This is my attempt to answer that question for my collection.
Antique stores and estate sales aside, the most accessable way to get depression glass is ebay. That is the basis for this study.
I know my pattern, and that is the only pattern studied. My pattern is Sharon Rose, otherwise known as Rose of Sharon or Cabbage rose by the Federal Glass Company from 1935-1939.
I know my pattern, and that is the only pattern studied. My pattern is Sharon Rose, otherwise known as Rose of Sharon or Cabbage rose by the Federal Glass Company from 1935-1939.
Alex and I wrote a script that searched ebay for all auctions within
the last three months that had the words “pink cabbage rose depression glass”
in any form.
Only auctions that have at least 1 bidder are used to create the average price.
The shipping is not calculated in the unit price. Price per unit is calculated manually, although
larger batches tend to have lower price per units. Manual calculation also allows for omission of miscategorized auctions.
High standard deviation units may
indicate that the data points are bimodal and we may have grouped categories
that should have been segregated i.e. thick vs thin tumblers.
All tumblers regardless of size
thick or thin are grouped together for this iteration of the calculation.
The script will be ran quarterly.
Incomplete objects will not be
listed for now, like sugar’s without lids, butter dishes lid only etc.
Price Values
for won auctions 9-20-12 to 12-18-12
| Item | Number of Auctions | Price Average per unit | Standard Deviation | Published Data* |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Berry Bowl | 13 | $7.26 | +/- $4.16 | $14.00 |
| Bread and Butter Plate | 3 | $2.66 | +/- $1.76 | $16.50 |
| Butter Dish + Lid | 16 | $29.29 | +/- $12.10 | $63.00 |
| Cake Plate | 10 | $19.04 | +/- $8.07 | $48.00 |
| Candy Dish | 15 | $24.96 | +/- $11.36 | $50.00 |
| Cereal Bowl | 11 | $9.01 | +/- $3.82 | $25.00 |
| Creamer + Sugar | 9 | $20.61 | +/- $12.45 | $95.00 |
| Cup + Saucer | 10 | $6.77 | +/- $2.50 | $33.00 |
| Dinner Plate | 24 | $9.44 | +/- $4.46 | $22.00 |
| Fruit Bowl | 11 | $8.77 | +/- $7.08 | $42.00 |
| Oval Platter | 20 | $17.94 | +/- $7.91 | $30.00 |
| Pitcher (lip and no lip) | 14 | $77.70 | +/- $46.85 | $150.00 |
| Salad Plate | 7 | $12.85 | +/- $9.08 | $30.00 |
| Salt and Pepper shaker | 2 | $17.25 | +/- $10.95 | $55.00 |
| Serving bowl | 10 | $14.53 | +/- $6.02 | $45.00 |
| Sherbet | 15 | $7.02 | +/- $3.84 | $16.50 |
| Soup Bowl** | 30 | $22.49 | +/- $14.92 | $48.00 |
| Sugar Bowl | 8 | $22.25 | +/- $15.36 | $45.00 |
| Tumbler*** | 39 | $25.75 | +/- $18.39 | $42-60.00 |
| Vegetable Bowl | 9 | $15.65 | +/- $5.70 | $32.00 |
*Published Data is from Schroy, Ellen T. Warman's Depression Glass. Iola, WI: krause publications, 1997.
**cream soups and flat soups are unfortunately combined in this iteration*** tumblers are not segregated by tumbler size, shape, or thickness.
For transparency sake, the excel document is posted here
Discussion
The standard deviations are very high. We did not take into account quality. This has to do with the (1) small sample sizes, (2) the omission of shipping, and (3) the effect of batch sales.The small sample sizes will be remedied as the study expands over time. There will be moving data points and global averages as we get more data points next quarter.
The shipping may be included in the next study, being added to the sold price and divided with the batch prices so that the price per unit will increase appropriately. Standard deviation may also decrease
Conclusion
The study is a good start and will be ongoing. The next set of data will be taken March 15th 2013. There is the possibility of this being expanded to other patterns and items, but only to patterns that I recognize so I can have an expert eye on omissions.If you would like this study to expand to your pattern, let me know and we can work together to perform this arduous calculation. I need a list of all the pieces in your pattern and some pointers to tell which ones are fakes. This may be easier with time as we automate more of the process, but for now, it takes some time.