Thrift Store Treasure: $65 Dish Set Has $1,000 Value

Photo: Alcynna Lloyd/ Business Insider

Antique and vintage dish sets can be difficult to sell, as many downsizers learn the hard way. But one thrift shopper’s experience suggests that more buyers may be taking an interest in fine china—and discovering its true value.

Alcynna Lloyd, a writer for Business Insider, recently documented her experience thrifting a set of dishes for $65 and learning that it could be worth $1,000. She was planning a dinner party for her birthday, inspired by videos she saw on Instagram, and needed some new dishes to accommodate her guests and fit the celebratory atmosphere. Wanting to stick to a budget, she went to secondhand store Thrift Giant to look for the perfect dishes.

“Dishware made up the smallest section of the store, so I wasn’t expecting much,” Lloyd wrote, demonstrating the state of the market, or lack thereof, for vintage dishes. But she found exactly what she needed “on a dusty bottom shelf:” A 61-piece near-complete set of bone china plate settings and serving dishes with delicate flowers circling the rims. The set was grouped into two bundles, which sold together for just under $65.

Impressed by her find, Lloyd went looking for more information about her new dishes. They marked “Oxford,” a line of bone china developed by Lenox in the 1960s. Lenox, one of the most famous American porcelain companies, started in 1889 as the Ceramic Art Company and became Lenox, Inc., in 1906. It is active today as Lenox Corporation.

Lloyd learned that her dishes are the Spring pattern, which Lenox produced from the 1960s to mid-1980s. Looking at the prices of individual dishes in the pattern from pattern-matching service Replacements, Ltd., she was amazed to realize that assembling a set like hers would cost almost $1,000.

Just in time for the holiday season, and the parties and family dinners that come with it, Lloyd sees her adventure as part of a larger trend. She sees social media influencers promoting a love of stylishly set tables, citing Instagram stars Isabelle Heikens and Oliva McDowell and the Beautiful Table Settings group on Facebook. Thrifting and secondhand purchases in general are increasingly popular with young adults looking for bargains, trying to reduce waste, and indulging in nostalgia.

And, of course, Lloyd’s birthday party was a success, leaving her and her friends making plans for future dinner parties. Which, of course, may lead to more discoveries of the delights of vintage tableware.

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