Are Grandma’s Antique Dishes Worth Something? Our Guide to Selling Them

Are you itching to clean out those cabinets and cupboards full of china and crystal that you never use? You could turn it into cash for shopping, entertaining — you name it. If you or your loved ones haven’t put that Spode Christmas platter or those Waterford wine glasses on the table in years, now is the time to sell. But are your antique dishes worth something?

Depending on the pattern, condition, and current supply and demand, you can make a few hundred dollars when you sell Nana’s china plates or perhaps more than $1,000. In most cases, however, what was sentimentally valuable china to your family is worth $5 to $20 a plate.

But whether you net $50 or $500, if stuff is just collecting dust and taking up space, it might be time to let it go. You can sell old china, crystal and flatware without too much trouble on several online marketplaces.

More Ways To Make Extra Cash Besides Selling Antique Dishes

Selling antiques for some extra money is great, but what if you don’t have any? Or maybe you’re not ready to let go of what you do have. We have a list of ways that you can make extra money that don’t involve selling antiques. So hang on to them, or even better, make extra money on top of that sale.

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You Might Get Lucky and Hit Big

Someone with a Wedgwood five-piece place setting (dinner, salad and bread plates with cup and saucer) may get around $40-$60 per setting. Lenox brings in around $25-$35 and Mikasa around $20. Resellers and dealers, however, may pay more than $1,000 for a Royal Copenhagen Flora Danica dinner plate, the golden ticket of pre-owned china.

To gauge what your stash may bring, see what the patterns and pieces are selling for on Replacements Ltd. The country’s largest buyer and seller of previously owned china, crystal and flatware sells online and at its store in McLeansville, North Carolina, minutes outside Greensboro. It boasts 425,000 different patterns listed in its database and stocks new and preowned products in its 500,000 square feet of warehouse space.

Here’s a look at what items are selling for at Replacements. These are list prices the public pays to purchase items. Replacements’ payment to sellers will be less depending on supply and demand at the time of the transaction.

*These are list prices the public pays to purchase items. Replacements’ payment to sellers depends on supply and demand at the time of transaction and is less than list price.

How to Sell to Replacements Ltd.

Replacements’ website offers very clear directions on how to find out what the company will pay for your china, glasswear, silver or other collectibles. If you know your pattern, submit the pattern name and your personal contact information via an electronic form. Replacements will reply with what it’s paying for each piece of a pattern. It can also research a pattern by the photo if you don’t know the formal name.

Replacements may buy items with wear for a reduced price, but it doesn’t buy items that are cracked, chipped, stained, repaired or altered.

It isn’t doing in-person, drop off appointments right now. You will have to ship the items and you will be responsible for shipping.

The inspection process will take about 14 days after they receive the items. You can be paid with a check or through PayPal, Venmo or eGiftCard.

How to Sell to Consumers and Designers on Chairish.com 

The more unusual the china, barware, serving pieces or flatware, the more desirable it is to interior designers looking for distinctive pieces for clients or other dealers. Many buy from individual sellers who post their furniture, decor and barware and dinnerware on Chairsh.com.

“I think over the years it’s become a bit of a trend to create different spaces and clever spaces,” said Richard Hughes, Chief Creative Officer with Clear ph Design in St. Petersburg, Florida. “I think the more we’ve seen social media come into play the more outlandish people get with their ideas.”

His company creates digital marketing, develops brands and consults on interior design for commercial spaces.

“We utilize common online sources. … There are great sites like Chairish,” Hughes said.

Here’s how to sell on Chairish.com. It’s similar to eBay, in that you upload photos of your items and the company handles the payment process.  It charges an average of 30% of the sale price. Potential buyers can also offer less than the asking price so there is room for negotiating if your items don’t sell in the timeframe you’d like.

Should You Sell Your China on eBay? 

If you sell on eBay you are going directly to the buyer, who may pay more than a reseller who needs to build in a profit. Obviously, you are then also the one who has to pack it (or pay someone else to pack it) and ship it so it arrives to the buyer in tip-top shape.

But be warned, customers buying on eBay have the right to refuse the product and ship it back at the seller’s expense if they say it arrived in worse condition than expected.

Buyers have been known to say it arrived broken or chipped and ship back their own china in poor condition and keep the china they bought, according to Larry Weitkemper, who owned China Finders, a reseller in St. Petersburg, Florida. He recently closed the business after 40 years. He estimated they had a negative experience with an eBay buyer once a month or so. It was a cost of doing business.

But if you are selling a whole set of china or box of crystal goblets only once and a customer claims it arrived in poor condition then returns other items, your one shot at profiting off of Nana’s collection is shot.

