Fiesta Fiasco?
June 21, 2013 11:49 AM Subscribe
Should I leave tonight and drive 700 miles to replace my crappy, crappy dishes? The Fiesta tent sale is this weekend and I am conflicted. Durable, colorful, glazed-stoneware snowflakes inside!
Our shitty IKEA dishes are ten years old and have begun shattering on a nerve-jarringly frequent basis. After much research (on The Green and beyond), we determined that we would like to replace them with Fiestaware, because it is classic and durable and mix-and-matchable and no longer radioactive. Plus, now every meal we consume will be A FIESTA!
Mere days after deciding to Fiesta-fy, I discovered that the Homer Laughlin Co. is holding their annual Fiesta Tent Sale THIS! VERY! WEEKEND in a wee corner of West Virginia. Here are the facts:
- I have a reliable, comfortable, fuel-efficient car. I made a spreadsheet, and the entire round-trip journey would require 12 hours of driving and $100 worth of gas. Plus tolls, however much they'd run.
- I do not mind driving long distances OR staying up all night OR going to ludicrous lengths for a bargain (I enjoy all of them, actually)... HOWEVER...
- IS this going to be a bargain? Have any Mefites been to similar shindigs? Will the amount of money I save be worth the time/money/ass-ache of traveling to WV? If the factory-second Fiestaware is, like, 70% off, then yes, it's worth it. But if it's less-heavily discounted than, say, a decent sale at JP Penney, I'm going to feel like a total dumbass.
Advice, Hive?
Our shitty IKEA dishes are ten years old and have begun shattering on a nerve-jarringly frequent basis. After much research (on The Green and beyond), we determined that we would like to replace them with Fiestaware, because it is classic and durable and mix-and-matchable and no longer radioactive. Plus, now every meal we consume will be A FIESTA!
Mere days after deciding to Fiesta-fy, I discovered that the Homer Laughlin Co. is holding their annual Fiesta Tent Sale THIS! VERY! WEEKEND in a wee corner of West Virginia. Here are the facts:
- I have a reliable, comfortable, fuel-efficient car. I made a spreadsheet, and the entire round-trip journey would require 12 hours of driving and $100 worth of gas. Plus tolls, however much they'd run.
- I do not mind driving long distances OR staying up all night OR going to ludicrous lengths for a bargain (I enjoy all of them, actually)... HOWEVER...
- IS this going to be a bargain? Have any Mefites been to similar shindigs? Will the amount of money I save be worth the time/money/ass-ache of traveling to WV? If the factory-second Fiestaware is, like, 70% off, then yes, it's worth it. But if it's less-heavily discounted than, say, a decent sale at JP Penney, I'm going to feel like a total dumbass.
Advice, Hive?
Best answer: The prices from their 2011 sale are here.
posted by tylerkaraszewski at 11:58 AM on June 21, 2013 [3 favorites]
posted by tylerkaraszewski at 11:58 AM on June 21, 2013 [3 favorites]
I don't know about the prices but if a spontaneous roadtrip to a never-before-seen wee corner of somewhere doesn't count as a fiesta, I don't know what does. Go and have fun collecting a few stories to tell over meals served on your collectible plates.
posted by headnsouth at 12:05 PM on June 21, 2013 [17 favorites]
posted by headnsouth at 12:05 PM on June 21, 2013 [17 favorites]
Do you have a couple of friends you can take with you? Honestly, this sounds like a fun adventure, provided you have the cash to drop to a) comfortably pay all the travel costs (including meals and getting a hotel if you need to) and b) can pay to come home with a huge trunk full of dishes.
Fiestaware will last for the rest of your life. This could also be a story you tell for the rest of your life. I'd totally do it if I weren't in Maine and had the cash to dedicate to it.
posted by anastasiav at 12:08 PM on June 21, 2013 [2 favorites]
Fiestaware will last for the rest of your life. This could also be a story you tell for the rest of your life. I'd totally do it if I weren't in Maine and had the cash to dedicate to it.
posted by anastasiav at 12:08 PM on June 21, 2013 [2 favorites]
Amazon has Fiestaware place settings for about $30. So you could buy eight place settings there for $140 more than the price of gas. If you can get eight place settings for less than $140 and you don't value your time or vehicle maintenance at all, then you'll break even.
