Mike

Came to me. John H. Miller I believe.

Lost Your Marbles added comments.......I would assume that many boxes after the course of 12 years have been destroyed. I did a large consignment deal with an antique dealer who left his product outside for a sidewalk sale and a rainstorm came in and destroyed everything but the marbles. In 1999-2000, I gave signed boxes to most of my relatives for Christmas. My family thought I was so nuts for trying to make money on this venture that they gave them away to neighbor kids and opened them up for other children to play with when company came over. Too bad as some of these boxes have sold for over $100 and there are probably others out there that will bring more. I traded with many marble people and have no idea if they kept the product or sold it. I have a number of marbles from 10 years ago from some trades with Scott Patrick, the contemp maker in MO whos name escapes me at moment. I believe Poplarhead bought some boxes, Moon Marble and I did business. As I remember, Moon was given big bulk bags of "Tie Dyes" in a trade. Marble Alan may have puchased and sold over 100 boxes and there are many more good and famous and not so famous marble folks that have socked many boxes away. Like I said, show a picture of your holdings. Every so often, I see a box being sold on Ebay that I cannot believe I even made or had the marbles to put in it. Jabo, in the old days, liked my packaging and marketing and sometimes (when I wondered into the factory during a run) allowed me to purchase some really special goods. I still have a few hundred of various boxes in storage and every so often leak them out to see what happens. Too bad I never kept good records or photographed all that was produced. There is some really good stuff out there! Some of the boxes really are one of a kind that cannot be duplicated. You ever seen Tigers out there?

In 1999, I had this idea to make some affordable Jabo marble boxes. The idea came because I was unemployed and had this dream to make money from my hobby. My first show to sell them was at Amana in 1999. I drove out there with a couple hundred boxes and sold out early as there were some early adopters who, like me, thought the boxes were a good idea. Solid "Tie Dye" boxes (80 in a box) were sold in quantity for $6.00 per box and I do not think that any individual box sold for more than $10.00. Many folks came into my room and would not stay or look because it was all Jabo. I still remember the snobs and they continue with thier predudice today. The plan was to do one Series of Jabo boxes every year starting with Series 1. I am now on Series IV but they are the special run 3/4" marbles. The only 5/8 boxes done were Series 1 (gold imprint), Series II (silver imprint) and Series III (brass). There are some unusual boxes that may be prototypes, signed, numbered, one-offs or gift boxes. Bob Block tested a few for me early on when they were first made in 1999 as I was afraid of computer stuff and really did not understand electronic sales of product. He sold one that had a small pencil notation under the see-thru lid where it was number 1 or 2 but I really do not remember. There are also one or two full boxes of Jabo Fluke Corks from the Psuedo Superboy run along with other boxes that may have rows of "Fluke Corks." I am the guy that pretty much purchased all of the available Jabo "Tie Dyes" that caused issues with higher volume purchasers of Jabo marbles that caused Joanne (owner President) at Jabo to say that nobody would be able to buy pre-mix marbles any longer. Some folks have some product that is very unusual that I do not even remember making. There are collectors of these boxes that may have over 100 boxes (probably Storesberg) and a few other collectors of them. Some Boxes may be all "Copperhead" or some other very rare (if there even is such a description) for very short production runs or transitional Jabos. Some have unusual designs or no dividers. There are also some 3/4" boxes of Series 1 when everything was an experiment. There are other Lost Your Marbles products that are even more limited production such as tubes, quarts and Jewel boxes. Some guy in Texas purchased 25-30 boxes of solid "Tie Dyes." I made some really nice boxes for Steve Suuer and Marlow and many others. There are many folks out there that may have 10-40 boxes if they have not sold them off. Here is the deal......I could go on and on about some of this and some might find a little bit of the news interesting. However, this is my invitation for those of you who have Jabo Lost Your Marbles boxes to show them off. There are probably !,500 Series I boxes out there, 1,000 Series II and less of Series III. Series IV has been a dog and about 100 have been sold even though I pretty much give them away. Some are very very one-of-a-kind. Thank you to all who purchased them for your interest and confidence in the product! Let me see them boxes. Thanks, Mike Warnelis - Lost Your Marbles

