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Question:
Desert Sun dinnerware set; My set has:
12 dinner plates, I rate 3 in excellent and 9 in good condition.
12 salad plates, 3 excellent, 6 good, 3 fair.
7 cups and saucers all in excellent, 8th cup in fair.
5 bowls, 1 good, 3 fair, 1 poor but useable.
sugar and creamer in excellent.
A large two sided 4 in high, elongated with squared handles, server in excellent.
1 serving platter, elongated, with square handles in good.
My local antique dealer showed me a book with plates in this patern valued at $6-12, cups & saucer $7-10, sugar and creamer $15-25, small bowls $15-18. I did not realize I had the seving dish and the serving platter so I did not note the price. Do these prices sound current, what does it sound like my set might be worth? I saw 4 salad plates sell for $40 on E-Bay. Thank You Ross
Answer: The book you saw is about 13 years old but the values aren’t too far off today given the depressed prices in the current economy. The $40 eBay price for four Desert Sun salad plates seems a bit high to me, but in an auction setting it takes only two people to bid up an item to higher than normal prices. I’m not sure about the item you’ve described as "4 in high, elongated with squared handles". It is probably a gravy boat and if so, it should include a cover. A best guess for the value of your Desert Sun collection would be in the $150-200 range. Keep in mind that when buying a collection the buyer is usually not willing to pay "book price" for each piece but will expect a discount for buying the whole set. You may want to consider selling the sugar and creamer separately. They are not decorated with the Desert Sun pattern; instead the body is "soft tan" and the sugar cover is dark brown with bittersweet. These colors were also used for the more desirable Flight pattern. The sugar and creamer might attract more interest if sold separately from the pieces that are decorated with Desert Sun artwork. The same may be true for the mysterious 4 in high elongated server.
Larry