Selling dinnerware when buyers just want dinner to put on it
I currently have some dinnerware sets listed. They have gorgeous patterns, glazing, and excellent durability. There is just one tiny problem. Right now, most buyers are focused on finding actual dinner to put on their plates, rather than buying new plates to hold imaginary dinners.
My views are lower than my bank account balance. I am starting to think my target audience is currently clipping grocery coupons instead of browsing vintage porcelain.
Has anyone successfully convinced a buyer that eating budget mac-and-cheese feels 50% classier when served on a silver-rimmed plate? Should I start listing these sets with a free box of pasta and a can of tuna just to move inventory?😀
69 comments
jdbelt1960
·4 months agoThis conversation seems to have steered itself toward the economy. Getting back to your original issue, the fact is there is a small market for fancy porcelain dinnerware. New houses are not even built with dining rooms anymore. I am trying to sell vintage porcelain figurines, and it is tough.
soh.maryl
·4 months agoSeems like quite a few of us are not too interested in what feels 50% classier, and more tuned into being able to afford something to dish up on whatever dinnerware it's served on.
chapeau-noir
·4 months agoGotta love people finger wagging at me like I'm making this all up, or that our volunteer efforts and attention to our local community is somehow bogus.
I have nothing to say to you people.
powell-collectibles
·4 months agoI don’t think that anyone if saying that some people don’t need some help and that people like you are making up stories.
pickapaper
·4 months agoNobody is wagging their finger at you. I did not say you were making this up or that anything you said was bogus. I said I don't know how it is in your part of the country; I only explained how it is where I live as far as helping feed children and seniors. The same with homeless. There are multiple resources including a very nice "diner" that feeds the homeless every day. A long time ago, it was hard for people to get help with food. Fortunately, that isn't true anymore, at least where I live.
fern*wood
·4 months agoThat might have been the case in past years, but many programs have now been cut or eliminated altogether. I don't know how anyone can claim the numbers aren't true without any proof. Some feel free to claim they are wrong, and in the same breath claim they have no way to know what the numbers are.
ten_o_nine
OP4 months agoNearly 4.3 million Americans lost their SNAP benefits (food stamps) between January 2025 and early 2026. This represents roughly a 10% decline in total enrollment.
oldwestgold
·4 months agoGood. They can work. Sustain themselves and get off taxpayers' backs.
pickapaper
·4 months agoI know that some programs have been cut or eliminated, which is unfortunate, but there are still a lot available here. No where in my posts did I say anything about "numbers"; not even sure what numbers you are referring to.
fern*wood
·4 months agoYes, I'm sorry if you thought my reference to "some" meant you. I should have clarified that was in response to another poster that I do not care to even respond to. They were the one saying the numbers are wrong.
frugalmarketplace
·4 months ago@fern*wood
It is bad where we live..so many people have lost SNAP benefits. No one should be hungry anywhere. it is a criminal situation.
oldwestgold
·4 months agoNobody wagged their fingers at her. Differing opinions must not be in her cards.
oldwestgold
·4 months agoYou might want to rethink your thought process or get out more to be better informed. Most seem to disagree with you. So nasty - "YOU PEOPLE". Hmmm, no comment.
jdbelt1960
·4 months agoI hear that formal dining rooms, china cabinets and porcelain is about to make a comeback. I sell porcelain collectibles and am holding on. We are going to be rich when that happens!
keziak
·4 months agoIs that when the current teens and 20-somethings finally buy a house and decide they want stuff they might have grown up with? IN my case I bought because of what we had in my grandparent's house.
Or maybe your remark was tongue in cheek. My 20something wouldn't take a set of Peach Lustre if I threw it at them.
soh.maryl
·4 months agoYes, joined with a few friends who live in large houses with dining rooms to start that rumor.
Should be a lot of bidders on their Lenox, Noritake and Port Merion dinnerware.
simba6
·5 months agoOther than the " ball room " , people don't seem to be having big formal dinners like they used to. China and table settings don't seem to move like they used to.
oldwestgold
·4 months agoBingo! You nailed it.
stainlessenginecovers
·5 months agoHot Dogs on Monday.
Hot Dog soup on Tuesday.