Man! That last post was right on the money. There are probably plenty of cases laying all around many peoples houses, barns, garages and the rest. I have quite a few myself. Most of them date from 1999-2003. Sure wish I would have been smart enough to buy ten times more cases of Tie Dyes, Harleys, Peacocks, Bloody Jades, Jabo Superman and all the rest of them worthless flea-bit, full of hit marks and defective Jabo marbles when they used to sell for $10-$15.00 per twenty-five pound case of 2,500 marbles. My advice is do not ever stockpile anything like Jabos. The market is so flooded with them that it pisses vintage collectors off that people like them and want to buy them for a fraction of what a really good vintage marble is worth. I found out about Jabo many years ago and thought that why would I spend hundreds on a rare vintage and coveted marble when I could get neat and sometimes limited-production Jabo marbles for less than a penny! Special Run Jabo marbles are very expensive by today's standards (.50 Cents to a few dollars for really good glass and a multitude of colors) don't buy them! Wait until folks tire of the flooded market and dump them below cost. That is when you want to buy them. Folks need to time the market.....just like they do in the stock market......What say you?

Ryan, My suggestion here is by no means valid research or any indicator of value. However, just for grins you might want to try this and maybe you can glean a small grain of information. On any given day when you do a search for marbles on ebay, you will have 7,000 listings pop up. Next do Jabo marbles and you get 1,300. Jokers 500, Tribute, New Decade, WVMCC, Jinks, Daves Run, Lutz, Frit, Jabo Oxblood, pee wees, one inch, 3/4" and any other title or subset you can think of........just keep on going. For a time, my children were into Beanie Babies, there was an inflated sense of rarity on some items and other items really were of low production. Some folks sunk plenty of money chasing new releases and other variations. I and my wife participated and sometimes paid way too much to keep the kid happy and get that next hard-to-find and so called rare toy. Today, I have three-four large plastic storage tubs of mint Beanies stuck in the attic. You can go to any flea market today and buy hundreds of these toys for pennies on the dollar. When I bought them for $5.00 each, I thought they were worth $5.00 so I have no regrets. I still think they are worth $5.00. In 20 years or so, if my kids hang on to the bins and they get grandchildren......can you imagine what a little child would think to be sitting in a mountain of those things. Now what is that worth? If they stay in the attic undiscovered for 100 years untouched and they do not deteriorate then what might they be worth. It could happen!

Mikeymarble has a few Special Run Jabo on Ebay that might be worth a look if you are into them. They may rival some of the better goods shown here but that is up to you. Thanks, Lost Your Marbles Guy

Yes! You are so right! After Al posted an original bag, it seems that there might be some continued controversy as to the color variations. I am not really sure if the color variation could happen but submit this as evidence......One time, I saw a 2,000 pound run of plain red and white marbles at a factory and there were a few pounds that looked a little different even though they were all pretty much a common red and white marble yet not all of them were alike. Go figure! As for the thread, I kept waiting for the black alien ships to swoop in and take all the marble people to another planet. Lots of suspense, conjecture & conspiracy.

I have read this thread with great interest to have it all boil down to this.......The loyal daughter stayed by her comatose mother's side at the hospital for weeks....24 hours a day. All the staff tried to get her to go home but to no avail. When asked why she stayed, she answered that she had once read or heard that sometimes a person snaps out of it and if her mother did, she needed to hear her mother's last words. Sure enough, her mother came to. Mom looked up at her daughter and the two nurses standing at the foot of the bed and asked her daughter if the two persons standing on either side of her were the angels come to take her to heaven. Jane said...No mom, you know nurse Betty and Sue Ann. Her mother exclaimed..."Oh Shit!" and passed. Is this thread pretty much cooked or not?

I get the impression cold cream jar cullet sounded weird. I was at the factory two days ago visiting with Dave McC. I reminded him that he once told me Old Spice aftershave bottles were his favorite quality cullet a few years back. He confirmed this. I cannot speak to investor runs and what he likes to use as this was about something before them. Some older production Jabo marbles are cleaner and more defect free than others and maybe it is because of Old Spice.

