Post: Post Reply: Re: "Collectible." by Beadman

Original Message: Re: "Collectible."

In recent years, there has been a significant tendency on the part of bead sellers to call ALL of the beads they offer "trade beads." I have written to countless people saying, "these are not 'trade beads.' They are [whatever those beads are]. If the name 'trade bead' is applied to any and all beads, it ceases to be a useful name. Please do not call these beads 'trade beads.' Thanks."
So now I say the same thing in this context.
Not every bead is a "collectible bead." If every bead is called a "collectible bead," the term (and the eBay category) becomes meaningless. The term should be reserved for beads that are significant enough to have a following, that have established collectibility, and are desired by collectors.
Are there plastic collectible beads? Absolutely. But that doesn't mean ALL plastic beads "are collectible." Come on people! Try some critical thinking. All ducks are birds, but not all birds are ducks. THINK.... The collectible plastic beads that come to my mind first are the early 20th C. (Modern) phenolic plastic beads that are sold as "amber" (from an African context)—but are actually European trade beads. Next, the phenolic plastic beads of the 1930s that are generally called "Bakelite" (although they are not), that were the costume jewelry of the swing generation, and of poor folks. (See Whoopi Goldberg in "The Color Purple"). However, this is NOT to say that cheap mass-produced plastic beads should be elevated to the status of being "collectible." Maybe in twenty years, if some of them catch-on (for some reason), SOME of them will become collectible. But most of them will remain cheap junk. And they are certainly not "collectible" now.
I will say it again: People resist change--in part because the new and different is frightening. Give this system a chance to work. If it doesn't work—if it makes more problems than it fixes—IT can be changed, down the road. There is another truism at work here too. "The evil you know is more acceptable than the evil you don't know." In other words, although the present eBay system has many faults, people who make decisions and judgments based on fear will prefer the old system over any new unproven system—because that is human nature.
JDA.
Copyright 2024
All rights reserved by Bead Collector Network and its users

Original Message: Re: "Collectible."
In recent years, there has been a significant tendency on the part of bead sellers to call ALL of the beads they offer "trade beads." I have written to countless people saying, "these are not 'trade beads.' They are [whatever those beads are]. If the name 'trade bead' is applied to any and all beads, it ceases to be a useful name. Please do not call these beads 'trade beads.' Thanks." So now I say the same thing in this context. Not every bead is a "collectible bead." If every bead is called a "collectible bead," the term (and the eBay category) becomes meaningless. The term should be reserved for beads that are significant enough to have a following, that have established collectibility, and are desired by collectors. Are there plastic collectible beads? Absolutely. But that doesn't mean ALL plastic beads "are collectible." Come on people! Try some critical thinking. All ducks are birds, but not all birds are ducks. THINK.... The collectible plastic beads that come to my mind first are the early 20th C. (Modern) phenolic plastic beads that are sold as "amber" (from an African context)—but are actually European trade beads. Next, the phenolic plastic beads of the 1930s that are generally called "Bakelite" (although they are not), that were the costume jewelry of the swing generation, and of poor folks. (See Whoopi Goldberg in "The Color Purple"). However, this is NOT to say that cheap mass-produced plastic beads should be elevated to the status of being "collectible." Maybe in twenty years, if some of them catch-on (for some reason), SOME of them will become collectible. But most of them will remain cheap junk. And they are certainly not "collectible" now. I will say it again: People resist change--in part because the new and different is frightening. Give this system a chance to work. If it doesn't work—if it makes more problems than it fixes—IT can be changed, down the road. There is another truism at work here too. "The evil you know is more acceptable than the evil you don't know." In other words, although the present eBay system has many faults, people who make decisions and judgments based on fear will prefer the old system over any new unproven system—because that is human nature. JDA. Copyright 2024 All rights reserved by Bead Collector Network and its users

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