Stretch your dollar today!
oldwestgold
·5 months agoNobody is starving in my area. Restaurants are packed any day of the week, just as the casinos are. The homeless can even get free meals delivered right to them. Between the shelters, churches, and pantries, there is no reason for anyone to go hungry. Driving up to Detroit the other day, I saw a billboard that stated Kroger has donated over 150 million free dinners. If anyone is going hungry today, it is their own fault. Local churches have so much food being donated that they find they don't have enough people coming to take it all.
wri-8727
·5 months agoDropped off a carload of clothes and books at a SVDP with a bunch of old guys running the donation aspect of it. The man asked me how I was and I said my that elbow and wrist hurts but I got some good clothes for you. He told me clothes are their number 1 seller and I told him about reading on eBay that young people are buying 23% used. He looked at his sneakers proudly and I handed him a box of old man clothes, but then a box of young man clothes, then we started unloading the books. I carried a box of books up to the door to explain to the lady running things what I had and opened it telling her it's all good stuff and she told me they have a person who handles the books, (which I knew and which is why I came there), and I told her good. I loved the look on their faces when they saw my box of old books. It was a good day so I went home and had a ham sandwich.
PS I also like that SVDP because it does have a food bank and drove 30 miles out of my way to go there.
chapeau-noir
·5 months agoIt's not food availability, it's fuel availability.
keziak
·4 months agoThe big church around the corner has a food bank open Saturday mornings. The cars line up for blocks. Mostly SUVs and similar big vehicles. They must pay a fortune for gas now. Also bills for cable and phones. It's so expensive to just live.
oldwestgold
·4 months agoIt always has been expensive to live within your means. 99% of people don't need an expensive cell phone, yet they feel everyone in the family must have one. Same with cable. I have yet to see a skinny person waiting in line for free food anywhere.
frugalmarketplace
·4 months ago@oldwestgold
That comment about fat people is inappropriate to say the least. BTW I am very thin…so don’t think you hit my nerves…what a shame you think that way.
gurlcat
·4 months agoHe was just showing his ignorance about hunger, the cliche concept that poor people should be skin and bones like in Medieval times or whatever. Nowadays it's actually extremely common for poor people to be overweight but malnourished, which is completely unrelated. The cheapest foods are high-carb and high-fat, but low-vitamin/mineral content. Ramen, mac n' cheese, hotdogs -yeah a person can survive on such things and would look wealthy to a Medieval person, due to the excess body fat, but at the same time suffer from diabetes, fatigue, poor immune system, slow illness/injury recovery, increased cancer risk, etc.
Yeah there are some relatively high-nutrient foods that are cheap (dried beans or bagged potatoes for example), but millions of people live in 'food deserts' where the nearest stores are just little bodegas that don't carry many groceries, mostly snacks, and they don't have a way to get to Walmart or whatever. Also you can't cook if your power is shut off or you don't even have a home with a kitchen.
There are sooooo many more homeless people around that aren't easy to recognize as such, because they're not the stereotypical guy asking for change at the gas station. They live in a car or "couch surf", and a tragically high portion of them are children.
By the way @frugalmarketplace I'm making this reply to you, not him, because he's not worth talking to. But these^ facts are just the basics that everyone should know about poverty and nutrition. The face of hunger in America doesn't look anything like it did in Medieval Europe, or even in America 50 years ago, for that matter.
frugalmarketplace
·4 months ago@gurlcat
I was having the same conversation with my husband this morning. You said it well. I am appalled at the attitudes that seem to prevail. It makes me so angry….I am speechless at that total ignorance.
Yes, beans, lentils, etc…soups can be very healthy. I buy little meat…We had a prime rib at Christmas, but it wasn’t something I would repeat.
We have most of our groceries delivered from Amazon. The prices are better, and the convenience is excellent. However many think they still need to go physically to the store. It saves money!
Thanks for your always kind and insightful posts. have a great weekend.
oldwestgold
·4 months agoThe OP is posting about food. Availability of fuel?!?! It's everywhere. There is no shortage. If drivers can't handle a buck or so extra a gallon, then they shouldn't be driving a vehicle that costs tons to maintain, insurance, etc. Cut back on the dinners out, etc. Get a second or a third job. I had to in my early years, and also went to college full-time. Paid for that too, no freebies. Too many soft people today, crying all the time. That's life. Something somewhere will always be going up in price. Prepare for it. Complaining about it does no one any good. Fuel availability? Geez. Tons of options - bus, car pool, bike, walk, whatever. The problem today is that people do not use their brains when confronted with a challenge. Just like here, people are selling used books or clothes, making a few bucks for their time. And then some spend days here babbling when their time could be better spent. I stop by once in a while and find the same thing. People are wasting their time when they could make an effort to be more productive and make more money. That's really sad to me, as everyone's time is valuable. Age or wealth has nothing to do with it. Working the problem solves the problem. Complaining does nothing but waste valuable time that you will never get back. If you are not selling to make extra money, that's fine too. But you have no room to complain about your small profits then. To each their own. I choose to make a good profit for the short time I have left in life. An old gentleman once told me, "Profit isn't a dirty word."
