You Might Own These Common Decorative Glass Items And They Could Be Worth Thousands

Venice has been closely associated with artisan glassmaking for centuries. In fact, in 1960, archaeologists discovered an 8th-century glass furnace on the Venetian island of Murano, demonstrating how glass making has occurred in this region for more than 1,000 years. Handblown glass made on this particular island became known as Murano glass. Surviving pieces from ancient times can be seen and enjoyed in the Murano Glass Museum located in Rome, Italy with full price tickets costing €10 (about $11.50). Meanwhile, more contemporary pieces of Murano glass can be found in people's personal collections and online marketplaces – and it's often worth a pretty penny.

Contemporary examples include those sold at GlassOfVenice with an Adriano Dalla Valentina sculpture titled Yin and Yang going for $8,995.95 in July 2025. This artist was born on Murano in 1945 and began working at the glass blowing furnace at the age of 10. Another example for sale from this company was a Loredano Rosin piece titled The Thinker for $2,299.95. Rosin was born into a long line of glass artisans; each were trained in the ancient methods of the art form. A third example is The Spiral by Seguso Vetri d'Arte, which was going for $1,999.95. Rather than referring to a single person, Seguso Vetri d'Arte is a Murano glass company, founded in 1933, by five artisans. 

As the name implies, true Murano glass is crafted on the island located in the lagoon in Venice. Families pass down their skills and trade secrets throughout the generations, just like what happened with Adriano Dalla Valentina. That said, not all of the pieces cost in the thousands. Those tend to be ones crafted by in-demand artists. For example, at GlassOfVenice, a more affordable piece in July 2025 was selling for $79.95. It's a wine glass with gold etching, available in aqua blue, green, navy blue, pink, red, or clear. Note that the inclusion of gold or silver commonly occurs in Murano glass.

Many artists place a maker's mark on their Murano glass work, so check for those and investigate whether those marks match what the artists used. Other signs of genuine Murano glass include air bubbles that occur when multiple colors are layered in a piece of glasswork. Many glassmakers use lead to eliminate those, but not with Murano glass. Also look at the bottom of a piece of glass for a Pontil mark that will feel rough beneath fingertips. This is where the glassmaker removed the rod used in hand blowing the glass.

Whether going through glassware in China cabinets and cupboards or browsing through thrift stores for Murano glass, look for additional brands that can be worth plenty of money, including carnival glass. Multiple companies have created this type of glass, which is iridescent and coated to refract light in beautiful ways and was first crafted at the Fenton Art Glass Company in 1907. Brothers Frank and John Fenton (who started their business in 1905 with $284) created many carnival glass patterns still loved today: Captive Rose, Diamond & Rib, Dragon & Lotus, Peacock & Grape, Persian Medallion, and more. John Fenton also created highly collectible pieces under the name of Millersburg Glass. Other carnival glass artisans (not associated with Fenton) include Harry Northwood, Thomas Dugan, and the Gerurtz Brothers.

Some items can be worth big money. In fact, one piece of thrift store Carnival glass piece was worth $140,000. Even when a piece of Carnival glass isn't worth huge money, plenty of pieces are worth in the hundreds, including a gorgeous purple bowl in an iridescent, ruffled style on sale on eBay in July 2025 for $146.25 or a red holly plate for $395.00. 

Unlike carnival glass — a glass type made by many different artisans over the past century-plus — Tiffany glass refers to pieces of glassware made by Louis C. Tiffany and the companies he founded. Tiffany glass relies upon the copper foil technique for its beauty. First, a decorative pattern is sketched on cardboard with the designated color of glass cut into the appropriate shapes. Then, the artist places copper foil on the edges of each piece before they're soldered to finish the piece of glasswork. One of the most stunning pieces, "The Danner Memorial Window," sold for a mind-blowing $12.48 million at a Sotheby's auction in November 2024. 

Although few people will experience a multi-million-dollar sale, Tiffany glass thrift finds can be worth thousands of dollars. A stunning iridescent vase in golden tones was on sale in July 2025 on eBay for $19,500. Certain jadeite items can also be worth plenty of money. A star-patterned vintage jadeite vase was selling for $299.99 on eBay in 2025.

Back in the 1870s, brothers Homer and Shakespeare Laughlin from East Liverpool, Ohio began their own pottery-making business, earning a United States Centennial Exposition award in 1876 for their high-quality white granite ware. By the following year, Shakespeare had lost interest in the enterprise, and so his brother reformed the business as the Homer Laughlin China Works. The company flourished and, in 1936, debuted its most popular product yet: FIESTA dinnerware. This dinnerware brightened the tables of many during the Great Depression of the 1930s with original colors being cobalt blue, green, ivory, red, and yellow with turquoise added the following year. In the 1950s, they added pastel shades.

FIESTA ware can bring in significant cash with one eBay seller putting up a cobalt blue mixing bowl for sale in July 2025 for $150 and a green one for $100. Early pieces have the potential to bring in even more money with a yellow 1930s footed casserole dish with an asking price of $220.

If you're thinking about reselling glassware to earn money, eBay offers insights and tips on its platform. One strategy is to focus on what glassware is currently in demand, and they list the following in July 2025: milk glass, Murano, early American pattern glass, Carnival glass, Fiestaware, Red Wing Pottery, and McCoy Pottery. eBay also recommends using keywords in headings to make it easy for buyers to find your listing, including compelling photos, and using auction-like pricing to encourage a bidding war. If following that last strategy, start with a low starting price to get the bidding started and choose the "no reserve" option. Also provide clarity about what shipping costs will be. eBay makes that easy by allowing sellers to embed a shipping cost calculator in their listings that takes package dimensions, the origin point, and the destination point into its calculations. If also planning to buy shipping insurance before mailing sold items, include that information in the listing.

Then, once a piece is sold, ship the fragile glass item safely and securely, using bubble wrap and other protective materials. If the item will fit into a USPS Priority box, sellers can order these boxes for free through eBay. Seal the box well. Handle transactions in a timely way, communicating throughout the transaction with your buyers and answering their questions promptly and courteously to earn a reputation as a quality seller of glassware on eBay.