There is also a ton of Fiestaware on eBay. The whole thing seems like a lot of hassle for dishes, but that's me.
posted by cnc at 12:09 PM on June 21, 2013 [2 favorites]
There is also a ton of Fiestaware on eBay. The whole thing seems like a lot of hassle for dishes, but that's me.
posted by cnc at 12:09 PM on June 21, 2013 [2 favorites]
Best answer: I used to go to a similar shindig for a line of china several relatives collected. A few things to consider:
-The seconds usually are seconds, so if you care about blobby glaze, etc., you'll want to inspect everything thoroughly for blobs, cracks, crazing, flea bites, etc.. Colors may not match non-seconds pieces or other seconds pieces.
-If you're looking for a specific piece or color, it may be a lot of searching if you find it at all. They will probably have a weird mix of pieces. (So if you're planning on all-blue Fiestaware and you're looking for a teapot and six dinner plates, you may or may not get lucky-- but if you're planning on having Fiestaware in Every Color Ever, and you can be flexible on the specific pieces you start out with, you'll find things! My mom was always flexible on patterns and found lots, while my cousin was very picky about her collection and only found a few pieces at any sale.)
-Dress for the weather. The one we went to was held in November and I always ended up standing around freezing my ass off.
-West Virginia is really pretty this time of year.
Bottom line: These things are fun and entertaining. If you're not looking for specific pieces, you may break even. Whether you save a lot of money will depend on what they have and what you're looking for.
posted by pie ninja at 12:09 PM on June 21, 2013 [1 favorite]
-The seconds usually are seconds, so if you care about blobby glaze, etc., you'll want to inspect everything thoroughly for blobs, cracks, crazing, flea bites, etc.. Colors may not match non-seconds pieces or other seconds pieces.
-If you're looking for a specific piece or color, it may be a lot of searching if you find it at all. They will probably have a weird mix of pieces. (So if you're planning on all-blue Fiestaware and you're looking for a teapot and six dinner plates, you may or may not get lucky-- but if you're planning on having Fiestaware in Every Color Ever, and you can be flexible on the specific pieces you start out with, you'll find things! My mom was always flexible on patterns and found lots, while my cousin was very picky about her collection and only found a few pieces at any sale.)
-Dress for the weather. The one we went to was held in November and I always ended up standing around freezing my ass off.
-West Virginia is really pretty this time of year.
Bottom line: These things are fun and entertaining. If you're not looking for specific pieces, you may break even. Whether you save a lot of money will depend on what they have and what you're looking for.
posted by pie ninja at 12:09 PM on June 21, 2013 [1 favorite]
It looks like tomorrow is the last day of the sale, so you might want to consider that things might be pretty picked over.
There's another tent sale at the Fiestaware Outlet in Sutton in just a few weeks. It might make more sense to go to that one instead.
posted by MsMolly at 12:16 PM on June 21, 2013
There's another tent sale at the Fiestaware Outlet in Sutton in just a few weeks. It might make more sense to go to that one instead.
posted by MsMolly at 12:16 PM on June 21, 2013
Best answer: oh god. the fiesta tent sale. i have been a few times.
first, i stop at the fiestaware outlet in sutton almost every single time i take a trip in to west virginia. the outlet is really similar to the tent sale (they have their own too). the things there are incredibly cheap for fiestaware - $2 for a mug, $3 for a plate, $4 for a bowl, $15 for a large serving bowl, etc. the downsides are that they don't have every color - sometimes they have 80,000 yellow and green plates, sometimes they have nothing but brown. it's a crapshoot. also, the quality is not perfect, if you care about that sort of thing (i do not). i have been able to make a pretty decent collection of fiestaware using this method, but i go home to west virginia a few times a year so...
here's the thing: i would recommend going if you want to amass a large quantity of fiestaware at a cheap price. but it is incredibly crowded. they give you tickets. you will stand in line for awhile. also, fiestaware is heavy! bring someone who can help you carry it! everything will be stacked haphazardly like this. you should familiarize yourself with what you want before you go, and what the names are (gusto bowls, pedestal bowls, cereal bowls, etc.) because things are listed on the price list by what they're called. this way you don't think you're buying 4 gusto bowls at $4 each and turns out they're pedestal bowls at $6 each. also it's FUN if you like things like this! oh and GO EARLY. people go early early early for this! i remember last year, i drove past the sutton tent sale at 7 am and there were about 100 people already there ready and waiting to get their tickets.
