Does anyone buy crystal stemware anymore? archived

We are wondering if anyone buys good crystal stemware anymore. We bought some Rosenthal many years ago, and were curious if anyone buys this kind of thing anymore, and even how to price it for selling. People have the glasses like we have listed for a bundle on Ebay, but no one seems to buy it or bid on it. We welcome any thoughts.

I have a Waterford crystal stemware set for 12. Most of it was wedding gifts, but I bought some myself. I only use it on holidays because it would be expensive to replace. I also have a Baccarat set of stemware from my grandmother which never gets used because I shudder to think of any of it getting broken.

I would think there would be a market for individual pieces for replacement, but I imagine it would be hard to sell a set worth a few thousand dollars to someone sight unseen.

I have some antique stemware that I inherited from an elderly friend of my mother's, years ago. We rarely use it, it's time-consuming to handwash and dry and I keep it for sentimental value more than anything else. I'd never buy something like it willingly. Hopefully, you can find an audience more receptive than I for your stemware.

I don't want to get rid of mine, and it does give me pleasure to look at it, but we don't use it.

We rarely use ours. When I was getting married, 'everyone' registered crystal as well as china (and not so much the more useful stuff a la Bed, Bath and Beyond.) So we found a pretty pattern and registered it and have lots now. I will certainly advise my children to be more practical.

i buy it but not for the premium it used to be sold at

I run estate and moving sales and find it very difficult if not impossible to sell.

If Replacements isn't buying it then it's likely it has little value or plenty of supply.

I love my crystal bar ware but it's a more modern pattern (not cut crystal) and I like a nice heavy glass when I'm having a cocktail. My stemware I'm not attached to at all.

absolutely! Everyone should have nice crystal stemware, in my opinion. The majority of it is on wedding registries, so its not something that most people would buy used. And, there is indeed a trend toward stemless and more casual styles. People register for it, and have it for life. Or it gets inherited. Rosenthal is a great brand. Is it 25+ years old? If so, maybe an antique shop would take it off your hands, though you won't get much for it that way. Can anyone in your family use it?

eliz said:

If Replacements isn't buying it then it's likely it has little value or plenty of supply.

I wouldn't recommend selling to them even if they are buying. My aunt had a set of dishes, replacements.com was selling the pattern for about $20 a plate. She contacted them and they offered her $1 a plate. On top of that they told her that she had to pay for shipping and insurance. She understands that they need to buy them for less than they sell them for, but 1/20th of the resale value plus shipping and insurance? Insane.

My problem with crystal is that it all has to be handwashed (at least in South Orange where even the china settting on a dishwasher will scratch them). I use mine whenever it's more than the two of us - because why have it if you never use it - but it's an added step to clean up. Daughter registered for an has the china & crystal (which she never uses). Sons and their wives were more practical.

I can wash mine in my dishwasher without a problem, so long as I am careful about how I load it. I try to alternate the glass pieces with plastic or similar. I definitely cannot 'close-pack' my dishwasher when the crystal is involved.

spontaneous said:

eliz said:

If Replacements isn't buying it then it's likely it has little value or plenty of supply.

I wouldn't recommend selling to them even if they are buying. My aunt had a set of dishes, replacements.com was selling the pattern for about $20 a plate. She contacted them and they offered her $1 a plate. On top of that they told her that she had to pay for shipping and insurance. She understands that they need to buy them for less than they sell them for, but 1/20th of the resale value plus shipping and insurance? Insane.

Yeah, selling to Replacements.com is a joke. They're offers are ridiculously low.

I think the dishwasher is one of the reasons good crystal is no longer valued as much as in the past. (However, purchasing new good crystal remains expensive.)

We just returned from Denmark. One of the Scandinavian crystal companies (Oreforrs, I think) was advertising that their crystal glassware was dishwasher safe because they have removed the lead from the formulation. Of course, we purchased our Oreforrs many years ago and it needs to be hand washed.

I love crystal and its many different patterns and cannot understand why the bland, boring Riedel crystal is now so popular.

jayjayp, use your Rosenthal and enjoy it. No use thinking of it as an asset.

campbell29 said:

I would think there would be a market for individual pieces for replacement, but I imagine it would be hard to sell a set worth a few thousand dollars to someone sight unseen.

That's because used crystal has very little value, besides sentimental, as this thread shows. Sorta like buying a new car...once it's driven off the lot the price plummets.

I'd be in the market for a nice set of crystal stemware for 8-10 people -- and china for that matter -- but would only be willing to pay a few hundred bucks. I'm guessing there's quite a gap between what buyers are willing to pay and what sellers perceive the worth, according to crazy_quilter.

We use what little stem ware we have quite often and I would love to have more. We eat in the dining room on the good china at least once or twice a month. My 11 year old son loves it when I let them use the crystal wine goblets for their milk.

