Scoop

That said.... This shouldn't need to be... But, past experience says "Just Do It!!!" When you put the word MARBLES in your auction... Be sure it's spelled correctly!!! Things that aren't searched often; Mables & Marbels..... Ooops... I may have just dropped the ball on other "Secret Search" hints!!! LOL

OK...... OK!!!!!!! Uncle!!! LOL I'm just bringing back a memory of a thread that happened a long time ago... I wasn't even involved!! But.... The end result was... There were more people upset by the postings than not. So... We (collectively) decided we would be more selective about listing live auctions. That said... Those who continue... If we get grief, we'll simply forward it to you, OK? 'Works for me.....

BINGO!!!!! That's what I'm really talkin' about.... We've had this come up (A long time ago....) and enough auctions were posted, that several people who work hard to find "sleepers" were pretty PO'd that the auctions they hoped wouldn't be noticed, were plastered up for all to see... I don't search out auctions... I don't have the time or the spare cash to "search" for stuff... If I happen to cross an auction that I like, I'll bid... I'm bummed that I missed the end of the auction with the "half" marbles.... I planned to bid on it. The only reason I would have bid on it, is because it was posted here... Luckily, for the winner, I didn't realize it ended so soon and I missed it.... It must be a "Karma Thing!!!"

Clyde, I totally agree. That's why I said.... I was referring to the auction of the "half marbles" and the one with the funky Superman and Golden Rebel... It's fun to make comments about auctions... But, in both cases, I can see bidders being unhappy about the exposure and sellers being unhappy about the criticism... As much as I can appreciate the mention of the Superman and Golden Rebel... There's still a lot in that auction that makes it not such a bad deal (so far...) If I were hoping to win it, or if I were the seller... I wouldn't appreciate the thread.

I haven't heard anything yet.... But, I can feel it comin'!!! Unless an auction is clearly deceptive and needs to be a warning.... Out of respect for both sellers and bidders, we should probably hold off on the links until the auction is over...

It all depends on what they are looking at..... If it's the Golden Rebel and Superman, your right... This kinda looks like one of the cigar boxes Mike Petura used to put together, before he learned that mixing old and new was a "no-no." Though, those 2 marbles may be too good for Mike's early work. He made cool marbles, but I don't think.... At the time.... he knew any more about proper "styles" than he knew about the rules of selling them....

OK, I'll go with that.... Though, I think I'd prefer a sub-level of solid core... Griff, I don't think it's been used before... I don't think anyone really cared before. They were either viewed as solid core, or tri-level.. Depending on the observers choice... In a past thread, this topic came up and I was asked... If not a Tri-level, what would I call it?? Since these are distinctly different from what I've considered a tri-level... AND, they seem to be in a group of their own amongst solid cores... The question made sense. Since I don't really notice them and always simply considered them solid core, I took a second look.... Solid core with floating colors was what I saw, so... That's what I said. None of the handmade names were names, until someone said what they saw.... So, that's what I'm callin' 'em...

VERY well said, SNYD!!! In the past, many times, I've posted requests for collectors who contact these sellers to BE POLITE!!!! As new people come in, it needs to be repeated... And....... We also need to do so in our threads.... When we see this auction crap over and OVER, it does get really old, really fast!!! It's hard not to take a jab at them.... But... We CANNOT forget that for some of the sellers, it's all brand new... Even when dealing with a known skank, staying above their level will always give you an edge.

????? Marie??

Hey srestep09, WELCOME!!! I'm sure we all wish it were under better circumstances... This really sucks... Please forgive any BS you've been through on our account... As you can see, we fight a pretty constant battle against this sort of thing... It's a thankless and seemingly never-ending road. Now that ebay has tightened the auction privacy loop, we can't warn people like you, who bid on these things, BEFORE they get taken... It's tricky to contact a seller and alert them to what they have. Those who do it never know what's gonna come back at them. No matter if the seller is honest or not, they don't want to hear this news. Even those sellers who do the "honorable thing" (Thank you for that!!) are understandably upset... Then, there are the nasty ones!!! From our end, it's really tough to always stay open minded about the sellers. The battle gets weary and sometimes it's hard to stay objective and not be cynical... I apologize for any of that you may have seen from our community... We really DO appreciate your honesty.

Happy Birthday, Gene!!!!!

