The used market is more interesting so I haunt estate auctions. I would like to make a paper holder for a specific space so I’m casually looking for a handful of marbles to sandwich between some pieces of hardwood to make it so.
Wow. An item I would expect to bid out at $2.50 or $5 goes past $50. Why? They’re just marbles. I’m old. I had a collection as a kid, but I’m not feeling any nostalgia for little glass balls.
Collecting things, knick-knacks and such, are down in price all around. People don’t have space, disposable income, or time for the Boomer hoarding nonsense, they just want the houses the stuff was stored in. And yet. Marbles are somehow an acceptable hoard and take up space item now. In fact, there seems to be a moral imperative to make it so. Why?
Everyone lost their marbles
People get into the mood of bidding and lose all rationality.
You can buy 100 marbles for like $10 online
Exactly. I can find them. But these estate auction bidders are spending so much. The last bid I looked at was $38 already and that’s not accounting for sales tax or the 18% tacked on for the auction house.
It’s bizarre.
You based in Australia? I’ll ship you my marble collection.
You might be better off using steel ball bearings if they aren’t going to be visible. From a casual search it looks like steel is cheaper than glass as far as balls are concerned.
Seems a bit heavy for paper.
Hmm, for some reason I read ‘paper holder’ and my brain turned it into ‘bookend’, I thought it was for a bookshelf and mentally pictured a vertical contraption, I see now that isn’t what you were going for.
The pricing situation seems similar to used furniture on craigslist. Some sellers seem to think furniture can only go up in value from the sticker price, regardless of the number of dogs owned. It’s not like they are made out of marble…
This is super random and interesting. I assume you’re not in Japan? People selling hand items here have serious brain damage with the prices they think people will pay.
States. You can find marbles new. But I’d added some to watch lists on a few auctions now, thinking I’d scoop some up on the cheap instead of buying new. I was so wrong, and it’s a pattern of high spending by bidders.
I bought marbles for cheap at the dollar store last summer. They’re good for camping games when you don’t have a lot of space.
Dollar store isn’t really on my radar. Nor is it a dollar store any more. But that will work.
You can’t find cheap marbles?
Not on estate auction. The bidding wars on them are ridiculous and I’d love to know why.
If things taking up space is a concern, marbles seem like they have an advantage over most things.
I used to have a marble collection but I’ve lost track of its position. You could say…
