Greetings From A New Convert

[stacyw]

Hello all,

I have been poring over this board for a couple of weeks and it's time to come out of "lurkdom".

Although I have been entranced by marbles forever, I have never really studied or collected them. As fate would have it, I recently rescued a large container of marbles from my late in-law's house which was being emptied. The last time any marbles could have been added was the late 1960's or very early 70's at the latest.

My initial idea was to just sell them but of course that plan was abandoned and now I'm looking toward selling some to finance collecting more.

So, here are a few of my initial questions:

Is it acceptable to ask for value estimates on this board?

What do you think of EBay as a sales tool?

How does one determine condition? I've been reading up on the subject but it's very confusing.

I look forward to corresponding with you very knowledgeable folks and hope you will be patient with my "newbie-ness".

Good evening,

Stacy

[david Chamberlain]

Hi Stacy,

I just happened to be here and caught your Post and Pic coming in.

I believe it is perfectly acceptable to enquire about marble values.

Re. condition: It is critical. What you're working with here is glass and marbles just like any other glass object can be affected highly by the slightest chip, ding, you name it. Often just a single small subsurface 'moon' will at the very least half the potential value of a marble. It is easy to overlook these things because the darn things are so small....well in most cases. If the marble warrants concern/interest and you want to be absolutely sure about its condition I would suggest viewing it with a 10x magnification. Anything higher gets scary!

There appear to be some likely prospects amongst the array of marbles you have spread out here although I cannot from these two distant shots even begin to properly identify. Well, maybe some but they are not high-flyers, so-to-speak. There's some in the middle shadows that are intriguing but I just can't be definite.

You will get a lot of help here from a variety of people but it will probably require homing in on certain areas of your larger photos or just introducing them in smaller groupings.

Oh, eBay. I am not one to ask but it runs pro and con. It's a jungle out there on eBay!

For the record, the Hay Day for machine-made marbles(which is what you have) was during the 1930's/1940's/1950's And some of us would actually say that in recent years it is happening again but that is another story.

Good Luck, David

[marblemansion]

uhhhh yeah - what David said.

My collecting days are over - so if you want to check out some great bargains - look over my auctions - and if you have any questions - I have helped several new collectors by donating to them a small ID set to help get you started.

Bill

[stacyw]

Thanks David!

I wasn't expecting any id's from the photo - just wanted to give a general idea of the numbers and variety. Already culled out are those with serious damage or internal fractures. I agree that there are no real "high-flyers" although there are some less common ones and some that might fill in some gaps in someone else's collection. And then of course there are a few that just "speak" to me.

I'm starting out by pulling out the Vitro's because there are lots of them and they're relatively easy to identify. I'll post some of them tomorrow.

Stacy

[wvrons]

Welcome ! Those pictures are excellent,it shows how it should begin. Divide them into like piles and just keep dividing. You will see the difference in each pile and then they can be divided again. You may not finish or fill the entire puzzel for some time,but you will start seeing the bigger picture. It is a big puzzel,many pieces,confusing,frustrating,and takes a lot of effort. But it is a accomplishment and rewarding when you begin to see the picture. A warning,you may never see the entire finished picture. I am not sure all of the pieces that fit perfect have been found yet.

[stacyw]

Thanks so much guys! I appreciate the welcome.

Stacy

[zaboo]

Hi Stacy! welcome!

I have sold on ebay for 13 years. have met some wonderful people and made a few very good friends! several of which in the past couple of years have actually gotten to meet in person and the friendships grow! Hope you find it so too! and then there's some of the wonderful friends we have made from the boards. many of which we now consider close, personal friends. it's a jungle yes, and there's always a few hyenas, but mostly great, honest, fun people! Can't count the friends we've made through the iamc.... it's a fun hobby!

~Dani

iamc

[jeeperman]

Welcome Stacy! Your pic kinda made me laugh.....the first time I was ever at Dani and Ernies (Zaboo} house their picnic table looked the same way, but then so did the other tables! lol Anyways cant agree more with whats been said!! Enjoy the sickness!