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My first group of seaglass auctions for 2008 are now listed on eBay!
North Beach Treasures auction listings
I like to group the glass together the way actual brick-and-mortar auctioneers do, so there are multiple "lots" all being offered with approximately the same end time.The first sale of 2008 has a total of 30 lots, including both some individual better pieces that might be of interest to collectors, as well as some nice "groupings" that are more offered for jewelry makers or crafts people.The highlight of the sale is the nice piece of bright turquoise, pictured above. Genuine turquoise is one of the rarest of all seaglass colors, and eludes many collectors, even if they have walked the beach for many years. Along with orange, turquoise tends to be the highest priced color in the collector market. A fairly large flawless piece of turquoise seaglass sold for $176.00 on eBay, in early 2007. On the rare occasions when high quality shards of this color are offered, the prices tend to reach $50+ very quickly.
It has been a year, of sorts. Frankly, had anyone (in the past) told me that I would end up actually selling some of my seaglass to other collectors and to jewelry makers around the world, I would have looked at them like they were nuts. It surprises me a little, in a way, because I have been seeing jewelry made with seaglass for many years. I suppose I always figured that the jewelers got their own glass from personal trips to the beach.
Now that I think about it, that doesn't necessarily make sense-- some of them lived in locales 100s or even 1000s of miles from the nearest coastline. And, as one person at a street fair pointed out to me, earlier this year: "Making jewelry and going to fairs takes up all the time I have. I can't really afford to give up a bunch of days to go find my own glass, and then not be assured that I even get what I need, when I give up an entire day."
The thing I had "overlooked" is that a lot of artists live in financially precarious positions, and so the $100 they could save by doing their own beachcombing doesn't make up for losing three days of work. Apart from which being able to buy a batch of glass that has already been sorted by color, and selected for "jewelry quality" is a lot more reliable than depending on whatever turns up, on any given day at the beach.
I have been encouraged by the favorable response I have received from people, as a result of my seaglass auctions on eBay. Seems that a few folks out there believe I am "doing it right."
I never really envisioned my selling some of my "excess" seaglass as being more than something I "dabble" in. Certainly, I never contemplated it as "a business," and I still don't. It's a hobby, first and foremost.
That said, I have had a few of my seaglass-for-jewelry customers suggest to me that I put up an eBay "store," rather than just rely on periodic auctions. I understand their point. As I have been going, so far, I just bulked up whatever I had left to sell every 3-4 weeks and put it out for auction. In a way, an "all or nothing" approach.
An online store makes sense (from a buyer's perspective), because people can go there and buy supplies when they need it, not based on when I happen to have time for auctions.
Of course, it costs money to have a store on eBay, but since I'm not really trying to have a business, per se... the cost seems negligible, vs. the benefits to people out there.
So, with no further ado, I am pleased to announce the "opening" of my eBay store:
North Beach Treasures
If you're a sea glass collector, you'll find some better individual shards-- unusual and rare. If you're a jewelry maker or doing crafts projects with sea glass, you'll find bulk lots and "selections," often listed by quality grade and color.
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