We have a set of Tiffany stemware that we use all the time. Probably down three or four pieces since we got it as a result, but it's out whenever there's more than just two of us having a glass of wine. No sense keeping it stored someplace. Same for one of the sets of china (the other is 100+ yrs old and not very replaceable, so only for larger dinner parties or Thanksgiving).

We have a set of eight Lenox cut crystal glasses, which were a wedding gift ages ago, but I don't like them as much as the more casual, up-to-date sets we have bought for ourselves much more recently. That makes me sad, but honestly they are just gathering dust. I've thought of selling them often, but am not sure they would get much or sell particularly quickly.

In the same vein, do people buy formal china or flatware any more?

Tiffany holds its value, and Waterford more than the other names.
I think the fancy stemware is fun for kids, but when I have wine, I like it in the stemless glasses, now.

I like the stemless glasses, too, C_Q, although my husband the wine manager thinks it's sacrilege. I can see his point when it comes to white wine, since the hand's warmth raises the temperature of the wine through the bowl of any glass (hence the stem) but I STILL like those stemless glasses, particularly for a nice, rich, red wine.

I have a pile of Mikkasa Old Dublin wine and water glasses. Basically fake Waterford crystal. I never use them, and now drink wine out of lighter glasses. Was thinking of selling them on ebay, but this thread has me discouraged to even try.

PeggyC said:

I like the stemless glasses, too, C_Q, although my husband the wine manager thinks it's sacrilege. I can see his point when it comes to white wine, since the hand's warmth raises the temperature of the wine through the bowl of any glass (hence the stem) but I STILL like those stemless glasses, particularly for a nice, rich, red wine.

I like them too, but can't bring myself to buy them for the same reason. They're very attractive, but just not practical for white.

I have our wedding (Lenox) crystal and wish I used them more. If we've had people over for dinner, we've used them, but I think it makes most people uncomfortable - like it's too formal. (Although they're very very simple). Our china is the same way (plain white with platinum rim), but they're delicate and they just give too formal of a vibe. So, outside of Thanksgiving or Christmas, they don't get used. I have water goblets that were my grandmother's, but there's no marking on them so I don't know what they are - probably a wedding gift to them in the 1920s. It's a shame - I may just have to start using the wine glasses for every day... I hate that they don't get used and I don't have kids, so they will likely not get passed on unless any nieces/nephews will want them.

I love a perfect glass.

That is my trouble, too, Tiger. The Lenox just seems very formal, in a rather outdated way.

Of course, we have recently been working our way through the 35 wineries that grace Connecticut, and at nearly all of them, a tasting includes a logo glass. So we now have logo stemware in various shapes for about 14 wineries, and counting. Some of them are the stemless, and I find I'm using them, even for white wine. Shhhhhhh... don't tell Mr. PeggyC.

BTW, I also understand about not having kids and feeling bad about not having anyone to pass along heirloom stuff to. I also doubt that my niece and nephew would appreciate most of the stuff that I cherish. Oh, well.

boomie said:

I love a perfect glass.

Define what makes a "perfect glass" for you, please?

PeggyC said:

BTW, I also understand about not having kids and feeling bad about not having anyone to pass along heirloom stuff to. I also doubt that my niece and nephew would appreciate most of the stuff that I cherish. Oh, well.

FWIW, I truly believe we should buy things we'll cherish in our own lifetimes, and never worry about what happens to it when we're gone. But... I hope one of my 13 nieces/nephews will take at least some things, particularly some of the things that have been passed on to me. (Also hoping someone will want my well-preserved ugly wedding dress.) My aunts (neither of whom have kids) have offered many things to pass on. So far, with only one exception (because it has silver value) have I offered to take anything I didn't actually "want." And, if I don't have room for it, I sell off other things I have to make room for it. I have no intention of taking my mother's Blue Willow china (Never has food looked more unappetizing when eaten off of a blue plate), or the crystal that was her mother's. I'm sorry that it won't "live" on, but there is no way I'm taking that stuff.... I just hope I can find a good home for some of it, but it's doubtful.

I feel the same way, but when I see things that were in my parents' house for five decades and realize they will soon be in my home, I wish there was a way to achieve some continuity. For one thing, there's a gorgeous Eastlake dresser that was bought for my greatgrandparents' house, I believe, and it is sitting in my mother's abandoned house waiting for a place to go... I hate to sell it.

this is more about furniture but same idea: http://online.wsj.com/articles/why-the-market-for-heirloom-and-secondhand-furniture-has-disappeared-1404256129#printMode

I believe it, C_Q. When my FIL died two years ago we had a heck of a time getting rid of some of his furniture. I couldn't get anyone to take his sofa or the antique table and four chairs. Amazing.

I received this as a wedding present years ago and have never used it: http://www.tiffany.com/Shopping/Item.aspx?sku=21692999
But sounds like it isn't worth trying to sell it.
Like others I also have crystal stemware, but that really sounds like it's not worth selling.