Today, I made a one day run/trip and went to the Canton Ohio Marble Show for a few hours. I only had to travel three hours (one way) and am very glad to have made the trip. Too bad everyone is not as close but even if you are not, if you like marbles, this is a good show. Great people there from the marble world and spectacular stuff to look at and add to collections. It was worth the trip just to see the box of Christensens for $48,000 and I am thinking that the price might have been too low for this particular box. I had a pocket full of stuff that I wanted a second opinion on and knowlege from these folks flows freely and is free. Saw some of the folks that frequent this board. Whoa! What a surprise. People may not be anything at all like you think they are from postings. Hoping to see pictures soon from folks that were there with a camera.

I am so very sorry to hear this news. I met Edna & Weldon for the first time when I went to Jabo as an investor in a couple Tribute runs. Such fine people and a treat to be around. I have great memories of hanging out and visiting with Weldon (even though it was only a few hours over a couple days), checking out marbles and getting his opinion on on them. Weldon's passing is a loss for us earthbound marble folks and good for marble shooting, playing and collecting angels! Mike Lost Your Marbles Warnelis

I have listed and sold on Ebay some of what I called Jabo Mimics. Even called everyone's attention to them on this board. Was called a liar & cheat for doing so. I guess they never fooled too many people (after all, I did list them as Jabo Mimics) and I got paid for them like they were Jabo marbles. Maybe the reseller will try to profit from them? Why is it that some of these negative, on thier high-horse, all upset about what Jabo marbles might look like, get as vocal about Vacor? Why don't they call the Vacor folks out by name, accuse the batchman at the factory of doing stuff to deceive people. Get on the horn to Mexico & Kansas and ask them to change the glass and colors to make one or two people on this board happy. Give me a break. I have to question the motives of those that continually crusade about Jabo here. What is the real deal behind all the crying and troublemaking?

As for there being "Just White & Oxblood?" I can't speak for everyone but from my own standpoint, I sure hope so! Let me repeat that.....I SURE HOPE SO!!!! Other color combinations with oxblood are OK and fine with me too. I figure that if one cannot distinquish between a Jabo and some vintage marbles, maybe the folks have way too much money, should not be buying in the first place or just like them and don't care. From what I can tell, only a couple folks have a problem with Jabo possibly looking like something or other and the rest of the folks don't care or maybe can tell the difference. I think that if I was going to plunk down some big bucks on a marble, I might want to be sure about what is was or get my money back if something was wong. Speaking of big bucks, some people plunk down many thousands of dollars for Jabo marbles......they just get a few more of them.

I am now 63 years old. I played marbles all the time in the 1950's. I collect marbles today because my mother saved a wastebasket full of marbles from my childhood which I rediscovered 25-30 years ago. There were some nice marbles in the wastebasket, which I still have, but except for a couple Popeyes,Peltier and a few others, nothing comes close to the colors and patterns of these special run Jabo marbles. As a kid, I never saw or remember seeing a flame,adventurine,cobra's or any of the other real nice exotic marbles on the playground or in a marble ring that we sometimes see photos of here. With that said, if Jabo would have been making and selling these little gems in the 50's, I think they would have kicked some butt and the whole face of marble collecting today would be much different. We all need to protect many things in this world today but protecting folks from good looking marbles should be about the lowest priority. Yet somehow, folks get real passionate about it to the point of.......well, lawsuits, name calling, fistfights and you name it and all about little globs of glass. Maybe we should all go pick up some little and big globs of oil off the beaches and animals instead? I went to the Carnegie Museum yesterday and was struck by how much new stuff you can buy that looks like really old stuff. Nobody at the museum was standing on a soapbox protesting about a vase, furniture and just about everything that might look like something older and maybe or maybe not better.

This will be my last comment on the subject and I am only doing so because of the beer talking. I suggest that anybody who is worried about the price and quality of the special run marbles and what is being sold and for how much, put the $500 ot $15,000 in the game, take the risk and see what you need to sell them for to get well when it is all said and done. Other than that, your various opinions are just what everyone says.....they are like a--h--es in that everybody has one. It is just that some of the A--H---es have other motives. Give me a break....you do not have to be a brain surgeon to figure out what motivates most people. I really doubt that Mother Theresa or the Pope is posting on this marble board to get thier agenda heard.

