Would you buy damaged items?

You see it all the time on Ebay.They Go through the full Spiel on Ebay,and it really does display well blah blah. But it has aChip,hairline crack,nibble or some sort of damage. Would you buy just for the aesthetic pleasure of looking at it? In a similar vein,what is the current opinion about 'restored' items? Worth buying.
Personally unless it was rare and a bargain,I would not. I have a large Michael Casson bowl with a whopping hairline. But it cost £3 in a charity shop,and looks nice.

For me i try to stay away from damaged pieces , but it all depends on rarity and if you where ever likely to come across another for your collection and if price is pennies on the pound why wouldnt you.

I have several cracked pots on display in my home and forget about the damage between cleans,also some rare pieces are worth having as examples when the perfect item would be too expensive to fit your budget,a cracked pot will tell you just as much about the potter and cost just a couple of pounds

Again, it all depends what it is and how rare it is.

If it is something common, then with a crack or chip I wouldn't have it if it was being given away.

But if it is rare and still looks good, then yes I even pay good money for them.

I've only just recieved an item that was the first like it I've ever seen. Described as in excellent condition, I was bid up to a very high price for it. When it arrived, I found it had a rather long hairline crack (but you have to look hard to see it). The seller offered me a full refund - but I'm too honest/fair and couldn't accept such a nice item for nothing, so paid £30. I've also other items with noticable damage, which I happily display, as they are the only ones I've ever seen.

Like Dan, I tend to forget about the damage until they are (very rarely) cleaned.

The thing that does amaze/bug me, is when sellers make a big thing of descriding something as in wonderful/excellent/perfect condition, EXCEPT for ...... and then go on to describe the chips and cracks

I have one piece in my collection that i have had for a year or two but yesterday i took it to the restorer as i could not live with the severe damage to such a rare piece, she quoted me £175 and saying maybe it would be better to put in the bin , when i explained to her that the item was worth about £700+ she said fair enough i will book it in for you .

I rarely have pieces restored as i feel a lot of people have restoration done and when the item is up for resale tghey never mention it , a bit naughty in my opinnion.

But in this case the item is staying in my collection for the foreseeable future

Personally these days I don't mind buying something that that I know to be damaged, though I expect the seller to inform me of the damage and don't buy into all the flowery ways to describe a chip for example: "A Frit" "A Nibble" "A Fleabite" (I would use this term to describe a chip that was around 1mm or less, but most people seem to have giant fleas...) "Glaze Plucking" etc etc.

I don't generally like restoration and often would rather a a chipped pot than one that had been "restored". That said there are some great restorers, but the majority is very noticeable if you know what signs to look for.

Eclectic-Dorset wrote: I have one piece in my collection that i have had for a year or two but yesterday i took it to the restorer as i could not live with the severe damage to such a rare piece, she quoted me £175 and saying maybe it would be better to put in the bin , when i explained to her that the item was worth about £700+ she said fair enough i will book it in for you .

I rarely have pieces restored as i feel a lot of people have restoration done and when the item is up for resale tghey never mention it , a bit naughty in my opinnion.

But in this case the item is staying in my collection for the foreseeable future

may we see it please?

When it is restored you are more than welcome to see it but the waiting list is 3 months or so from drop off, the ladies services are verry much in demand , a huge amount of Poole on her shelves waiting to be restored and always is , but damn she is good .

I happily buy damaged items as you get them at knock down prices and they still display well , in a perfect world then yes it would be good to have them in tip top nick , besides there is a market out there that don't mind buying damaged pots etc , I bought a w/friars tv vase with a tight hairline crack and doubled my dosh straight away , buyer was perfectly happy , you couldn't see any damage unless shoving it up against your nose , always advertise damage with good pics and a statement people will still buy even if you don't want it , restoration is a good thing if it increases pleasure and profit imo.

the other bonus of buying cracked pottery is you don't get quite so upset when you break it

Dan forgot i had this pic from when i first bought the pieces it is the smaller bowl on the left excuse the dirt on the pieces 50 years of grime [img][/img

are they Persian design?

Certainly seems a Persian influence , i love tubelined pieces by this potter.

i would and have bought both damaged and restored pieces for my collection, but tend to be put off if i'm buying to sell it on...unlesss i think it's something i would enjoy researching or can teach me a thing or two.

But on the subject of restorers, i've never used one. What kind of prices do they tend to talk about for chips and disguising cracks? I've always imagined it's hundreds of pounds????

Bisto -a good way of disguising a crack , place thumb over said crack and hold pot far away

no minor things like that are closer to £50

bistoboy wrote:i would and have bought both damaged and restored pieces for my collection, but tend to be put off if i'm buying to sell it on...unlesss i think it's something i would enjoy researching or can teach me a thing or two.

But on the subject of restorers, i've never used one. What kind of prices do they tend to talk about for chips and disguising cracks? I've always imagined it's hundreds of pounds????

the lady in question is verry near you she charges £35 per hour normally a chip or crack will cost the same 1 hours work.

... a crack in the Amsterdam red-light distrct will cost you far more than £35 an hour ... apparently ... (this comment will most likely be removed lol)

mandrake1000 wrote:... a crack in the Amsterdam red-light distrct will cost you far more than £35 an hour ... apparently ... (this comment will most likely be removed lol)

Noted

mandrake1000 wrote:... a crack in the Amsterdam red-light distrct will cost you far more than £35 an hour ... apparently ... (this comment will most likely be removed lol)

Blimey! What about for chips?

Potty wrote:

mandrake1000 wrote:... a crack in the Amsterdam red-light distrct will cost you far more than £35 an hour ... apparently ... (this comment will most likely be removed lol)

Blimey! What about for chips?

you get a bag of chips when you leave - free of charge ...

mandrake1000 wrote:

Potty wrote:

mandrake1000 wrote:... a crack in the Amsterdam red-light distrct will cost you far more than £35 an hour ... apparently ... (this comment will most likely be removed lol)

Blimey! What about for chips?

you get a bag of chips when you leave - free of charge ...

As long as they dont taste fishy.

Good question. As others have said, I'd buy it if it was cheap - especially if it was a piece I couldn't afford if it was perfect, or if it was just a few pennies for reference purposes.
I have several Aldermaston pieces with hairline cracks, and my mum collects New Hall and doesn't mind if I buy pieces that are cracked, chipped or have great chunks missing, because they're for display purposes only.

What really annoys me, though, is buying items off ebay that are described as being perfect, or with just a flea bile or two, and they turn up with bloody great big cracks and chips. Grrr.