Aussies race to the kitchen as CorningWare prices soar
For decades, CorningWare’s collections have been a staple of kitchen cupboards all across the country.
And now, those family favourites have collectors everywhere reaching for those old casserole dishes, with prices skyrocketing online.
The news may come as a surprise to some, given CorningWare’s US-based parent company Instant Brand’s announcement - just a few days prior - that it had initiated the process for voluntary court-appointed bankruptcy. The brand encompassed the likes of Instant Pot, Corelle, Pyrex, and CorningWare.
Its products could be found on the shelves of major retailers all across the country, but with the rising challenge of inflation in the market and a reported $500 million USD in debt, Instant Brands had to make the difficult decision.
And while some may have assumed things would go downhill from there, CorningWare items had other ideas, as people took to online marketplaces to list their old collections with never-before-seen price tags on the wares.
When one seller listed their “Wildflower Spice of Life” casserole set on eBay, they asked for a staggering $25,000 - a price that topped the previous online auction high of $10,000. Another dish from the range was asking for much less, and still more than many would have bargained for - $13,000.
Other dishes included more ‘rare’ designs from CorningWare’s previous collections, with its 1971-1972 “Floral” pieces making an appearance. A 5-piece L’Echaloto would given its next owners more than a few dishes to choose from, as long as they had another $25,000 to spare to get their hands on the set in the first place.
And as one seller - who dipped her toes into the CorningWare online marketplace realm a few years prior - told 7News, the success of the dishes was certainly a surprise, though not a bad one.
The items she’d managed to sell were off to a better life, too, as they’d just “been gathering dust in our home for years.”
“I sold off a few pieces - with my mum’s blessing, of course - and have made about $9000 so far,” she said. “I have another one listed at the moment, which I’m hoping to get around $2500 for.
“I would never have thought that it could be so valuable. When I was younger, I thought it was just daggy.
“Now it’s making us more money than I ever dreamed.”
Images: eBay