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Don't look back. You aren't going that way.
frugalmarketplace
·4 months ago@oldwestgold
We are comfortable and not complaining. However people who have to go to work, have families to feed have challenges. Yes there are stupid people who over spend. Have gas or diesel guzzling trucks because they think they are cool… Like my neighbor 60 years old putting in a $125.000 pool ..An idiot. he won’t complain because he is one of those who supports this mess.
I am probably older than you…I didn’t support the 😡 that got us in the mess, and I am genuinely worried for our world.
powell-collectibles
·5 months agoI would think that you are more right than wrong on this one. It doesn’t make sense that there are that many “food insecure“ people in this country. I’ve actually looked at the questions they use to make this judgment in various surveys. It absolutely doesn’t indicate that someone truly is food insecure, or have enough to eat. One is deemed food insecure if on food stamps. One is deemed to be food insecure if he receives food from a charity.One is deemed to be food insecure if they simply worry about having money to buy food. That really isn’t someone starving – it is just someone that doesn’t have all the money that he wants to buy whatever he wants. Heck, even if I choose to intermittently fast or I’m accustomed to one full meal per day, plus a bunch of snacks, I would be deemed to be food insecure. that is all a bit ridiculous.
chapeau-noir
·5 months agoI was just helping with local food insecurity - here it means "not enough to eat", i.e., kids going without breakfast, elderly spreading one meal across an entire day, etc.
pickapaper
·4 months agoI can't speak for your part of the country but here in middle America, for many years, schools serve free breakfast to kids year round, even in the summer when school is out, and the requirement to qualify is so very low so that almost every kid is included. They also send "backpacks" full of snacks and things home with kids so they have something to eat at home. That paired with the pantries available (there are two here in my town of 10,000), kids should not have to go without breakfast.
The same is true for the elderly with Meals on Wheels, "commodity boxes", pantries, etc. In addition to those, our Senior Center serves a meal every day for a very small amount of money or free for those who can't pay and I think they will even deliver if someone can't get out. I'm sure there are elderly who "have to spread one meal across an entire day", but it doesn't make sense because there is help available for asking.
oldwestgold
·4 months agoYep, what you state is the truth everywhere.
powell-collectibles
·4 months agoAbsolutely, I wouldn't claim that there is zero real hunger in this country, let alone feel confident in my knowledge to come up with a number even close to realistic. I'm just pointing out that "food insecure" isn't at all an honest number. It is designed to create a false burning platform and call to action. The numbers aren't credible, but plenty of intelligent people will cite them without even a modicum of easy investigation into their validity. You get some sketchy questionnaires that overinflate the issue and some that I'd pretty much consider bald-faced lies because of how misleading they are.
Even in the best of the surveys - the U.S. gov't's survey - food insecurity is an issue but nowhere close to the crazy high numbers that some report. If you take out the "plenty to eat, but I'd prefer a different variety" crowd, we're at 5% food insecurity. And some of that is self-inflicted, and no amount of throwing money at this problem is going to fix it.
The private surveys and estimates that show 1/4 of American are food insecure are just crazy. No surprise that organizations with a vested interest in a food-insecure narrative pump up the numbers.
soh.maryl
·4 months agoWhat part of the country is your residence?
Need to tell the movers where to deliver my household furnishings.
oldwestgold
·4 months agoMidwest - Ohio. Welcome. That darn old Midwest is so full of rich people.
ten_o_nine
OP4 months ago@oldwestgold
Nobody is starving in my area. Restaurants are packed any day of the week
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That's because it's cheaper to eat out than prepare the same meal at home.
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Driving up to Detroit the other day, I saw a billboard that stated Kroger has donated over 150 million free dinners.