PROTIP: bring a sock to wear on your hand to wipe off all the pottery dust. it gets EVERYWHERE and it's good to wipe off the dishes to see if there are cracks or weird glazing issues.
if you can't make it this weekend, then please note that the outlet in sutton, wv, is open year-round. it's still reasonably priced as well and their tent sale is in august.
posted by kerning at 12:18 PM on June 21, 2013 [5 favorites]
first, i stop at the fiestaware outlet in sutton almost every single time i take a trip in to west virginia. the outlet is really similar to the tent sale (they have their own too). the things there are incredibly cheap for fiestaware - $2 for a mug, $3 for a plate, $4 for a bowl, $15 for a large serving bowl, etc. the downsides are that they don't have every color - sometimes they have 80,000 yellow and green plates, sometimes they have nothing but brown. it's a crapshoot. also, the quality is not perfect, if you care about that sort of thing (i do not). i have been able to make a pretty decent collection of fiestaware using this method, but i go home to west virginia a few times a year so...
here's the thing: i would recommend going if you want to amass a large quantity of fiestaware at a cheap price. but it is incredibly crowded. they give you tickets. you will stand in line for awhile. also, fiestaware is heavy! bring someone who can help you carry it! everything will be stacked haphazardly like this. you should familiarize yourself with what you want before you go, and what the names are (gusto bowls, pedestal bowls, cereal bowls, etc.) because things are listed on the price list by what they're called. this way you don't think you're buying 4 gusto bowls at $4 each and turns out they're pedestal bowls at $6 each. also it's FUN if you like things like this! oh and GO EARLY. people go early early early for this! i remember last year, i drove past the sutton tent sale at 7 am and there were about 100 people already there ready and waiting to get their tickets.
PROTIP: bring a sock to wear on your hand to wipe off all the pottery dust. it gets EVERYWHERE and it's good to wipe off the dishes to see if there are cracks or weird glazing issues.
if you can't make it this weekend, then please note that the outlet in sutton, wv, is open year-round. it's still reasonably priced as well and their tent sale is in august.
posted by kerning at 12:18 PM on June 21, 2013 [5 favorites]
Response by poster: Thanks, guys... I hadn't considered the facts that it'll probably be super picked-over AND I'll need grown-up help to carry everything (I only have wee-tiny-kid help). So this adventure may be a non-starter. The Sutton outlet sounds like a great adventure, though, so maybe I'll hit it on my next trip to Pittsburgh (although MAN, I hope I don't roll in there on an "all puce-colored water pitchers" weekend...).
posted by julthumbscrew at 12:26 PM on June 21, 2013 [3 favorites]
posted by julthumbscrew at 12:26 PM on June 21, 2013 [3 favorites]
I've been surprised at the variety of fiestaware that shows up on the shopgoodwill.com website. They even have a decently workable alerts system so you can put in keywords to watch out for upcoming items.
So, no, if you're not in a hurry I'd shop around on ebay, local 2nd hand shops, and the shopgoodwill site rather than drive all that way for who knows what sort of offering.
I'm not going to say that I'm not casually looking for a few board games in particular or a fiestaware butter dish but if you happen to see one pop up after taking my advice and signing up, with an alert (this is key), I'd appreciate you granting me some professional courtesy and not bidding on said neon yellow butter dish or classic HeroQuest / Dune board game. kthxbai
posted by RolandOfEld at 12:32 PM on June 21, 2013 [4 favorites]
So, no, if you're not in a hurry I'd shop around on ebay, local 2nd hand shops, and the shopgoodwill site rather than drive all that way for who knows what sort of offering.
