posted on July 26, 2002 11:32:19 AM
I buy & sell china & sometimes have difficulty in IDing a pattern, especially with Haviland. I decided to get a set of books that were written by Arlene Schleiger. They are the word on Haviland patterns. There is a set on sale on eBay with BIN of $24.95 each. There are 7 volumes. This would be $174.65. I can get them direct from Donna Schleiger for $145.00 & that includes shipping.
posted on July 26, 2002 12:14:17 PM
Figure out what the postage will be for both sets. What is the price without the BIN? Have you been to a Barnes and Noble? Not the one on the internet but the brick and mortor one. They just might have it cheaper.
That's a hefty sum for books but if you think that having them would bring more money then go ahead and buy them. But remember you can also go to replacements.com and maybe find the patterns for nothing.
posted on July 26, 2002 02:26:51 PM
Libra63; I have been dealing with Replacements Ltd for 7 years, & you are right I can get IDs from them, but that doesn't do me any good when I am in the field and need an ID right now. I can't afford to buy a pig in a poke. Not all china including Haviland sells for the same price. Nor pieces have the same value. I have sold cups & saucers for $25.00 each & have given them to Good Will as they were only worth a dime each. I sell between 10 & 15M to Replacements per yr. I just shipped 5 cartons this week. As far as the price of the books. Schleiger's price includes shipping. The other will ship book rate at about $2.00 each volume, another $14.00. I hjave about 25 reference books on china & have never paid less than $20.00 for one. When you are dealing with china in the quantities that I buy, it is important to be able to be able to spot a good buy. I spend almost every weekend at an auction or Estate sale. Last weekend I picked up 5 stes & passed on 2 sets of Haviland.
[ edited by sanmar on Jul 26, 2002 02:34 PM ]
posted on July 26, 2002 02:33:53 PM
Sounds like you have a good repour with replacements. Now I understand what you mean and I guess the books would be helpful, but I have books that are so out of date and would this happen to these books or are you just interested in the pictures? If it doesn't matter I would buy the cheaper set or wait maybe if they don't get a bid then maybe they would relist at a lower rate. Why not make the seller an offer, it wouldn't hurt.
posted on July 26, 2002 02:37:38 PM
I have already put a check in the mail to Schleiger. One thing about these books, they never go out of date. The pattern never changes nor does the name. As far as price is concerned, that is determined by Replacements, so I know what a piece is worth beforeI buy it.
You made a good purchasing decision. I purchased my set of Haviland identification books from Dona Schleiger years ago, and have always been amazed to see how much the books go for on eBay.
You will increase your bids dramatically by giving the Schleiger number in your auction text because Haviland buyers do searches on the Schleiger number, not pattern names from Replacements.
Haviland patterns that sell well individually on eBay are those that are floral (roses) and gold. Anything else, plain blanks, simple border patterns, gold and white, continue to sell to Replacements.
Also, purchase The Ranson Blank of Haviland Co, France: An Identification Guide. This book identifies each piece of Haviland so that you can tell buyers that what you are selling is a boule salad bowl versus a petticoat salad bowl,or a dinner plate versus a luncheon plate versus a dessert plate versus a bread plate, etc. This guide translates to dishes produced by other French manufacturers of porcelain also.
posted on July 26, 2002 06:25:44 PM
Hotcupatea: Thanks, I should have done this years ago. Just too tight to fork out the dough. Probably cost me a ton of $$$$. Who publishes the Ranson book?
posted on July 26, 2002 08:34:31 PM
eBay certainly doesn't always have the best prices ~ very true. Sometimes you can get incredible steals on eBay, certainly. But I buy (& sell) rare/o.p./collectible books on eBay and am constantly amazed by the folks who will bid on books without checking to see if they can get it from a bookseller cheaper.
For books, try ABEBOOKS.COM (a site that lists the inventory of thousands of booksellers)
or
bookfinder.com or addall.com (they both search multiple book-listing services so you can easily compare prices).
posted on July 28, 2002 05:42:53 PM
It is no secret the Ebay does not have the best prices. I often sell items way over their retail prices. More so early on, but still do. I think down the road once people get more ebay savy, that may change. That only seems to apply to item that there isn't much competition for however. If there is an item listed that there are 100's or even 1000's of, the prices to seem be cheaper.
