I had one of those once-in-a-lifetime finds. I didn’t believe what I was seeing, zooming in on each photo to scrutinize, to be certain.
Wexford cake plates are not easy to find. Not the cake stand, but the twelve inch plate without the pedestal. I’ve had one for seemingly forever. The collectors in the Facebook group are still looking, have their one, or just recently learned it existed.
There is usually one to be found online, that ridiculously priced one that never sells.
Imagine finding a lot of seven, for less than that overpriced single, and it included two with chips for ‘free’. I did just that.
There were only a few days left on it, with numerous views but no one watching the listing, no bids. So, I watched it. I wanted to panic and Buy It Now, but I waited. I wanted to make sure they weren’t chip-n-dip platters with a raised ring.
I watched and waited. With two days left, I placed a bid, with still no one else watching it. I won the item and proceeded to wait a surprising amount of time for a Fedex delivery.
Yesterday came with an “Out for Delivery” notice and that great anticipatory feeling. Then I got home and saw how small the box that held nine cake plates was.
I was concerned with the undersized box marked at thirty-five pounds. I picked it up and I heard a noise that whole healthy glass doesn’t make. I still didn’t know how bad it was.
The outer box, I was surprised there were two, was cut down to fit the inner box snugly. This is not how double boxing glass is meant to work.
There was no obvious damage to the outer box, but there couldn’t have been since there was no cushion or padding inside. Any impact would transfer inward.
Inside, each platter was separated by only a single layer of paper towel, no bubblewrap to be found. I uncovered two intact platters: one good one and one of the chipped freebies.
There has been a full refund issued, but there are seven fewer rare Wexford cake plates in the world…
And that is heartbreaking.
wexford: a study 