Questions About Replacement China

Professional answers to your questions about caring for and collecting replacement china.

What is Robbins Nest?
Where do you get your inventory?
What quality is the merchandise you sell?
Are your prices competitive?
Will the pieces you sell match my existing set?
How do I order your dinnerware?
How long does it take to fill an order placed with you?
What if I am not satisfied with my order?
If I am interested in selling, how do I get my dinnerware to Robbins Nest?
When was my Homer Laughlin China pattern made?
Can you tell me what my china is worth?
If I describe my pattern, can you identify?
What is crazing?
What is embossing?
What do you mean when you refer to a backstamp?
Do chips or cracks hurt the value of my china?
Do you repair china?
Why is my pattern not listed?
How do I take care of my antique collectible china?

What is Robbins Nest?
Robbins Nest is a family based independent antique collectible dealer, selling items via the internet and phone. We are not a part of any china company.  We specialize in Homer Laughlin China but stock several other potters/patterns as well.  We deal mostly in older dinnerware patterns that are no longer in production.  Occasionally, we will carry some current patterns that are not widely stocked.  If you are looking for pieces to your pattern and we have the items in stock, you are welcome to order over the phone or internet.  If we do not have the requested items in stock, we can place your information in our computer files and notify you as pieces become available. We sell by the piece, with actual shipping charge, so you may buy as much or as little as you need.

Where do you get your inventory?
We constantly add to our inventory from a number of suppliers nationwide.  We also buy from individuals interested in selling their pattern.  A lot of our china comes from estate sales, auctions and retail stores across the country.  If we do not currently have your pattern, it may just be a matter of time before we receive it in stock.

What quality is the merchandise you sell?
Everything we sell is guaranteed to be in good condition, unless otherwise noted.  Because we deal in pre-owned merchandise, some pieces come in with minor scratches or wear.  All pieces are priced according to condition.  We do not sell pieces that are cracked or chipped unless the piece is listed this way.
Note: All our china is pre-owned unless specified otherwise.  We cannot guarantee these have not been in smoke and pet environments.  All new china will be noted NEW and has not been used.

Are your prices competitive?
We have been collecting, buying and selling china, and collectibles for several years.  We think that our prices are competitive with those of other matching services.

Will the pieces you sell match my existing set?
Since we deal in original dinnerware, pieces we supply almost always match perfectly the customer's pattern.  On rare occasions, there may be a slight color variation in a pattern, especially if it was made for long period of time.  We will do our best to send you pieces that match your pattern.  If you are not satisfied with your purchase for any reason, you may return it.  Please see our return policy.

How do I order your dinnerware?
You can order via our shopping cart, regular mail, email your order to us, (please include your shipping address) or call us at 1-270-678-3661.

How long does it take to fill an order placed with you?
Credit card, paypal and money orders are usually ready to ship within 24 to 48 hours.  Orders paid by personal check ship as soon as the check clears your bank.  We do accept 'rush' orders if time can be allocated.  Shipping cost for same day and overnight delivery is expensive.

What if I am not satisfied with my order?
We do not want you to be dissatisfied! If you are dissatisfied with your purchase, for any reason, you may return any or all of it within ten days for a refund or replacement, minus cost of shipping.  Please notify us that the purchase is being returned and leave the original markings on the pieces that are being returned.  We cannot accept returns without our mark intact.  Please enclose a copy of the invoice with your return.

If I am interested in selling, how do I get my dinnerware to Robbins Nest?
If you live in or near Glasgow, Ky, or are planning to visit there, we encourage you to bring your set in in person.  We do ask that you call or email us first to make an appointment.  If you are outside of our area, you are responsible for shipping the merchandise to us at your expense.  When we agree on a price on your pieces, we will be glad to give you tips on how to pack and ship your set to us safely and cost effectively.

When was my Homer Laughlin China pattern made?
See our Homer Laughlin China information.

Can you tell me what my china is worth?
We are not appraisers and cannot tell you the value of your china as we cannot see the condition of the pieces you have.  Price guides are included in several of the books available at your local library and/or bookstore.  Some books we recommend are listed in our books section.  See also our books on American Dinnerware and Homer Laughlin China by Jo Cunningham.

