manylittle Posted February 3, 2014 Report Share Posted February 3, 2014 What has effected the decline in the price of marbles from what they were even 5 - 10 years ago? Is it all the Economy? Are there other facters? Can you give examples? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lstmmrbls Posted February 3, 2014 Report Share Posted February 3, 2014 with most it is ebay and the internet digging at sitesb and the reunification of Germany.. many marbles that were hard to find at shows, trading, flea markets, antique stores have been found to be much more common that previously believed. This has actually happened with many types of collectibles. Original MK spiderman were going for 250 as were Parrots at one time. Unless you were in certain areas of the country they were a tough find. (no longer HTF at all) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VTAndrea Posted February 3, 2014 Report Share Posted February 3, 2014 It's sad what the internet (mostly ebay) has done to antiques shops. I used to love prowling through them locally and whenever I traveled. So many have closed. I miss them! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greatmacscott Posted February 3, 2014 Report Share Posted February 3, 2014 How about the impact of an aging collector base: - less collectors competing for HTF marbles - collectors disposing of collections before it becomes a burden on heirs - fewer younger collectors without resources for high dollar marbles Anyone seen a spontaneous marble game breaking out on the school playground? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hdesousa Posted February 3, 2014 Report Share Posted February 3, 2014 It's sad what the internet (mostly ebay) has done to antiques shops. I used to love prowling through them locally and whenever I traveled. So many have closed. I miss them! Don't understand why you're sad. It's a lot easier to prowl through eBay than antique shops. Can do it much more comfortably - in your PJs and in a recliner if you want - a better selection and usually much cheaper than buying through dealers whom eBay has put out of business. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lstmmrbls Posted February 4, 2014 Report Share Posted February 4, 2014 Ya, but I too miss the dusty corners overlooked closets and back rooms in many a disappeared antique store. Ebay sucks as a buying adventure. I really enjoy the make offer folks that will go back and forth like some old time horse trading. It is the most fun Ebay can offer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VTAndrea Posted February 4, 2014 Report Share Posted February 4, 2014 I think it's much easier to conceal a fakery on ebay than when you can hold something up to the light in a real store, not to mention the sheer fun of finding something totally unexpected as opposed to purposefully looking through one category on ebay. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kbobam Posted February 4, 2014 Report Share Posted February 4, 2014 Many of us older guys (and gals too) feel the same way about 'the hardware store'. It's not that we don't think the big orange box is great, but we're talking about two completely different experiences. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
manylittle Posted February 4, 2014 Author Report Share Posted February 4, 2014 Having owned a walk in, or as they call it, a 'bricks and mortar' antique shop for 26 years now, I can tell you that there were more things than just the internet that has affected their decline. During the late '80's thru early '90's, their was an upsurge in antique collecting because of the decorating styles being advertised in all of the magazines and decorating shows. Kitchen collectibles and primitives were very hot and I could bring the results from an auction buying trip into my store and have a profit made before I got everything out on the shelves...it was crazy....antique dealers were making money hands over fists, which got the attention of those people who are always out there to make 'easy money'. The upsurge in the number of Antique Malls was a direct response to that in order to cater to all of these new 'antique dealers' But there was one thing wrong. There was not enough good stuff to go around and the new people simply did not know what was good and what was not. More and more, one would go into an antique mall and you would see booth after booth full of flea market JUNK!! It was discouraging to buyers to have to sort through all of those booths to find just a few good things. The rise of ebay staved off the inevitable for a while as at the beginning, things on ebay would bring good prices simply because of the novelty and the excitement of the experience. That, however, did not last as the excitement wore off once one got used to it. Eventually the expected happened and more and more of the get rich quick people that had no emotional love for the antiques trade got out of the business. That meant that more and more malls that were used to completely rented out booths and a waiting list of renters, hand to start tightening their belts due to unrented spaces. One can only fill so many empty booths with your own stuff unless you are really committed to the business. Those who survived ended up with stores that had a combination of walk-in traffic, an