China

China

China or crockery is a very wide ranging catagory in terms of where best to dispose of it. Some really rare stuff may be best sold through the big auction houses. Others to more minor auction houses. For less valuable but still collectable items, Ebay is well worth a try. Of course if selling on Ebay you don’t necessarily have to do the selling yourself, there are firms who will do that on your behalf (such as Stuff U Sell, and, Auctioning4U); and they can also advise you on whether a given set of items is likely to sell on Ebay.

Categories

Antique Collectable China - Some china found lurking in the back of cupboards in the home could be quite sought after antiques. For example the work of Claris Cliffe. If it is really rare and collectable (such as original Claris Cliff works) then one of the big auction houses, such as Bonhams, Sotherbys or Christies may well be the best place for it. For the more minor collectable china (such as Susie Cooper) Ebay is worth considering. If selling on ebay do your research first to see what sort of price your china ought to go for and price accordingly.

Minor-Antique China – The sort of stuff that Antiques experts will value at £20 to £30 or less. Probably the best thing to do with this is donate it to a charity shop, but one that understands the value of it. Some charity shops seem to attract minor antiques, for example: Oxfam, or Marie Curie Cancer Care.

Collectable But Not Antique – Examples of this might include 1950s Homemaker Design china. Other examples are: Spode, Royal Doulton etc etc It may be worth trying to sell this on ebay, or to an independent dealer. There are some dealers who specialising in china matching (obtaining for people the missing parts of sets.

Reproductions Of Collectable China – Examples include Pastimes’ reproductions of Claris Cliff designs. This sort of china is probably best either sold on ebay, but making it quite clear in the listing that it is a reproduction, or donated to the kind of charity shop that appreciates collectables, such as Oxfam or Marie Curie.

General Purpose China – Ebay may be a possibility. General charity shops, bric-a-brac stalls at fairs, Freecycle, and Give And Take days are all worth a try.

Damaged China – Even if china is antique or collectable, if it is chipped then charity shops find it hard to sell. In that instance it is probably better to try selling it over the web, for example on Ebay, if you know the item ought to have a value. Chipped general purpose china should probably be taken to the dump, unless you can find someone on a community site such as Freegle looking for chipped china for some project or another (art project, or china smashing at a fair).