Shopping for vintage Fiesta dinnerware doesn't have to be a prohibitively expensive pursuit. Negotiating a trade price for pieces to add to my vintage Fiesta range is second nature for me. I Rarely pay full sticker price for Fiestaware because it naturally goes against my grain.
Most of the time when I find Fiesta in antique shops or galleries, I study prices that I believe to be significantly inflated. Although vintage Fiesta dinnerware is a very favorite collectible, with the irregularity of a few pieces which are truly rare, it's not a scarce commodity. In my experience, you can find at least a few Fiesta pieces in 2 of every 3 antique shops, so it couldn't be that hard to find. Therefore in my mind at least, any justification for exorbitant prices just doesn't seem inexpensive to me, and I naturally refuse to pay them. So then, how do I acquire vintage Fiestaware pieces you may ask? I bargain.
Cheap Shopping
I Love to bargain. My mother, who I believe to this day is the absolute "Queen" of trade shopping, began teaching me bargaining basics when I was still very young. I was an apt pupil, and I dare say that now, many years later, my skills in this realm rival hers, although she will always be best. I could write a whole other story about trade shopping alone, in fact I could write several.
Most population will walk into an antique shop, find the choice of vintage Fiesta, settle if they want to purchase, then which pieces they're interested in purchasing, take their selections to the counter, pay the merchant and go along their merry way. I'm a minute different.
First of all when I go into a shop, I scout out the widespread choice of available Fiestaware and its general condition. I don't buy pieces in less than fine or very fine condition, no matter how rare a particular piece may be. If it's not in near-perfect condition, I immediately walk away. I don't buy pieces with cracks (even "hairline" cracks), chips, worn glaze or other damage, with the irregularity of utensil marks, which can of course be removed. Glaze "skips" or uneven glaze don't of course concern me. I don't come across them all that often, and I reconsider those to be an possible part of the creation of the piece.
Once I've made a preliminary estimation of the Fiesta choice available, I focus in on particular pieces. I have a general catalog of my vintage Fiestaware range inside my head. I know how many pieces I have overall, I know within "ballpark" how many pieces I have of a given color or type. Therefore, when I'm out shopping, it's pretty easy for me to spot the pieces that I'm most interested in acquiring.
I study each piece thoroughly; visually inspecting it as well as physically handling it to recognize any possible problems or defects. After doing so, I know what the price on the piece probably should be. It is only after completing this habit of inspection that I regularly then check the price tag or sticker.
I would estimation that probably 80% of the time I shop for vintage Fiesta, I feel the displayed price could be best (meaning lower). At this point, if I'm only shopping for a few pieces, I'll acquire them up and look for an available salesperson, or take the items to the checkout counter. If I intend to buy a set or more than a few pieces, I just naturally go to the counter without them.
Here's a tip: If you're shopping in an antique mall where there are a whole of selling "booths", know beforehand that the man at the sales counter regularly has a minute capability to trade on profit of the owner of the items in any particular booth. The sales representative's authority to reduction prices most often extends everywhere from 5% to as much as 20% from the listed price. This reduction most often requires no more endeavor than to naturally ask for it.
If you want a larger reduction on your Fiestaware buy (for example, if you're purchasing a set or a large whole of pieces), it's been my taste that the total buy whole is regularly required to be above , and it regularly requires that the salesperson taste the seller directly and consult him or her.
In the case that you're shopping at an antique store or gallery rather than a "mall", then you're more likely to deal directly with the seller, or a man with the authority to give you a discounted price.
Oftentimes population don't get reduction prices naturally because they don't ask. I approximately always ask. The worst that can happen is that the seller says no. However, if you appear to be of course interested in purchasing the Fiesta, many times you'll get a very favorable response.
If the seller seems at all defiant to the invite for a discount, I'm always ready with a reason for requesting it. I'm whether purchasing multiple pieces, therefore asking for a reduction on volume basis, I find a piece that while not damaged, may be missing a lid or something similar, or I elucidate that I naturally don't have it within my allocation to expend the whole that they're asking for purchase.
In addition to providing added information as justification for requesting a discounted price, it's also very helpful to let the seller know that if they stock vintage Fiestaware on a quarterly basis, that it's very likely you'll be a repeat customer.
Believe it or not, my requests for price breaks are rarely turned down without being offered some type of discount, and most often I get the price I want or at least one that I'm very comfortable in paying. I've even gone to flea markets (the real ones) and found vintage Fiesta (a rarity these days) that was priced much more inexpensively than any price I would have found in an antique shop. Because I know that at the price the sellers are asking, I will buy nearly all the pieces that are available, I still ask for a discount. In one case, a seller sold me all the pieces I wanted at a 30% - 40% reduction from their original price. Now That'S what I call a bargain.
So, if you're in the process of starting a vintage Fiesta collection, or at least adding to one you already have, try asking for a reduction on your purchases. You'll likely get a very pleasant surprise.
Shopping For Vintage Fiesta Dinnerware - Negotiating a deal Price For FiestawareAdele - Set Fire To The Rain (Live at The Royal Albert Hall) Video Clips. Duration : 3.98 Mins.Music video by Adele performing Set Fire To The Rain. (C) 2011 XL Recordings Ltd
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