✦ Vintage ceramics ✦
Pre-war Vernon Kilns, Brayton Laguna and American Pottery pieces are blue-chip Disneyana. Mid-century Japan imports are the great underpriced sleeper. Either way, the marks on the bottom decide everything — and we read them fluently.
Get My Free OfferDisney licensed ceramics to a parade of makers, and the maker sets the market: Vernon Kilns (late 1930s, Fantasia pieces especially) and Brayton Laguna command serious collector money; American Pottery / Evan K. Shaw 1940s characters do well; Hagen-Renaker miniatures have a devoted following; and the stamped and foil-stickered Japan imports that filled park shelves in the 1950s–60s are rising fast. Our guides to Japan-made figurines and pre-1968 manufacturer marks show exactly what we look for. Photograph every base before you sell to anyone.
Ceramics carry their history: crazing, paint rubs, chips, old repairs. Some flaws barely matter on rare pieces; on common ones they matter a lot. We assess piece by piece and tell you which is which — and if a piece is better than you thought, we will say so. Whole cabinets welcome via our estate process; ship using the double-box method in our packing guide or bring them into the store.
✦ How it works ✦
Nine steps, no surprises. Here is exactly what happens after you hit send, and roughly how long each part takes.
Name, email, and a rough idea of what you have. It takes about a minute — you don't need to inventory anything yet.
1 minuteA private link to build your list on our system. It saves as you type, so you can start tonight and finish on the weekend from the same link.
ImmediatelyOne item per line, approximate is fine, photos straight from your phone. When you're done, hit “Send to Main Street.”
Every piece is valued against what it has actually sold for recently — not asking prices, not guesses. A human double-checks anything of real value.
Broken down so you can see how we got there. Our offers run up to 40% of your collection's market value — that's what a direct, no-commission, no-waiting sale looks like.
Within 7–10 business daysWe help you start to finish, which includes arranging shipping. This is typically at your expense, but you're never left to figure it out: once you accept, we agree on the carrier, packing and a pickup from your door (if you choose) with you before anything is booked, and send a step-by-step packing guide. On some collections we build a shipping allowance into the offer that is paid with your payment.
Pack it the way the guide says and it travels safely. Stuck halfway through? Call us — we ship millions of items a year and we'll talk you through it.
We check that everything matches the photos and descriptions you sent. No surprises in either direction.
In full, within 7 days of your collection reaching us. Straight to your PayPal.
Within 7 daysNo obligation at any point, and no fee for finding out. If the offer is not right for you, say so and we close the file — no hard feelings.
✦ Get your offer ✦
Downsizing, settling an estate, or thinning the shelves? Send a few details and photos and we'll come back to you within 7–10 business days with a fair, no-obligation offer — whether you're down the road in Augusta or across the country.
Not sure what you have? That's fine — our guides to what collections are worth and how selling works can help, or just send photos and let us do the homework.
✦ Questions we hear ✦
Check the base: stamped marks, incised names, foil stickers and copyright wording all identify maker and era. Photograph every bottom — identification is most of valuation in this category.
Increasingly, yes. The 1950s–60s Japan imports sold in the parks were long overlooked and are now climbing, especially clean examples with foil stickers intact.
They reduce it — how much depends on rarity. A chipped common piece is a shelf-sitter; a chipped Vernon Kilns Fantasia piece is still worth real money. We price honestly either way.