HEY!!!! I also have a box of unused Swarovski bags!!! THINK of the possibilities!!!!

Yup.... Jewelry, vanity item, maybe some fancy table server... It's basically a Jeweler's box. I pick 'em up where ever I find them, to display and give-with that type of item I may be selling in my co-op space... Wow, with my stash, we could recreate marble history!!! ROFLMAO

I know...... Ya either love it or hate it!! 'Sorry, as hokey as it may be, I love it!!! So... If you hate it, I'm sorry to bring it up!! But, if your into it, you know, there's 2 girls going home this week after the top 12 performed last night... Since it's kinda early to look at winners (And the guys have yet to show) Any thoughts on whose gonna be 2 of the first 4 out?? Here's a link to the performances.... Top 12 Girls I'm callin' Haeley Vaughn and Lacey Brown OUTTA HERE!!! I feel so bad to call Haeley... She's so cute and so young... But, I'm afraid she's just not ready for this.....

Whoa!!! That looks a lot like Cookie!!! He was the Dad to Nilly's 17 babies!! (Nilly is Steph's avatar) Now I know how THAT happened!!! The picture in the avatar was taken after that..... ...... Ahhhhhh, the love life of rodents is an amazing thing!!!! Nilly dutifully (Though grudgingly) raised 12 of those babies........ 'Course, she ate the rest.....

Top left and bottom right?? That could be because those 2 are very small. The top left is probably a little over 5/8" and the other is smaller (That's a penny next to it...) The top right and bottom left are closer to 2". The larger ones look "busy," but more in sync. So, it may be the tight space. It could be the pictures... Or, maybe they just don't "Do it" for you!! I wish more felt that way!! Maybe, if enough people read this and decide they don't like 'em... They'll be easier to buy!!! LOL

Special yes? Or special no.... Close your eyes, say it in your head and tell me it doesn't make sense.... Snicker!!

Hey, at least she says Jabo in her title!! LOL She forgot Chinese!!!

That's cuz everyone figures they can sound more "special" and make more money by calling them tri-level / tri-stage!!! You have to get into the head of someone on the other side of the wallet!!!

We had a fractal wall calendar for 2009... It was wonderful!!! I'm always looking for patterns to incorporate into embroidery... These damned fractal designs frustrate me to death!!! I'd love to try and use them... But, it would become a 24/7 life long project!!! LOL

Ooops... Even at that length, I forgot..... I have a 4 level... And, I've heard of others... 'Never seen one sell. So, it's tough to say how much of a factor that is to others, price-wise... It sure is an attraction to me!! Also... This made me wonder.... Has anyone ever seen goldstone in a tri-stage?? I haven't... That would pop eyeballs!! LOL

