Real or Fake Sea Glass Marbles?

by Marsha
(Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania)

Real of fake sea glass marbles?

Real of fake sea glass marbles?

By: Marsha - Pittsburgh, PA

Question:

I bought some marbles online and when they arrived, they did not look right. 

I went on the sellers website and I read that the marbles were not from a beach but they were surf tumbled. 

What does that mean?



Comments - David at Odyssey Sea Glass



Lin and I emailed Marsha and the following is the gist of what we discussed:

OdysseySeaGlass:

Hi Marsha,

We are writing you because you have asked a very important question about real or fake sea glass marbles.

Before posting your question, it would be great if we could get a little more information:
  • First, if possible, some photos. You can send them to us at this address and we will post them with your question.\
  • Second, although we won't post this to our site, we would like to know what site you purchased them from so we could take a look.
"Sea glass" marbles are much easier to fake than just sea glass itself. 

Why? Because marbles are already round. 

One of the characteristics of most fake sea glass is that the edges are still easily visible. 

Tumbling glass shards in a tumbler takes a long, long time to round it down, so most fakers don't take that time.

However, again, a marble only needs to be put in a tumbler a short time to get a frosted look. However, comparing a real tumbled marble with a fake one could give us some good ideas on what the differences are. 

We have never seen a fake marble in person that we know of but have suspected some on eBay.

That's not to say your marbles are fake. They may be real "beach glass." But it does sound like the seller is trying to avoid being honest.

Again, try to provide us with the information above if possible.

Even if not, thank you very much for asking this important question. We will
wait 
a few days for your response.

David and Lin @ Odyssey Sea Glass



Marsha responds:

Hello, I copied the picture from ebay with the sellers description. The marbles are the first I have ever bought and look so perfect. 

Marsha


Odyssey Sea Glass:


Hi Marsha,

Although I couldn't see the photo you sent, I did go to one of the seller's current listings. It's obvious that he/she is being very shifty:

The complete and only description of the marbles is this: 

  • "25 surf tumbled marbles they are not beach found they are surf tumbled just like if they were found. They they are tumbled by the actual beach"

What in the world does that mean? 

  • If they are not beach found, then where were they found?
  • Does tumbled by the actual beach mean put in a tumbler "by" (near) a beach?

Also, the fact that the marbles are so similar in size, shape, color, and frosting - you could not find a set of marbles that similar in a natural setting as far as I know.

The conclusion? 99% sure that these are fake.

Unfortunately, eBay makes it extremely hard to report misleading statements.

Remember the old saying, "If it's too good to be true, it's probably not"?

We won't use a photo without permission (from eBay) but would like to get a photo of your marbles if you get a chance.

Happy hunting!

David and Lin




Conclusion?

Now, Odyssey would love to hear from the eBay seller if it were possible. What does the description mean?

We would also love to hear from our viewers about this. We do have a fan in the Caribbean who finds lots of marbles, and she would be the one to really add specific information.

As far as buying any sea glass - do your research and don't buy from someone who is unknown or sounds shifty. 

Especially, read and follow this practical advice from OdysseySeaGlass.com on buying sea glass.

For more information on fake versus real sea glass see our page https://www.odysseyseaglass.com/tumbled-sea-glass.html

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