentially charge an arm and a leg for pristine sets. Just curious if there’s really a market for such things. I’m also curious if people with “fancy dishes” reserve them for special occasions? My dishes have always been on display in my china closet (is that even a thing with young people these days?) and used for the holidays and dinner parties when we eat in the dining room. Because our family is growing as relatives are getting married and having kids, I was toying with the idea of buying dinner plates in my pattern…until I had sticker shock. (I inherited three other sets of china, so I’ll just use another pattern at the kids’ table.) |
Anonymous
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I don't buy fine china. I have a full set Noritake from my grandmother purchased 50+ years ago. We use it for holidays, birthdays and all around fancy meals.
We use the tea cups more often. |
Anonymous
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I was married 20 years ago, and decided not to register for China because my husband had a set he inherited from his grandmother. We’ve used it less than 10 times in the 20 years.
Since then we have been offered five other full sets from elderly relatives, and even an elderly neighbor. I’m shocked you are finding them so expensive on Facebook. I see sets pop up in our buy nothing group, and cheap on Facebook regularly. And I’ve seen multiple sets at yard sales. |
Anonymous
| Look at antique stores. |
Anonymous
| You can ask for whatever price you want. That doesn't mean it's grounded in reality. |
Anonymous
Me, too. Which is why I’m shocked at how much people are pricing them on FB. I’ll watch it to see if the prices drop. I found two sellers who dropped their original price by $100. I’m hanging onto multiple sets (from parents, grandparents, in-laws, etc.) just in case my kids want them down the road—because I can’t imagine young people today would invest in such things. |
Anonymous
| Search Replacements.com for a decent idea of going prices. |
Anonymous
FB prices shouldn’t be as expensive as Replacements.com imho. I’m wondering if my pattern is just popular and that’s why the resale is absurd? |
Anonymous
+1 We have those turkey plates which are insanely sought after and we never use... |
Anonymous
Why not use the "fancy dishes" for your family instead of saving them to use when extended family visit? It's a much better use of whatever the price is of those fancy things nowadays. |
Anonymous
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Yes I bought expensive porcelain plates and use them daily, even with kids. No chips or cracks. I’ve been married 14 years.
I think key is to buy porcelain and not ceramic. And then don’t buy dishes with gold or silver rims. Nobody has time to hand wash dishes!! We use Spode Christmas dishes during during the month of December. They’re ceramic and have held up well. Kids have fond memories of Christmas dishes. |
Anonymous
Oh and I see my dishes on Facebook and it’s ridiculous how high the prices are. It’s almost 100% of what they sell for new at Bloomingdale’s, except Bloomingdale’s does run sales occasionally. |
Anonymous
I have fine bone china with gold rims, so they really aren’t practical for daily use. I also have Christmas dishes that we use daily starting the day after thanksgiving through early January (those are more practical and dishwasher safe). |
Anonymous
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Replacements has always had a stiff markup. They need it to pay for their advertising and their giant warehouse and corporate service reliability (vs. independent little sellers and homeowners). Their customers are people who just need one rare piece or who are very price insensitive.
Replacements pays very little to buy and is very picky. I've heard and read that it's pointless to try to sell to them. The cost of shipping is about equal to what they offer to pay if they want the pattern (garage sale prices), and they don't offer until they've seen the goods. I've been told that sets are near impossible to sell. I have 3. Banged up late 1800s Wedgewood (chipped but sentimental from great-great grandparents), a fine Wedgewood set from grandma (1950s), and a 1960s German cabbage rose set from a great aunt. My sister wants to get rid of another great aunt's Noritake but it might have lead in it. She offloaded our grandma's large set of off-brand holly Christmas china to Goodwill before a recent move. I wouldn't take it. Eventually, we'll have my mother's "not supposed to go in the dishwasher" gold-edged pattern. So far I've never hosted a large holiday meal since I'm still in a child position. And I'm in my 50s. I'm honestly not sure what to do about the several additional sets that might be inbound. Since they are worth so little but are very storeable, I'm okay to wait to see if fashions will change. But they probably won't. OP, I have two pieces of advice for you. 1) Call the FB seller and tell them you're looking for X plates for $200 and to contact you if they are ever interested. Maybe you'll end up with the whole set when it doesn't sell. Just don't ask upfront for the whole set for a pittance - that makes people upset. And 2) try setting up a search on eBay. If I wanted to add pieces, I'd be looking for pieces from a set that was being parted out by a small China & Glass Ebayer or an individual clearing out their own stuff. That's where you can get the best prices in my opinion. |
Anonymous
| People advertise china high, but may be willing to lower their price if no one is interested, which is usually the case. |