Griff did a good job with that... Hell, we haven't even solidly determined a firm definition!! (At least in MY mind!!! LOL) Let alone a degree of rarity or value!! I'm still inclined to call the first 2 examples "Solid Core with Floating Color" Usually, that floating color is transparent... I'm also inclined to call the green one the same... Huge difference in that it has opague color and the core is green... That is HUGE!! But, I still have difficulty calling it tri-level... I see it as the white still being a part of the core... The white doesn't stand well alone... Again, as Griff says... Literal yes... Which is what causes an issue here... Because the name is tri-level and it can be taken more literally than it was originally intended... Terms are FAR more under a microscope now, than they were when they were coined... I'm sure the internet has had a large play in that. Allowing this sort of conversation to happen (Which I think, is good...) So... Back to my point and your answer... I call these questionable examples "Solid Core with Floating Color" because it is a literal name... And, it differentiates them from what I consider a "Tri-stage" in a way that the Tri-stages cannot be differentiated from other handmades, because... unlike a "Solid Core with Floating Color"... there is no large grouping that are the same, in any other way... Only in that, they have 3 stages of design..... On rarity and value... Griff's right. I can only say they are "less common." Doing the extra work involved to make them, would be more time consuming... Toy marbles were not an art form as they were made. That's one of the things that amazes me about the variations and the fact that some of these "oddball" designs even exist... Under what circumstances were workers allowed to take the time to be more creative?? Was that work appreciated by the glass house?? Did it ever reflect in original value?? Occasionally, we see old advertisements for "premium marbles"... What was the criteria for that?? Obviously, goldstone / Lutzes had better billing (I've seen those)... Mica probably did... But, did anyone ever pull this type out and say, "Hey, we can get more money for these!!" Could they have taken the extra time making these marbles, to experiment, teach and learn for the purpose of using the education for making higher end items?? Or, was it just a "who can out-do who" competition spawned from boredom?? Uh.... OK... I'm getting farther away from that question... But, the question has made my mind wander!!! LOL The thing is... It seems like not calling these "Floating Core" marbles "Tri-level," indicates that they are not as "worthy" or valuable That is absolutely NOT the case... It's JUST a name... Unfortunately, that name has been equated with $$$ (And, it seems to work!!) That green core is simply INCREDIBLE!!! Whether you call it a "tri-stage" or a "solid core with floaters"... Then, yes... Of course!! The color of the core makes a huge difference to others of it's style... Since a ribbon core on it's own is less common, I would think a ribbon core in a tri-stage would be a plus... But... Even at that, the REAL value of most any marble comes down to it's appeal... The most common of designs, with the right twist, or colors, or... Whatever!! Even size & condition.. These days, it's so hard to find very large marbles in excellent to mint condition... This all has to be taken into account... So, to say with a blanket statement that a ribbon core in a tri-stage... Say it's a simple ribbon...will be more valuable than a far more common latticinio core, or solid core.... Would be irresponsible... Give a common marble an extra twist, or something to make everyone say "WOW!!" and it will always beat out a less common marble that has less appeal... OTOH.... Put a KILLER razor ribbon in a tri-stage and... Well, YEAH!! It's gonna make a hell of a difference!! Just as that green core does... Sorry for the long rant....

AWESOME Ray!!!!!! Absolutely Awesome!!! Hey... I had this long response all done up on Facebook and I lost it before it posted... I just haven't had time to figure out Facebook yet... The basic jist was... Well.... I guess I got my answer!!! Are you home yet?? It's great to hear from you!!

It's really cool to explore this beyond the question of... "Are those transparent colors far enough away from the solid white core to call it...." This one is even more questionable than my white core with yellow cage... The white lines are very definitely tuned into the green, rather than being a design of their own... So, is it?? Or, isn't it?? Like the very first one in this thread, my feeling is.... "Who Cares??" It's incredibly unique. Does it have to wear a label?

That's really probably very true... I don't think it's really a matter of rarity... I think it's more a matter of.... The people who are looking for a type of marble "Formerly Known as Tri-stage / Tri-levels" are not looking for these marbles... So, they're maybe not that tough to find.... LOL Let me go back to the Superman thing... If someone calls a marble a "Superman" because it has the colors of Superman, why would we need to differentiate between a Pelt Superman and an Akro Superman?? Handmades don't have the advantage of company names... But, in this case, it's a similar analogy in beauty, rarity and value. That's a beauty!! As Griff says... It's tough to say how rare is rare... I don't think what I call tri-stages are as terribly rare as some other types of handmades... They just aren't as common. So, when you have a sizeable collection and there's just no need to buy another typical latticinio, solid core, divided core, etc... These are something to look for. In the average show, it's possible to find a few. But, you have to look for them.... I would say they are probably about as common (or, uncommon) as a ribbon core. Another benefit to collecting them is the variety!! When there's 3 layers to work with, the combination possibilities are far greater... Again, that brings me back to those "common" types... In those, the center and second layer are always consistent.. Transparent color against a white core... The 2 levels work together, but rarely alone... Though, I am sure there are variations to that... I have a solid white core with an opaque yellow "cage." (see below..) Why would that be a tri-level, if the others are not?? Good Question... Whether it is, or isn't... It's far less common, so you can call it whatever you want!! I bought it!! In the end, it's about "unique construction" more than levels... The "Tri-level" thing only came up because it's the one thing they all have in common.... Sure Sami!! Here's some pictures I have handy of what I consider Tri-level... I'd like to do a better comparison to the others, but I don't think I have the pictures handy... I'll try to work on it and either add or edit as I can... I may have to steal some pics off of ebay and it may take a while... This is not what I'm "supposed" to be doing today!! In the end, I don't think anyone's mind will change... And, that's OK!! .... But, if we can put out enough info to teach the differences, at least the people who are interested will understand and be able to determine for themselves what they like.... In the end, that's what's important. A name, is just a name....