Selling China. Ebay?

December 31, 2003 12:05 AM

My husband had had some Villeroy and Boch Foxwood Tales china that he bought for his ex-wife (although she never liked it). I never liked having it because 1. it's a constant reminder of the ex, and 2. even if it weren't, it's just really not my style anyway (both this particular china and the idea of china in general). He's decided he wants to get rid of it, and we are thinking we'll sell it on Ebay. But we've never sold before, do people have some tips for us? Is there a better way to sell it than Ebay?
posted by Shoeburyness to home & garden (14 comments total)

Is the problem here the ex-wife or the money value of the dishes?
posted by crunchburger at 12:11 AM on December 31, 2003

eBay should be fine. If my buying experiences reflect the place as a whole, you'll find plenty of buyers dumb enough to pay quite a bit more than something is worth.

Poke around and find out how much the set is going for elsewhere. V&B is expensive stuff, far fancier than I'd ever want to purchase (and not, really, to my tastes). The only pieces we have were gifts from Mrs. von Boch herself, who used to be one of my wife's clients. They'd likely fetch a few bucks, but since they were gifts and all...
posted by majick at 12:25 AM on December 31, 2003

If these V&B platters are all that, I wonder if there is a 'niche' eBay-type site for selling them?
posted by crunchburger at 12:38 AM on December 31, 2003

Drinking some good champagne and flinging it piece by piece off a high ocean cliff in hopes that the shards will eventually become grains of sand on a happy sunblessed beach somewhere seems to me to be the better option. Which is a tip, maybe, but not so much the kind you were looking for, I guess.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 3:48 AM on December 31, 2003

You might want to contact a place like Replacements, which sells missing pattern pieces to people, to see if they want it.
posted by amberglow at 5:31 AM on December 31, 2003

Before you post it on eBay, take the whole set to your nearest mailing center and get some idea how much it will cost to send and insure.
posted by mischief at 5:35 AM on December 31, 2003

Before you post it on eBay, take the whole set to your nearest mailing center and get some idea how much it will cost to send and insure.

But unless you want your buyer to be screwed, choose a mailing center other than The UPS Store.
posted by trharlan at 6:40 AM on December 31, 2003

While I appreciate stavros' romantic [?] sentiment, please don't litter with them.
posted by majick at 7:08 AM on December 31, 2003

Who else would you suggest, trh?
posted by mischief at 7:39 AM on December 31, 2003

From personal experience, china doesn't sell well on eBay as a large lot. You could try selling it in place settings, but your price realized will still most likely be on the low end of the spectrum. I agree with Amberglow's suggestion of trying Replacements. I've never persoanlly sold to them, but know of people who have and were quite satisfied with their experiences.
posted by ScottUltra at 7:41 AM on December 31, 2003

Also ... if you do end up eBay'ing it, be sure to double box everything and insist on the buyer paying for insurance. It's definitely a hassle and expensive to double box items, but well worth it compared to the hassle and expense of having things broken in transit.
posted by ScottUltra at 7:45 AM on December 31, 2003

Heh, Stavros, that sounds fun, but I live in Colorado, and it's a long way to the beach. Besides, if we can make some money off this pointless bric-a-brac, why not? I'm going to contact Replacements and see what we can get for this stuff. For me, it's great all around-- getting rid of a reminder of the ex-wife, don't have to look at the stupid twee stuff anymore, plus some much needed money!
posted by Shoeburyness at 12:15 PM on December 31, 2003

You could also try consigning it at your local antique shop. If it's a particularly popular/collectible pattern, it could fetch a decent price. The shop owner would likely take a ~20% cut, though, so keep that in mind.
posted by me3dia at 1:24 PM on December 31, 2003

If you do sell it on Ebay, take great pictures. It is more than worth the extra fees to stuff tons of crisp, up-close pics of the item into your auction. This goes double for something as fragile and expensive as china. In my experience as both a buyer and seller, no other method of raising the final price of an item comes close to pictures... but good item description text is definitely second in line. Be sure to carefully describe the item, as well as the terms you're selling it under. Mischief's advice about the shipping fees is spot-on, because most people are leery about bidding on an item if the description doesn't clearly state the final shipping costs. Good luck on finding a buyer!
posted by vorfeed at 1:53 PM on December 31, 2003