What do I do with all this china?

Some things go out of fashion others are just not relevant anymore because life styles have changed. Anyone want any brass candlesticks or a mahogany commode? It is the same with dinner sets; eating and entertaining habits have changed nobody has any need for them.

Yes, now and again someone might want them for a one-off event, but that is all. When I was valuing the contents of my parent's house for probate, I printed the results of someone's attempts to sell a similar dinner set on ebay. After six weeks of weekly auctions it still didn't sell, so I valued my parent's Noritake dinner and tea set at £nil.

It was the same with the expensive reproduction Georgian dining suite; table chairs and sideboard. Even a charity shop wouldn't take it. They said they had had one such suite in their shop for months and had 3 more in their warehouse. In the end someone took the table and chairs, but I had to take the sideboard to the tip.

I will no longer keep all my cards from every event since the year dot
I must have a cull

Oh my goodness what an amazing bunch you are! So many good suggestions which I'll definitely pursue. I've also had contact with a couple of Gransnet members interested in buying some pieces.
As many of you have said, it's a good lesson for life - never keep anything for 'best' use it! and get rid of things you don't need/want. Having spent weeks clearing her house for example I will no longer keep all my cards from every event since the year dot. I'll never look at them again and yet another thing for my children to clear at some point.
many thanks to everyone for your help. x

This thread reminds me, yet again, that we really need to get rid of some 'stuff' so our family won't have the heart-breaking task of doing it.

jalima We have a large collection of Hornsea Contrast pottery, nearly all of it bought from the 'seconds' shop at the pottery, plus a few items picked up at car boot sales. We use it when we have a large family gathering ie. it's our 'best' china. My niece always refers to it as 'your retro china'. Cheek! I think it looks really modern.

We were near Hornsea recently and I was very disappointed to find that the pottery had closed down.

China has depreciated in value heavily over recent years. I have a hornsea collecting stored in the attic! I'm not giving it away! Have you tried a local auction/sale room with a reserve figure.

As a matter of interest, I got an email from our local auction house this morning about a forthcoming sale. In the catalogue was a Royal Worcester sixty piece bone china dinner service; estimate £30 to £50. It might not go for anything like that, and there are still fees to pay, but it could go for more. From looking at back sale results, dinner ware is either not making its estimate or it is bottom end. For instance, a Royal Doulton 80 piece dinner and tea service estimated at £40 to £60 made £35. Tea services are selling better. I hope you don't just have to give it away, it would be a shame. I'm in pretty much the same position myself, having a lot of nice china we rarely use any more.

I have been hunting for a three tier High Tea cake stand - my Mum and Gran had several but I don't know what happened to them after they died, they were probably despatched off to the Charity Shops along with other bits of china etc. My little granddaughters want to do an afternoon tea with their friends - I managed to find a lovely lustre coffee service in a local charity shop and a friend has kindly sent me a cake stand (her husband makes them from mismatched china, you just drill a hole in the centre of the plate and you can buy the central stand bit on ebay) so High Tea here we come!

Mumski if you would like me to take some Astley off your hands, depending on what you have and how much you want for it, I would be interested. I have half a set from when my Mother died! Look forward to hearing from you but don't know how you go about exchanging tel nos etc to chat about it on an open forum!

Contact a theatre/film company to see if they are interested in taking them or a company that hires that sort of stuff out.

Sorry it should have been Nextdoor not neighbours!

Not really this thread, but I have to say when Streetlife turned into Neighbours and was hopeless, one local person came up with the idea of having own Streetlife on Facebook, he started it last week, and loads of people have signed up, its a great idea, call it your own Town plus Streetlife, say "London Streetlife" on Facebook, it works have a go and see.

you can send a private message devongranny, see just above the post of the person you want to message

We did quite well at a table top sale and auction but you have to be very realistic about what people will pay.we have realised our children won't want anything they have enough china of their own.

Mumski if you would like me to take some Astley off your hands, depending on what you have and how much you want for it, I would be interested. I have half a set from when my Mother died! Look forward to hearing from you but don't know how you go about exchanging tel nos etc to chat about it on an open forum!

Some of the G plan teak furniture goes for a fairly high price on Ebay.

TriciaF I have two sets of the translucent Japanese tea sets, nearly 100 years old and brought home by my father but I doubt they are worth much at all. Because they are so delicate they are stored in china cabinets and rarely used so many have survived according to the lady in the charity shop. I do know that my DM used to use them for afternoon tea when they were stationed overseas but I have never dared!

Are there any teashops/cafes in your area seem to be the up and coming thing now only use china delf in their cafes.
We do have one in Gravesend area.

I use my mother's good China too. I have sold several items on eBay as 'cash on collection' and it is a great way to avoid the hassle of packing and postage.

Direne3 The collection only option worked very well for us a few months ago when we sold 2 x full 12 place settings of Royal Doulton plus all the serving dishes and condiment sets,it was 2 x identical sets used at OHs Grandparents hotel when they where in business many years ago,he was left it via his father,we had it on sale for 4 weeks on ebay and arranged to meet half way between at mutual service station,we made sure the items where in prestine condition and well wrapped in separate boxes and the buyer interested bought both sets and paid in cash on collection,they where obviously very sought after and we could have asked for more but we where very happy with the amount we made on the deal.

Perhaps a silly question but I assume that you are aware of EBay's 'Collection in person only' option which does away with the postage costs/problems. Alternatively, depending on the area in which you live, there may be a local selling site on Facebook - some really good ones here in Devon.

You could always do the same as us....I inherited all my DM's china, and as I couldn't bear to part with it, we use it!
Most evenings we have dinner from her Coalport Athlone dinner service, drink from her Baccarat crystal glasses and use her silver cutlery, made by Huttons of Sheffield in 1910.
I don't have a dishwasher, so there's no fear of me damaging anything. It all gets hand washed, dried and put away in the cabinet.
The cutlery is kept in the original mahogany table canteen, and polishing it all is one of my favourite tasks!
We still have our own Portmeirion crockery etc that we use for breakfast and lunch, but I really like setting the table properly for dinner, even when it's just the two of us.
It must look a bit odd, us at the table in our PJs eating sausage, egg and chips from fine china!
DH and I have been collecting antiques for about 18 years now, so all mum's stuff is in the right setting. We just find a lot of more modern stuff poorly made, and prefer things with a bit of character!

I suppose that the problem about selling furniture at auctions or on Ebay is the cost of delivery or collection (unless the buyer has a van).

We took quite a lot of my late mother's furniture to a charity, the local Sue Rider Home, where they hold regular auctions. They don't take upholstered furniture though, unless it has a label saying that it is fireproof. We took an old teak bedroom set there, probably G-Plan, which she had since the early 60's.

There are many local charities that take furniture, including the Salvation Army - families without much money still need furniture and are not so fussy about style - though they must be in good usable condition.

Just visited wodeston manor, fabulous very modern chandelier on display made up of broken plates, cups and saucers. So how about smashing some plates and topping a wooden garden table with a beautiful mosaic (find details on line). Breaking china will probably be hard for you, but you will have a lovely useful family reminder.