How about the Lakers? What do you think about Ohio State football chances for next year? This crap makes my head hurt. Any folks that are concerned about quality & price of modern-made marble goods need to buy your stuff from folks that offer 100% satisfaction and who pay the freight both ways on a return if you are not happy with the transaction. Otherwise. do not buy any and better yet, why waste type talking about it. Why voice strong opinion against something that many people like. If marbles, brands of marbles,types and quality of marbles bothers anyone so much, take up fishing for a hobby and go post there about worms, lures,rods, lakes & stuff and piss somebody else off! America is where it is at, Capitalism is great and you can be anything you can imagine and even obtain it in this Country. Some folks even get to reach thier dream and live a good life selling and producing toy marbles. Many folks do it making many folks happy without screwing them over. How is that for Marketing Of New Run Marbles? Most of what is posted on this site is drivel and not of consequence anyway and I have just contributed myself. By the way....I would like to go on record as saying I am only in it for the money and there is not that much to be had when you only work at it a few hours a month. So I guess I am providing some sort of service because folks continue to buy. If nobody liked what I had to offer, I would not sell any thing. Go figure! Thank you, Mike

I have just expanded the ad for the Akro Cardinal Reds & Cornelians in this thread. I really enjoyed the colorful and flowing descriptions the copywriter used in the ad that was probably written in 1930 or so. I thought it was good honest hype that was ahead of it's time. The only missing element was sex and a puppy. In another area of this board folks have just started discussing the marketing, selling and value of some marbles. Great copy and a good picture can do a lot to increase the value. I believe that in thirty to fifty years from now folks will be looking at some modern production and saying something about marbles that exist but are rarely ID-ed.

Could someone please post or direct me to a photo of a 2001 beer marble 5/8" that David C talks about in an earlier post on this thread? Thank you!

Today, USA Today had a small blurb about Dave M & Jabo in the section that shows what is going on in each State.

This could be a really good thing! Special Alox runs with great & expensive glass. Polish up them rollers. Next Generation Alox sounds pretty good.....huh? Do you want true to time period or modifications to add something?

Marbleus, I am in agreement on all four of the points you just made.

Again, I am a short timer with Dave & Jabo but will try to add some insight. Only been buying for 10-12 years. I am not sure but think Dave has been making marbles for 30-40 years. Dave is pretty easy to talk to and most times if you call Jabo, he will answer the phone. I would not want to speak for Dave but it is my impression that you could call Dave and ask about marbles and he would share most anything with you. He can tell you himself how things work and what can happen. If I were you, I would not take anyone's word on this when you can get the straight scoop right from the horse's mouth. My personal opinion is that I think Dave loves his gig and likes to tell folks what he does and how he does it. I will say that as recently as February 2010, Dave told his guys running the machines that if they kept at the job of making marbles, that they would start to learn how to get it right and make some pretty marbles. These are not exactly the words Dave used but something to that effect. By the way, this was Dave's way of being funny. I do not know you Akro but I do think you want to stir things up and that ain't too funny. If it makes you feel better to say and post what you do, how about this......I think you are rude! I will never again try to add anything to your opinions from this day forward. Life is short and you should get one!

I will attempt to answer as best I can. I am not sure if this will add anything to the marble knowledge base but here goes and it is just my take on the subject. Has one put some serious skin in the game with Jabo Special Run marbles? If the answer is yes, no further explanation is needed because if you have been there (with money on the line), you get it. If the answer is no, I suggest one should invest (if you really care) in a run to find out what really happens at a special marble run. Sometimes what you think you are getting and what you get are two different things. Sometimes during the run the "Artist" leaves the building to go to the Post Office or run an errand while you are melting $1,200 or more per hour but maybe that was all planned out. Ebay copy is sometimes not a doctoral thesis. Sometimes the written word is often interpreted differently by different folks at different times. It all comes down to......Do you like the marble? If the answer is yes, most of the other crap does not matter. Sometimes my motive is all about the marble and sometimes it is all about the money. I try not to make things too much more complicated than that. If I had a bunch of product knowledge on a particular subject, I would not be spending so much time reading and posting on marble boards. Pretty deep huh?