Hello hive mind - would love your thoughts on this. We have inherited two whole housefulls of stuff from a beloved aunt who passed away unexpectedly. We just had an estate sale but there is still very nice stuff that didn’t sell that I’m not sure what to do with. There’s a beautiful set of white and gold Limoges china. Very much not my taste or anything that anyone I know would want - but there are also about 15 large pieces of Capodimonte pottery. It’s not my taste (or to the taste of anyone who came to the estate sale) but what do I do with it? The china and the Capodimonte seem awfully nice to donate to Goodwill. But I don’t think I have the skills to sell online/pack safely and ship. Does anyone have any advice? I’m thinking about going to the antique center this weekend and see if anyone there would take them on commission or if anyone has a booth specilizing in that aesthetic. It’s not really about making money off of these items - I just feel like if I give them to Goodwill they will get junked? But maybe that is what needs to happen to these items. I am puzzled with how to handle. Would love thoughts.
That’s tough. The estate sale company we used this past summer took care of getting rid of everything that didn’t sell. But yeah, it stinks. I’m pretty sure they had to junk my parents’ grand piano and an old family organ. The company tried selling the instruments through multiple channels with no luck. They couldn’t find anyone to donate them to, either. 
Never heard of capodimonte before but it looks like some of it is very valuable.
I would definitely go to a reputable antiques dealer to get advice, unless you are certain that your pieces are not the valuable ones.
Our estate agent also took care of disposing anything that didn’t sell.
I think your gut to talk to an antique dealer in your town is a good one.
That said, there doesn’t seem to be a market anymore for china and those types of collectibles. We were lucky that we had family members who wanted my parents’ 5 sets of china (yes, there were 5 complete sets).
My parents also had 5 sets of china:)
I donated, gave away, put stuff on the curb. Felt like I was getting rid of my parents’ lives but I definitely didn’t want it all in my house. I think a stop at the antique dealer might be worth your time.
Do you live near a big city? I live 2 hours away from a big city, but I advertised a capodimonte chandelier that came with a house we bought on the big city Craigslist page. I put a very high price on it and had lots of interest and sold it very quickly to someone who was thrilled to drive all the way here to pick up the chandelier for a “steal” ($1250). Almost no effort on my part.
Yes, an antiques appraiser could help. Some charities or church run housing programs may take them.
Could check here https://www.sothebys.com/en/sell/ceramics/european/porcelain-and-china
eBay if you care about getting some money for it.
I think @toledo knows a bit about china and maybe selling it. Tagging her here!
I volunteer at a charity thrift store. A place like that will take your Limoges and capodimonte, and other stuff as a donation.
I will say, capodimonte is very difficult to sell, and most of it has little chips on at least one flower petal.
But really, I would suggest you look for a local charity thrift store, that sells locally as well.
And to you folks above…my mom had twelve sets of dishes…I not making this up….and an equal number of eating utensils…stainless, Sterling and silverplate sets. We gave most of it away. Kept one set of dishes, and the Sterling flatware.
Yep. It is awful stuff. (Sorry if anyone likes it.) But it’s full of pointy ends and awkward shapes, so it’s not something I can easily sell/pack/ship on ebay or etsy. My dad was an antique dealer so I actually DO think it all has some value, so I am torn between trying to put the time in to sell it all and saying that my time is probably worth a lot more, if I am honest.
You can always throw it up on FB Marketplace and see what happens. Make part of the conditions of it that they have to pick it up “as is” in boxes or however it currently is stored.
You sort of have to decide which is more important to you:
- That you get some $$ value out of it.
- That it gets in the hands of someone who wants it and not tossed.
You can try for #1 but if there are no takers you can put it on a “free” site locally and figure that anyone who takes the time to get it has some plan for it.
You can just take pics of it and put it on your own FB page and note it is for sale. This might go to friends and friends of friends. You might get some takers.
Also, if you give up on selling items, you can post on your local “Buy Nothing” Facebook group — it’s quite interesting what people will end up wanting and taking.
Will replacements.com take china (on consignment or otherwise)?
I look at decor and so forth on Chairish.com. I’ve never bought from them, though. They do consignment.
A couple of years ago I came thisclose to buying a Limoges tea set for all of $75 in a fancier Goodwill. The husband just rolled his eyes and asked where I’d put it and when I’d use it. I didn’t have any answers, so there it stayed.
I am assuming the pieces are older. If so, check with your local historical society. Ours has relationships with a network various special interest groups and organizations that accept items for charity auctions or collections. You won’t get any money but the items will get a good home.
If you want to find out the value, first you have to identify the pattern name. The easiest way to do that is to search on ebay or to send pictures to Replacements.com. Replacements would also tell you how much they would give you (generally less than a third of the value), but you would be responsible for shipping to them. Once you know the pattern, you could go to ebay and look for the sold box, in the left hand column of the screen. That tells you what pieces have sold for in the past. To be honest, most china has very little value these days. If Goodwill thinks pieces are valuable, they may post them for sale on shopgoodwill.com and ship them out to winning bidders. If you decide to ship them yourself, I recommend double-boxing or having at least two inches of padding between the piece and the box, on all sides. The fewer pieces in a box, the greater the chances of shipment arriving safely. I use USPS Priority mail and generally have good luck.
Replacements will take things…BUT you pay the shipping to them…and they go through the stuff. If they don’t want things…and you want them back, YOU pay the return shipping too.
For glass anything, that can get costly.
Replacements sells things for a lot…but they pay pennies on the dollar.
I love the local buy/sell pages over goodwill. I have no idea what people do with the things but you are giving to someone in your community who is usually very appreciative. Most people on those pages are looking to upcycle things and prevent them from going into landfills. Can’t recommend it enough if your goal is to have someone take it away and appreciate it.