posted 06-11-2006 08:10 AM            

Opinions?

posted 06-11-2006 08:47 AM            

If only we could get out the word about the beauty of preserving silver in the families that have it. But on the other hand, selling off in pieces is at least better than melt down.

posted 06-11-2006 10:48 AM            

Additionally, many of the sets that come on the market are either incomplete (missing pieces) or come with a bunch of miscellaneous pieces.

posted 06-11-2006 08:34 PM            

I think it is a shame to do this also, & I do agree that maybe people are looking to find missing pieces to their sets. However, I notice too when one has a "set" they might have to put a high price on, their listing fees etc. go up & also if the start price is high maybe they feel no one will jump in at that price.

As other members have suggested there are/could be many reasons......'tis a puzzlement!

Jersey

posted 06-11-2006 11:37 PM            

I once saw a very nice lady dealer, one who dealt in decorative accessories, with a fantastic set of Towle Georgian. This was close to 400 pieces, all with the same monogram. There were about 30 pieces per place and really great servers. It was probably the single most complete set I have ever seen in any old pattern. She priced it at a very reasonable per piece level. And could get no interest. People kept leaving her offers on individual pieces.

Fortuneately she kept the phone numbers. On Sunday morning she started calling those who had made offers, most of which were well above the per piece. By late in the day she had sold almost all of it, for a sum much bigger than the set could have been had for. The really rare servers went very high. She was both pleased and utterly exasperated by this.

What we need to keep in mind is that there are many silver buyers who do not collect silver. They cook and entertain. For them, having 12 matched ramekin forks or sorbet spoons is important. Regardless of pattern. And there are loads of people who inherit a partial set, like it and want more. They are the beneficiaries of the broken set. Then there are those who prefer to have one place setting per pattern. Which sets a sumptuous table, but does involve enormous bookeeping.

posted 06-28-2006 08:40 AM            

I recently saw a grouping of coin silver spoons from a rare maker for sale at a price that if sold individually and divided by the number of spoons would have gone quickly. If one is collecting maker's names one spoon is all one needs and the purchase of many just means less money to buy other things. To find a buyer that wants to buy the set takes longer, but if keeping the items together means that much to the dealer I really hope that they succeed and also hope that it means as much to the buyer.

My wife recently has brought three sets of strawberry forks. They were all sold as a set and one dealer indicated that while a lot of folks like one each from various patterns; he found it best never to sell less than six at a time. For a tea set I would think that it would be best to sell the tea pot, creamer and sugar together. A waste bowl could be sold separately without harming the value of the other three items and may bring in more if it is sold individually.