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Kroger wouldn't donate 150 million free dinners if the need wasn't there and nobody was starving.
oldwestgold
·4 months agoLaughable. You proved my point. There is no reason to go hungry. Kroger donated 150 million meals. Thanks again for proving my point. Sorry, you can't understand that you did. Cheaper to go out?!?!? Then I guess fuel is not a problem for you, along with tips.
ten_o_nine
OP4 months ago@oldwestgold
Laughable. You proved my point. There is no reason to go hungry. Kroger donated 150 million meals. Thanks again for proving my point.
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You're welcome, now stop your silly unsubstantiated replies.
slippinjimmy
·4 months agoDefine "area". do you mean your small community of Whitehouse or all of Lucas County?
Here's a local story (from 2022) about the situation in Toledo:
https://www.wtol.com/article/money/toledo-in-top-20-in-list-of-most-financially-stressed-us-cities/512-d08a9d61-d2b6-45f2-95bd-8b74e59214c5
gurlcat
·4 months ago@slippinjimmy Excellent counterpoint, but I can tell you exactly what he'd reply to that. Whatever was happening in 2022 was "Brandon's" fault, and since 2024 Toledo has become great again.
oldwestgold
·4 months agoAnd there it is - politics. Extremely lame. I live NEAR a Dem city and have all my 70 years. It's a dump, yet people survive. There is no food shortage anywhere here. If there is, it is your own fault. Do some research on that fact. Even the stray cats and dogs eat well. Thanks for showing your true colors - politics - so lame.
oldwestgold
·4 months agoI don't need to define anything. I travel all over the county. A story from 2022. Amazing. Sorry, you live in an area that isn't doing well. What else can you look up on me? Please go ahead. Why even post here - 1 FB and nothing for sale. Great use of your time and others.
gurlcat
·4 months agoIt's so bizarre how you always talk about casino business as proof that everything is milk and honey. As if gambling is done only by people who have extra money to blow, an accurate understanding of the risk of losing it, and the mental stability to make decisions purely on that understanding.
Those are the only kind of people who SHOULD be in a casino, but in reality they attract lots of people who are desperate, poorly-educated, literally believe in miracles, and can't stop trying no matter how obvious it is to anybody else that they should stop, exactly like someone who can't stop getting drunk even after it's cost them their marriage, job, liver function, etc.
muddylas
·4 months agoAnd, therein lies the rub. These responses have basically gone in two completely different directions, of which, both are basically sound.
1. Yes, people have to budget their food bills closer as basic groceries prices have risen a lot faster than household incomes. Additionally, there are many organized food type banks and free regional meal opportunities - no "real" dishes needed.
2. Beautiful dishes and well appointed table sets are definitely not on the last couple of generation's bucket lists. In fact, many of the young people I know ( 20's - 40's) don't even bother to eat meals together let alone at a table! Their money seems to be in electronics and making sure their kids have the most updated!
However, there are still and always will be, buyers who appreciate the finer side of dining and/or collecting and will not hesitate purchasing what they love. Patience is needed at this point, plus it would behoove you to diversify your offerings - bulk designer paper plates, bowls and cups, etc. LOL
oldwestgold
·4 months agoSorry you couldn't comprehend my statements. Wow. How you got there, I have no idea. Work harder and smarter. Then you will be like me.
frugalmarketplace
·4 months ago@oldwestgold
Most of us would not want to be like you. Try being a bit humble.
eoma689485
·5 months agoAre we talking...
Ventresca Tuna - if so, time to look at some dinnerware!
meme6253
·5 months agoYour post is funny & not so funny all at the same time, It has a lot of truth to it., I don't think anyone actually interested in it would be in need of a box of pasta, It's beautiful merchandise someone will want it, maybe just not right now.
ten_o_nine
OP4 months agoMaybe this will sound funny, President George W. Bush said, "I know how hard it is for you to put food on your family"
gurlcat
·5 months agoThis is the funniest/saddest/truest post I've seen in a long time. But things are only going to get sadder I'm afraid. I would advise anyone (who can) to stock up on some non-perishable foods at this time. I'm not talking hardcore 'prepper' M.R.E.'s, no bunker-digging or any of that, just more of the pantry items you would buy anyway. It's looking like some regions of the country may not have their grocery stores restocked by diesel-running trucks, as early as a month from now. Even if the Strait opens today there would still be a big lapse in fuel supply.
I sincerely hope I'm just being duped by fearmongers and you'll all have something to laugh at me about on July 4th, just like my friends on January 1st 2000, after they all went to an awesome New Year's party and I stayed home with my bottled water and rice. But they all got a nasty flu from everybody kissing everybody at midnight. And I really, REALLY love rice!
inhawaii
·5 months ago@gurlcat
Don't foget to turn that rice bag into clothing.