10 Things to Know If You’re Selling Old Dishes

First, you need to know if it’s antique — just because it’s old to you doesn’t mean it’s a legit antique or has a lot of value. Antiques are generally at least 100 years old. Newer older items are considered vintage. Look to a professional for help. The market determines the prices, so your dream of getting rich off a single item for thousands of dollars is likely just that. Still, there’s money to be had.

Our vintage china and glassware experts have done their research. Here is their best advice for those of us surveying a relative’s china cabinet and trying to get past the floral bouquet in the middle of the plates. These 10 tips can help you find the best value hiding on the shelves.

1. Patterns Don’t Gain Value With Age

Now, that doesn’t mean old patterns are necessarily not worth good money as long as they are still popular with current consumers. But they are just not like other collectibles such as coins that gain value as they age.

2. Know the Patterns That Are Most Valuable

Herend

A platter recently sold for $200 on eBay while a salad plate went for $100. Herend originated in Hungary in 1839 and its pieces are typified by fine floral patterns. The history of the manufacturer and the fine craftsmanship overrules the fact that many younger people don’t want fussy porcelain pieces.

Royal Copenhagen Blue Fluted

A cup and saucer recently sold on eBay for $100 and  a salad plate fetched the same price.

Royal Copenhagen Flora Danica

This is about the most expensive player in the fine china reselling market. Two salad plates sold on eBay recently for $375 while a pickle dish sold for $500.

3. Discontinued Patterns Are Usually Worth More

Like most businesses, selling china, flatware and crystal is all about supply and demand. Patterns that are discontinued or no longer made are thus in more demand. Take for example, the popular off white Wedgewood patterns Nantucket Basket and Countryware. Nantucket Basket is still made, but Countryware, which features a border of cabbage leaves, was discontinued in 2006.

Check out eBay and you’ll see Countryware dinner plates range from $80 to $250, while Nantucket Basket dinner plates are $20 to $50.

4. Know Other Popular Patterns

Replacements lists its top selling patterns, which is a good indicator the valuable china is selling well on other sites, with dealers and individually. But that doesn’t mean they will always command top dollar.

Here are the links for:

• China
• Crystal
• Sterling flatware
• Stainless flatware
• Collectibles

5. Extra Pieces Vary in Demand

Butter dishes and salt and pepper sets are more sought after than spoon rests and coffee pots. The current values reflect modern cooking habits, and the selling price and pattern don’t matter much. Many companies have produced these pieces and they can be found online and in antiques shops in abundance.

6. Wine Glasses Are Out, Water Goblets Are In

Even baby boomers are likely to want glasses that can hold a larger pour. These days, a new standard wine glass sold at retailers from Target to Crate & Barrel holds about 12 ounces, but older crystal wine glasses might hold half of that. Thus, there’s more demand for your vintage crystal water goblets, which will be used for savoring wine.

7. Gold Trim Can Affect the Sale

The 20-year-olds and 30-year-olds — heck almost everyone — buying china today want to put all their dishes in the microwave or dishwasher. Washing individual pieces by hand isn’t going to fly no matter if the current value is affordable and even if they like the pattern. And reheating food in the microwave is standard these days. The dishes have to fit the job, and just being valuable doesn’t cut it.

Most dishes with gold trim can’t go in the dishwasher and can’t go in the microwave.

8. Shipping Is Costly

If selling to Replacements, you will pay for packing and shipping your china. That can cancel out or at least heavily cut into whatever profit you expect to make. Consider this if you purchased good-condition china to resell. Always do your research first.

9. Country of Origin Counts

China and glassware made in America or England is more desirable. China produced after the Civil War often has identifying marks on the back of each piece indicating its country of origin. Bone china made in England usually has a crown stamp on the back. If the pieces are bright in color — lime green or purple even — they are likely not vintage.

In the table above, you can see how Dansk’s Christianshavn Blue is more valuable if it is manufactured in Portugal than when they are made in Thailand.

10. Limitations of Christmas China Patterns

Many manufacturers have lines of Christmas china. It tends to sell well throughout the year, but especially in September and October. Some of the most popular Christmas china patterns are Spode’s Christmas Tree, which was first made in 1928; Lenox’s Holiday holly pattern (beware the gold leaf), and Johnson Brothers’ Merry Christmas, made from 1958 to 1995.

The Johnson pattern has a cozy Christmas scene on the middle of the plate, complete with a roaring fireplace.

If you find a set for 12 of any of these patterns, it’s still not likely you’ll bring in thousands of dollars, though a Johnson Merry Christmas dinner plate is fetching about $70 on Replacements. The current value of a dinner plate of Spode’s Christmas Tree is about $45. And Lenox’s Holiday holly plate could get nearly $70 through an antique dealer.

Katherine Snow Smith is a freelance editor and reporter living in St. Petersburg, Florida. She’s the author of Rules for the Southern Rulebreaker: Missteps & Lessons Learned. 

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