If I describe my pattern, can you identify?
A lot of the older patterns are nearly identical and it is hard to positively identify a pattern without seeing a photo.  If the pattern is unique, we may be able to identify.  We recommend that you send a photo of the front and back side of a piece showing the back stamp.  Photos can be emailed or snail mailed.  If sending via email, please send in .gif or .jpg format.

What is crazing?
Crazing is the spider webbing that appears in the glaze of china.  This is caused from the glaze being applied before the clay had throughly dried when the china was made.  Over the years as the clay continues to dry, you will see the spider webbing appear.  Drying of the clay is often a slow process since the glaze had sealed the china.  As the china drys, it shrinks and causes the minute crackling of the glaze known as crazing.  The amount of moisture sealed in the china will determine the amount of crazing that occurs.

What is embossing?
Embossing is the impressing of some kind of decoration or lettering into any surface you can press into, really, to make a relief.  In an engraving, plates are pressed upon a surface to transfer inks; but in embossing the pressing raises the surface, leaving three dimensions rather than two.

What do you mean when you refer to a backstamp?
A backstamp refers to the maker's mark usually found on the bottom side of china.  There are thousands of different stamps used and most potters used more than one stamp for their products to specify the different shapes used and different time periods.

Do chips or cracks hurt the value of my china?
Chips and cracks, staining, heavy crazing and heavy wear to trim will decrease the value of your china.  Most collectors are trying to replace the pieces with damage and rarely buy pieces with noticeable damage.  The really hard to find pieces in patterns do sell, but at a price less than market value.  We do find that collectors do not mind the minor signs of use as the china they are matching has been lovingly used by someone special in their life.  A 'brand new piece' would not blend with the china they already have.

Do you repair china?
We are not experts in repairing china.  We can repair some of the minor damage but we normally use an outside service for our repairs.  In most cases it is cheaper to replace than to repair.

Why is my pattern not listed?
It is nearly impossible to carry every potter and pattern that has been made.  It would take acres of shelving to stock all the patterns.  We do have some patterns in stock that are not listed simply because of the time involved in getting the pages built.  We are adding and revising pages daily.  If your pattern is not listed, send us an email.  We may just have this in stock.  We are a small business in comparison to some of the other replacement centers and carry the patterns our customers are looking for and/or have requested.  If you can send a photo of the front and back side of your china, we will be happy to alert our pickers to look for your pattern for you.

How do I take care of my antique collectible china?
We recommend hand washing and drying your china immediately after use.  Never put your good china in a dishwasher as over time, the glaze will dull and the decals will fade.  The dishwasher is one of the reasons so much older china (especially from the 50's and 60's) is found with the trim in bad condition. I would not use a dishwasher for any of our good china even if it is marked dishwasher safe.  A lot of the chips on dinnerware is caused by the force of the water in a dishwasher causing the china pieces to hit together.  If you do use your dishwasher, do not use detergent with lemon.

Do not stack your dishes more than 10 to 12 deep and use a coffee filter in between the pieces to prevent scratching.

We do not recommend using bleach to remove stains.  If you use bleach, dilute with the same amount of water as the bleach used.  We use CLR available at Lowes and other retail stores.  CLR is very good for removing water stains caused from hard water, food stains and coffee/tea stains.  OxiClean available at Wal Mart and K Mart works well on several stains. Comet cleaner and your glass stove top cleaner is good for removing utensil marks.  We find this very good for cleaning Fiesta, Corelle and Metlox.  Use your glass stove top cleaner as you would on your stove top. Make a paste using the comet cleaner and spread over the marks to be removed.  Let soak for a few minutes and scrub with a sponge.  This does require some elbow grease but makes your pieces look new again!

Do not soak heavily crazed pieces for long periods of time as the piece will absorb the liquid and spread the stain.

We do not recommend using heavily crazed dinnerware for eating simply for health reasons.

When storing china, wrap in white paper or china storage bags and store in a dry place.  Basements are not good to store china because of the moisture.  Never store china wrapped in newpapers.  Over time the ink in the newspaper print will transfer to your china, especially if there is any moisture present.

IMPORTANT
If you ever notice a fine white powder on any of your old, old china, please make sure this is not used to eat from.  This is a sign that the lead present in the china is activated.  This could cause serious health problems.