online presence in online malls such as Ebay, TIAS, Ruby Lane, Go Antiques, etc., and who recruited good antique dealers to rent their booths who were dedicated to filling them with good quality antiques and collectibles. Single person antique stores had to adapt to the times also. In may own case, one other factor has made me decide that it is time to sell my building and go to renting a booth in a mall and selling online. That is, that where as once, due to the popularity of a local restaurant called the Norske Nook, that was famous for its pies,......its owner had made pies on Johnny Carson and David Letterman....I used to get 500 people a day through my store...I now get less than 20. The restaurant got bought by a person who wanted to get rich quick and immediately opened up more restaurants in other towns and did not keep the high quality, everything from scratch mantra that made the restaurant what it was to begin with. It lost its exclusivity and its quality. I, over the years watched a vibrant small town with 5 antique stores in it die until I was the only one left. Last year, another store moved in but I had already made my decision to sell and only the economy was keeping me from getting out. The other store had a good first few months because it was new and even though they have great stuff, they are suffering from the lack of people coming off the interstate and into our downtown. For the antique business in general, I say that those people who adapt to the new world and utilize the best of both the 'hands on, walk-in' world as well as the internet world will survive and even thrive if and when our economy comes back and people get back to work. Raising the minimum wage would not help either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kbobam Posted February 4, 2014 Report Share Posted February 4, 2014 That was a very interesting post! Good to get a 'historical perspective' from someone who's 'been there and back'. (That might not be the perfect 'expression', but you know what I mean!) P.S. Only thing I didn't 'get' was the last line about the minimum wage. Didn't connect it with everything else. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
manylittle Posted February 4, 2014 Author Report Share Posted February 4, 2014 When I was a teenager, I worked as a dishwasher in a nursing home. I was making minimum wage. I was making good money I thought, even with part time hours. My parents divorced when I was 15 or so, and although at first, my mom got child support, and had some income from the sale of her dad's farm and some other land, it became harder and harder for her to make ends meet, but she said nothing. It got worse after my brother hit 18 and her child support was cut in half. Our father was an alcoholic and would not have offered a dime more to help. (Mom was unable to work, due to a physical disability from injuries from a car accident when I was just a baby). I became aware of the situation the day I came home to find someone in the act of shutting off the electricity. I promptly paid the bill and went inside to have a 'conversation' with my mom. I was 20 and working as a waitress for the summer at a local restaurant. At that time, I took over the role as the main wage earner and bill payer for my family. Then, not even two weeks later, my mom died from a sudden unexpected heart attack. She was 56. I found myself with the sole responsibility of taking over 100% of the bills of maintaining a very large brick two story house, and having a brother who was in collage. He, thank God, had a full scholarship, but still needed money with books and just general living expenses that his scholarship did not cover. I would send him money for books, and get a letter that would say..'Thanks for the money Vic, I bought a banjo...still need the books'. lol I'd send him the extra $100 because I knew that life was unpredictable and that someday the shoe would be on the other foot. I was right and will always be extremely grateful that I have such a great brother, but that is another story.....The point is that I was able to meet all of our needs on a minimum wage job and I did not have to worry about juggling the bills around and robbing peter to pay paul. The main point that I am trying to make is that if the minimum wage from when I was young, had kept up with the cost of living it would be $22 per hour now. No one, working at a full time minimum wage job would be below the poverty line and if both the husband and wife were working full time minimum wage jobs they would be in what is now considered the middle class and they would have the money for modest luxuries such as antiques and yes, even marbles !!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
manylittle Posted February 4, 2014 Author Report Share Posted February 4, 2014 By the way, Thanks Kbobam, for that nice comment....maybe this 'newbie' has something to contribute, after all !!!! lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
