This 8.75″W Northwood Poppyshow Pattern Carnival Glass Plate in Cobalt Blue sold for $1257 in February 2010.

One of my worst eBay online auction experiences was ironically when I purchased an Amethyst Carnival Glass Good Luck Plate.

• I read the description carefully.  The plate was advertised as mint
• I looked at the pictures … they looked perfect and the plate had great color
• I paid $450

The Good Luck plate arrived, and the color was great, except for a brown burn spot on the edge of the plate.  I frowned, wondering how I had missed the big brown spot in the description.  I logged into my computer, and looked at the picture.  The seller was holding the plate and his thumb was covering the brown spot.  GRRRRRR!

I sent a note to the seller and asked for a refund.  He promptly sent me a note back that showed that his auctions were “All Sales Final.”  My heart started beating fast and my face flushed with color.  I had been swindled.  It wasn’t a case of misunderstanding, he had purposefully covered a spot on the plate and mislead me.

Fortunately this story has a happy ending.  I contacted PayPal and returned the plate.  After 45 days, they refunded my money.  I left negative feedback and so did he.

My lesson learned - if the seller says, “ALL SALES FINAL” do not buy from them.  A reputable dealer will always give you a refund.  If the piece isn’t as described, they will even refund shipping.

I collect Carnival Glass Advertising Plates.  It’s kind of like collecting baseball cards, you want to get one of each.

This 6″ plate was made for the Exchange Bank of Glendive, Montana from Fenton’s Garden Mums pattern. This example is amethyst and sold for $960 on Ebay in April 2009:

This 6″ plate was made for Paradise Sodas (Crackers) - This Carnival plate was made by Fenton and given away as a Christmas Holiday premium. This example sold on eBay for $420 in April 2009

This blog post is about sour grapes.  Even in this economy, certain items can generate a lot of ebay bids.  I was outbid by $2.50 in the last seconds of the auction.  This vase sold for $202.50 on March 29, 2009.  IMO - that’s still way below market.

Like most Imperial Jewels vases, it was was marked with the iron cross mark: