oboy oboy oboy

[grasswire]

I'm on pins and needles. I'm watching an item on an online auction that is seriously undervalued. It won't close for several more days. It's worth about $175 and currently the only bid is $5.

Agh!!! Yikes!!! It's killing me. I want it real bad.

But I'm not telling anyone yet where it is or what it is 'cuz I don't want any competition! You all know that feeling when you stumble on a treasure.

If I get it cheap, you will all be tickled to see it, I know.

[Vinca]

1. I can't wait to find out what it is! That hasn't happened to me on ebay

in a long, long time.

[sufrommich]

2. Good luck grasswire.I hope they're well hidden or

grossly mis-identified!;-)

For days I watched these candlesticks in anticipation that I would be bidding against 1 single bidder who found them too. On the last day it ended up with many bidders.They're stilll worth more than they were won for:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&item=160297338531

It's a good time to get deals on ebay. As a seller,not so good.This economy sucks.

[Vinca]

3. Oooh . . . those candle holders were gorgeous. nt

[sufrommich]

5. They were "Gouda" and probably worth

$300 to $400, but who knows how high the last bidder was willing to go.It got too rich for my blood.

[Whoa_Nelly]

6. ahhhhhhhhh... damn those are pretty!

Sorry you didn't get them :pals:

[Phoebe Loosinhouse]

4. Good luck! nt.

[grasswire]

7. well, the item closes tomorrow...

....and there are currently nine bids and the last one is $56. So I doubt that I will end up buying this, because my general rule of thumb is to not pay more than half of what I KNOW I can sell it for. Damn. I thought it was obscurely described enough that it would attract little notice.

[Vinca]

8. That's too bad - you ought to throw in your highest bid anyway.

You never know. I had a strange sale over the weekend. I had a pair of cufflinks on at $9.99 with no bids all week. I figured they wouldn't sell and at the last minute they went for $125!

[grasswire]

9. well, it closed at $91....... wah!

It's a set of jadeite children's dishes in the original box, on shopgoodwill.com.

http://www.shopgoodwill.com/viewItem.asp?ItemID=4209747


Harry Rinker estimated the value of the set at about $175 (of course the market may be lower now).

QUESTION: I have a set of toy dishes. The only marking is “CHIQUITA TOY DISHES” on the lid of the box. The box lid artwork has a Mexican theme with a man wearing a sombrero and playing a guitar while riding a donkey in the center of the border motif on the bottom of the lid. There is straw in the box under the dishes. The pieces are made from a clear, dark blue glass. None of the dishes are chipped or scratched. What are they worth? -- E-Mail Question, Little Falls, MN

ANSWER: The Akro Agate Company made your dishes. Founded in 1911 and first located in Ohio, the company opened a large factory in Clarksburg, West Virginia, in 1914. The Akro Agate Company is best known among collectors as a manufacturer of marbles.

Increasing competition in the marble industry in the 1930s prompted Akro Agate to expand. In 1936, following a major fire at the Westite factory, Akro Agate purchased many of Westite’s molds. Akro Agate now boasted a large line of children’s dishes, floral wares, and household accessories. The company also produced specialty glass containers for cosmetic firms, including the Mexicali cigarette jar (originally filled with Pick Wick bath salts) and a special line made for the Jean Vivaudaou Company, Inc.

The Clarksburg Glass Company bought the factory in 1951.

Gene Florence’s The Collector’s Encyclopedia of AKRO AGATE Glassware, Revised Edition (Collector Books, 1975, 1992 value update; 80 pages, $14.95) notes: “I have tried everything to convince myself that Akro did not make these crudely shaped child’s dishes known more commonly as ‘Chiquita,’ but I have been unable to do so. Plant workers remember them and there are a lot of pieces that have been found in the Clarksburg, West Virginia, area.

“The common color of Chiquita is the green…in the large 21 piece set, but the blue is frequently found also. People seem to prefer the blue color; therefore, the price, because of demand, has grown to be greater than for green. Other colors of Chiquita—lilac, turquoise, pastel blue—are much more rare but not as avidly sought. Some collectors of Akro have never seen anything except the blue and green Chiquita.

“All Chiquita, if it bears a mark, has a J. P. embossed on the bottom, because it was made for the J. Pressman Company of New York. They must have given Akro a tremendous amount of business because if the Chiquita is not the most often found Akro, then it runs a close second.”

In early February a 21-piece set of Jadeite (green) Chiquita Toy dishes in their period box was offered on eBay. The bidding was exceptionally strong. The lot closed at $177.50, but failed to meet the seller’s reserve.

The overall market for children’s toy dish sets remains strong. A fourteen-piece set of Akro Agate’s Miss America pattern children’s dishes sold for $282.00 on eBay. A 29-piece green Depression Glass set closed at $105.29 on eBay. Neither set had its period box.

Realistically, the value of your set is between $175.00 and $185.00.


http://www.harryrinker.com/col-947.html

[sandnsea]

10. Oh, I can relate to that

I had my mother's lusterware tea set from when she was a girl in the 30's. It burned in a house fire and I was distraught. Until Ebay, there was no hope I would ever get to replace it. I looked for the exact set for years. It was a very exciting day when I finally saw them, and was able to buy them because they went for $50. Sorry you weren't able to get your dishes, maybe another time.

[sufrommich]

11. I swear the bids go higher at Goodwill then they do at

Ebay. I've never understood why.Anywoo,sorry you lost,it's pretty deflating to thinks it's yours and then it's not.:(

[sandnsea]

12. Seems that way lately

I bought a few things this summer that I resold on Ebay for a nice profit. But the last few months hasn't been that way. Maybe people trust the authenticity of the Goodwill items more than Ebay sellers. Or maybe they figure it's for a good cause, although keeping food on somebody's table is a good cause too.