manylittle Posted February 4, 2014 Author Report Share Posted February 4, 2014 One of my favorite things to do, either by myself or with a fellow antiquer, is to take the day and travel around, browsing through the antique stores that I find along the way. I get to see lots of beautiful countryside along the way, sometimes stopping to feed my passion for nature, landscape and wildlife photography, finding somewhere to enjoy a meal at a mom and pop's restaurant. I enjoy the feeling while I am digging around in an antique store or flea market, that that one treasure is just around the corner whether it be a hybrid popeye marble in someone's quart jar of mixed marbles for $5 or that advertising picture of Uncle Sam for $15 at a flea market that paid my property taxes for the year when It sold!!! I never know what I am going to find, and that is part of the adventure, the joy of the hunt !! I, also have fond memories of our local hardware store. The Thode brothers had had their stores for decades and if they did not have it, no one did, and the amazing thing was that they knew where everything was !!! When the store came up for sale, I almost bought it. I was told that I could only go upstairs if I took the risk, as the stairway was sort of 'iffy' and so I did not go. I should have. I did not go upstairs, but I later found out that it was full of 70 years of toys left over from Christmas Sales. I could have paid for the building by selling those toys!!! That is one of my biggest, kick myself in the but, mistakes I have ever made. !!!! Oh well, life goes on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VTAndrea Posted February 4, 2014 Report Share Posted February 4, 2014 I enjoyed reading all your posts, manylittle. You've had a very interesting life! I think I'd have enjoyed going through your antique store. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sissydear Posted February 4, 2014 Report Share Posted February 4, 2014 Loved your post Steph. Congress needs to catch up. It's wrong to work every day for minimum wage and still be eligible for food stamps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duffy Posted February 4, 2014 Report Share Posted February 4, 2014 those antique mall things are terrible...ive been in lots of em and they've taken out one important thing in the process...the dickering....theres only a few flea markets worth goin too..the one in Marietta at an old discount store has had the same stuffin it for 25 years....most stuff couldnt sell for a dime...there is a antique show that vendors travel to every month or so but they have to cover their expences so theres not a good deal to be had there....everybody things theyre sittin on a gold mine but that's not the case....people who use ebay for pricin at yard sales are way off ,too....theres perpetual yard sales that sell things 200-300 % over what its worth...its a yard sale for goodness sakes....then theres the know-it all that strut around at the venues ,where you shop...weve all seen em....if you think that your knowledge is over the lesser...you have no idea how ignorant you really look...things people thought are rare..haint...its mostly just old....if you overspend don't take it out on me...if you wanna see greed at its upmost ,go to a live marbles only auction...just because you spent 100$ for an item don't make it worth that....any amount of bullcrap that you spew to cover your mistake is laughable....then theres reproductions and fakes...I could go on and on....top 5 reasons collectibles have sunk...1..greed..2...overpayin...3...antique malls...4...ego...5....tryin to reinvent the wheel....ebay is just a marketplace.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
manylittle Posted February 4, 2014 Author Report Share Posted February 4, 2014 Who is the 'you' that you are talking about. I sure hope that you really mean 'they' and aren't meaning 'me'? lol. If you go into a mall and you want to 'dicker' go to the desk and ask the clerk to get the owner of the item on the phone if she can. Most malls now have cell phones that don't charge for long distance calls like the old land lines did and do so the cost of the call is no longer a deterant. If you ask nicely, he or she probably will try and get ahold of the owner of the item unless they have specified that they are not to be called. I know that over the phone is not as fun and you can't read the person's body language to see if they are close to accepting near your offer, but at least you don't have to accept a 10% discount. When I worked for one of the larger malls near me, we would often have to call the owner of the items, especially if the customer wanted more than one item. I can understand the reason for the 10% discount rule when the clerk is not the owner of the item. The booth renter has to have some trust that the clerk is not going to give his or her item away, just to get a sale. After all, the clerk has no idea what the booth renter paid for the item, has not done the research on the item, and has no authority to do anything other than what the rules of the store give him or her. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lstmmrbls Posted February 4, 2014 Report Share Posted February 4, 2014 350 at one of those multi dealer giant Antique stores that I still occasionally find deals in, including marbles. I once sold antiques out of 5 different stores and agree there are a combination of causes for the decline in many antique prices. The original question was about marbles, and I still believe the Internet is the # 1 cause of the decline in prices for marbles and many other collectibles. China and its cheap reproductions has also had a large effect.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