I'm not going to say that I'm not casually looking for a few board games in particular or a fiestaware butter dish but if you happen to see one pop up after taking my advice and signing up, with an alert (this is key), I'd appreciate you granting me some professional courtesy and not bidding on said neon yellow butter dish or classic HeroQuest / Dune board game. kthxbai
posted by RolandOfEld at 12:32 PM on June 21, 2013 [4 favorites]
The savings on "place setting" dishes are not nearly as good as those for serving dishes and other pieces. If I were in your shoes, I'd find a decent price on 4- or 5-piece place settings and buy them. Then go next year for the other stuff. Meanwhile, you can look on Ebay, make a rational choice about what-all you want to buy, and plan your trip to be more enjoyable. Do some research on the net, try to find out more about what "second quality" means, and maybe ask for advice in some other forums.
This way you can have new dishes now and still get most of what you want at great prices later on. You'll be less likely to fall prey to the tent-sale fever and confusion. Next summer, you won't have to haul as much stuff because you'll already have the basics.
posted by wryly at 12:37 PM on June 21, 2013
This way you can have new dishes now and still get most of what you want at great prices later on. You'll be less likely to fall prey to the tent-sale fever and confusion. Next summer, you won't have to haul as much stuff because you'll already have the basics.
posted by wryly at 12:37 PM on June 21, 2013
Why don't you check out thrift stores in your area? I know I live in a comparatively affluent county in North Carolina, but I've seen matching china at thrift stores.
Even better idea: hit up some estate sales. Check Craigslist. Go to the rich parts of town. You might end up eating with silver spoons for the rest of your life if you find some particularly great hauls
posted by oceanjesse at 12:49 PM on June 21, 2013
Even better idea: hit up some estate sales. Check Craigslist. Go to the rich parts of town. You might end up eating with silver spoons for the rest of your life if you find some particularly great hauls
posted by oceanjesse at 12:49 PM on June 21, 2013
You can pick up Fiestaware at garage sales all over the place. I sold my whole set for $250 when we moved.
Don't go to VW. You really won't get that great of a bargain, besides the whole point of Fiestaware is the hunt.
I got a starter set of purple seconds, plates, cups, small plates and bowls, at the Spiegel Outlet for $30 for 8 place settings.
Then I picked up other pieces at Macy's or any of the other places that sell it. Once you get the bug, it's hard to give up. You start haunting the housewares section of the clearance aisle.
Google it and you can see all the different retailers.
My advice. Splurge on a starter set, then add pieces as you come upon them.
This thread has been a trigger, I'm craving Fiestaware again!
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 12:56 PM on June 21, 2013 [1 favorite]
Don't go to VW. You really won't get that great of a bargain, besides the whole point of Fiestaware is the hunt.
I got a starter set of purple seconds, plates, cups, small plates and bowls, at the Spiegel Outlet for $30 for 8 place settings.
Then I picked up other pieces at Macy's or any of the other places that sell it. Once you get the bug, it's hard to give up. You start haunting the housewares section of the clearance aisle.
Google it and you can see all the different retailers.
My advice. Splurge on a starter set, then add pieces as you come upon them.
This thread has been a trigger, I'm craving Fiestaware again!
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 12:56 PM on June 21, 2013 [1 favorite]
I drove 400 miles for an old radio. Road trips are fun especially if they are done on impulse. Go. Buy the dishes.
posted by brownrd at 2:19 PM on June 21, 2013 [3 favorites]
posted by brownrd at 2:19 PM on June 21, 2013 [3 favorites]
I usually by my Fiestaware at Kohls - they have pretty good sales every few months. We don't drink coffee so the place settings weren't a good deal for us. But I love picking up a few more bowls or plates a couple times of year. It's fun to add some new colors and the kids love it!
posted by dawkins_7 at 4:57 PM on June 21, 2013
posted by dawkins_7 at 4:57 PM on June 21, 2013
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by phunniemee at 11:55 AM on June 21, 2013