People are paying big bucks for that stuff.
https://nripulse.com/basmati-rice-bags-are-becoming-high-end-fashion-statements/
gurlcat
·5 months ago@inhawaii 😲 $1950?! I swear when I bought this bag I thought "No way I'm throwing this away when it's empty" -and I am a half-decent seamstress! I'm picturing all kinds of garments now.
How the heck did you know about this random fashion trend???
inhawaii
·5 months ago...........
sakic92710
·5 months agoShe eats her peas one at a time!
mantle1951
·5 months agoRemember what Confucius once said: woman who cooks carrots and peas in the same pot isn't very sanitary.😁
pickapaper
·5 months agoGroan.
iamalwaysright
·4 months agoiamalwaysright
·5 months agolol. As I read your post I was gonna say “then sell dinner”. Looks like you beat me to it.
soh.maryl
·5 months agoYes, I believe that, by the time you have a family to feed, you have at least a minimum amount of dinnerware to serve a meal and, especially now, your concern is more with buying the food to put on those dishes.
chapeau-noir
·5 months agoOur "family china" is Chinet 😂, but we eat good.
caldreamer
·5 months agoI like your novel idea about including box of mac & cheese. Thinking "outside the box" is very interesting.
Your items are lovely and your prices are very, very low. The only thing that could deters customers is the high shipping costs for heavyweight china items.
ten_o_nine
OP5 months ago@caldreamer
The only thing that could deters customers is the high shipping costs for heavyweight china items.
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For fragile items, it's not really the shipping cost, it's the packing materials. I spend a lot on packing because it's the only way to avoid damage and customer disappointment when they open the package.
pickapaper
·5 months ago@ten_o_nine
I don't think that free box of pasta or can of tuna would be a good idea. It would just add weight to the package which would increase the cost of shipping, which is already high.
I looked at your sold listings and it looks like you sell a lot of other things besides dinnerware. Since these other things are selling for you, beef up your listings with more non-dinnerware items. I'm sure you are aware that dinnerware is not that desirable anymore and is becoming more so with each generation. No one wants to spend hours in the kitchen hand-washing those silver-rimmed dishes. It's become a paper plate society.
P.S. I love your sense of humor.
frugalmarketplace
·5 months ago@pickapaper
No paper plates in this home or paper napkins…. 🍽️
pickapaper
·5 months agoI admire you for that, especially if you use cloth napkins on a daily basis. But do your dishes have to be hand-washed or do you throw them in the dishwasher?
I was mainly talking about those beautiful dinnerware sets that everyone kept in their china cabinets, brought out for big holiday family get togethers. Most of those dinnerware sets (and crystal and silver flatware) had to be handwashed. I know there are still people who have dinners like that, but most do not want to anymore. They are just as happy eating off a paper plate and spending the extra time visiting and enjoying the company.
keziak
·4 months agoI have two china cabinets with depression glass I bought when I f irst discovered ebay. these days we just don't have company and the stuff sits there untouched. My kids do not want it. Probably can't resell it. It's the sort of thing heirs have to deal with so at some point I need to do it myself. There is a hospital auxiliary shop here where I took plenty of dishes I bought to resell but didn't. Maybe one day I"ll box up the glass and take it there.
I have a mineral collection and it used to be in one of the cabinets but I actually like the stuff and ended up putting them in the hallway in the kind of curio cabinets you can put on a wall.
frugalmarketplace
·4 months ago@pickapaper
They go in the dishwasher…I don’t think anyone wants to wash dishes. I do like table linens…I have found that good napkins if you take them right out of the dryer and give them a good shake..they don’t need to be ironed..especially if they are pulled through napkin rings. I have always like the real stuff…no we don’t use “China” per say, but I like pretty dishes…there are so many.
What the OP has is lovely and as I said I was happy to give it away to our son…
We have the crystal…don’t use it…But I do like a decent wine glass. 🍷
frugalmarketplace
·5 months ago@ten_o_nine
You made my day!
Maybe switching to paper plates…Serious I love your business…beautiful pictures…We don’t need anymore sets..just gave two away to our son. One Wedgewood, and one Noritake…
I am still smiling. Sure toss in some macaroni. 🤫🤫🤫