Most of our elderly clients have at least one set of china. It’s often a set that they registered for when they were married fifty or sixty years ago. For this generation, china was considered an essential part of a middle or upper-class family’s home. Sets were displayed proudly in a display cabinet in the dining room. This was so common that the cabinets are called china cabinets.
These sets are usually in excellent condition. The reason is simple. Most of this china has rarely, if ever, been used. Because they are fragile, and were expensive to purchase, our clients only used them on special occasions. Some kept waiting for an occasion special enough only to find it never arrived.
Almost daily I find myself having the same conversation. Even though our clients’ grandkids have said “no thank you,” even though they’ve read articles about how nobody wants china anymore, they still hold out hope that their set is the exception and that we will be able to sell it for lots of money. It was expensive when it was given to them, so naturally they think it must still be valuable.
The simple problem is that today’s young people don’t want china anymore. They don’t want the hassle of cleaning the set by hand and they don’t want to waste a full cabinet drawer to hold it all. And they certainly don’t want to buy a display cabinet to hold it all. Many value experiences over possessions, registering for vacations instead of kitchenware.
Aside from the lack of demand for china, another reason it is hard to sell is that it is expensive to move. Because it is delicate, each piece has to be packed with a lot of protective material. And because china is heavy, it needs to be packed in multiple boxes.
One of the first things you learn when you get into the moving business is that heavy boxes are at most risk of being dropped. If a heavy box contains books or papers and is accidentally dropped, this is not usually a problem. Paper doesn’t break. But if a heavy box containing something breakable like china is dropped, there is a good chance the contents will be destroyed. So even if you find a buyer for your set, the cost of shipping it will often exceed the re-sale value.
Very occasionally a particular set of china will turn out to have value, so it is worth checking with an auction house or dealer. But the vast majority that we have dealt with either doesn’t sell at all or sells for very low amounts. Please do not assume you are doing your heirs a great financial favor by leaving it for them to sell.
We generally encourage clients to donate their china. Most of the places we work with will still take decorative items because they can sell each piece for a small amount and still make a little money. I have seen cups and saucers sell for a few dollars each at thrift stores. But I fear that even the options for donating china are going to become more limited in the future. There is just too much of it available.
And if you’re not ready to donate, our advice? Use it! Make every day that special occasion. Oatmeal takes on a whole new taste when served in a fancy bowl with floral patterns. And it can be fun to serve your guests an after-dinner drink in a cute teacup. If it chips, throw it away.
I know this may sound reckless. You may be shaking your head as you read this, thinking of how expensive your set was or how your mother would carefully hold one of her plates and remind you about her wedding and how she selected this particular set to register for.
The key to keep in mind is that the purchase price of your china, like so much else in your home, has no bearing on what the china is worth now. Now it is only worth what someone will pay you for it. And that someone – that potential purchaser – can buy a decent set of dishwasher-safe, unbreakable dinnerware from Amazon or IKEA for a song.