manylittle Posted February 4, 2014 Author Report Share Posted February 4, 2014 Ya, we sort of got off subject, but that is what happens in conversations. One thing leads to another. What about the economy? I had a discussion about this with one of the chief officers of the Wisconsin Badger Marble Club. We were discussing the decline in the price of popeyes in the last few years. He felt that the economy has had a major factor also. He said that the effect of the internet had evened itself out quite a while ago. I also think that the digs from the factory sites had an effect on certain machine mades that used to be hard to find. If the economy is a factor, do you think that as things continue to get better, that prices may go up? There is a fewer percentage of people all the time who have the type of incomes that they can afford to pay $1,000.00 for a marble, much less $5 or $8 grand. I keep hoping I'll find some wealthy someone on my dating site that will fall head over heals for me and tell me, yes , sweetheart, you can have any little marble your heart desires !!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
manylittle Posted February 4, 2014 Author Report Share Posted February 4, 2014 You mentioned MK spidermen and parrots going for $250....and now they go for? I think its a good thing in this discussion to know just exactly how much the market has been effected by comparing before and after prices. That way, we can possibly get an idea of percentage of price declines. Also, if you are seeing a rise in any prices that had previously gone down, that would be interesting to know, also. That is a nice silk cabinet. Great for storing smalls like marbles...and you can organize them by category in the different drawers.!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
manylittle Posted February 4, 2014 Author Report Share Posted February 4, 2014 For example, even 7 years ago, I was still selling plain old yellow and red popeyes for $25 each for near mint plus examples, and I was getting $45 or so for the purple and yellow ones. . Now I can't get anywhere near that for a mint one!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chucks_mibs Posted February 4, 2014 Report Share Posted February 4, 2014 You mentioned MK spidermen and parrots going for $250....and now they go for? With reference to eBay....Parrots are going for much more than MK spidermen RIGHT NOW.....Parrots average between $15-$35 and spidermen are sadly about $10-$20.....of course size condition and eye appeal are the MAIN deciding factors while bidding wars contribute to some of the hype too.....Its like real estate, values are always changing...however the values fluctuate more frequently for marbles....Whats hot and considered valuable today can be cheap and less desirable next week....My two cents Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lstmmrbls Posted February 4, 2014 Report Share Posted February 4, 2014 I have recently paid as little as $5.00 each for 15 of the original run type spidermen. Years ago they were way too much(all over 100 each) for me to even buy one. I did pay $120 years ago for an exceptional parrot that I would not spend over 40 on today, and could probably find one similar for 20-30. I have also spent 40-100+ for many a hand made that I could probably get for 5-30 at shows today. I recently picked up about a dozen nice good sized handmades in very good condition 1 1/4"-1 1/2" for 25 each. sold them the next day for 30 each to a good friend. These all would have been 100 dollar marbles 20 years ago. Most of my CACs I could probably sell for more than I paid. Guineas that were fetching 150-250 now go for 3-400. Regular swirls have gone down about 50%. Great flames, exceptional striped transparents and opaques have held value. Oh yea I forgot to mention another reason for the decline in marble values. Some auction houses caring only about their bottom dollar and not giving a damn about their consignees or the hobby in general have had marble auctions with so many marbles that the prices gained were about 50% of what they should have been. Many of the sellers have been truly disappointed(I am being overly nice) Yes the worse of them In my opinion starts with an M Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
manylittle Posted February 5, 2014 Author Report Share Posted February 5, 2014 why were the prices in the auction down so much. Did people run out of money? Or did they think they had to budget so that they could buy more stuff. Time is not as much as restraint in online auctions like they are in real live auctions. That might be why they feel that they can add in more marbles in the online auctions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chucks_mibs Posted February 5, 2014 Report Share Posted February 5, 2014 Dont forget to consider that with so many different venues, you will find they demand many different prices for marbles..... -Live Auctions -Person to Person -Ebay -Flea Markets -Marble Shows -Antique Shops AND Malls All have lower and higher prices.....ultimately prices are between the buyer and seller....But not all venues will yeild HAPPY results for everyone Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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