Broken Items Have More Value Than You Think

Being an auction regular, I often see people turn their nose up at an item that has a chip or a crack or tablecloths with holes in them. They assume it has no value because it's damaged.

I have bought a cracked Tiffany Spode jam jar at an auction, a chipped Sevres vase, and chipped and cracked Limoges pottery, I have bought tablecloths with stains and holes in them (by the way, many of these stains can be removed with boiling water and Oxi-clean as long as the item has no metallics on it).

The reason I buy these is that I get the item cheap in order to learn about it. By buying busted up items I get a hands-on learning experience about the workmanship, and feel of the item. You can ID fakes more efficiently if you've owned the real thing.

When you're done with the busted item, if it's not extremely rare (Sold the Tiffany jar for more than I paid, use the Sevres vase, plan on using the Limoges on my walls), you can use it for mosaics, or with fabrics...quilting, pillows.