Russian billiard ball set on ebay, thousand$

[hunger strike]

This set is for sale on ebay. I have the exact same set. These are not ivory, bone, or any other natural material. They are cheap plastic from Soviet era Russia, and they have cracks because they are a cheap plastic. They are not engraved or scrimshawed numbers; the numbers were stamped in with some sort of hot stamp that melted the numbers into the plastic. This set sold a while back on ebay for over $3k because people bidding thought they were ivory. I guess I can't blame a guy for wanting to unload these "unknown material" balls. Anyone can have my set for a third of the ebay minimum bid.

 

[metallicane]

I guess the guy that sold them for 3gs is laughing all the way to the bank.

 

[Buckzapper]

A fool and his money are soon parted.

 

[Bob Jewett]

I understand that Ebay does not allow anything to be described as "ivory" due to the CITES ban on the trade of ivory. Ivory is still sold, but it can't be described as such.

 

[hunger strike]

Ebay and ivory; ox bone and Schrager lines....

You are right, Bob. But the dirty little secret is that once people figured out to use the code phrase "ox bone balls," all the people who were afraid to sell their ivory balls on Ebay immediately listed them so that now there is an absolute explosion of ivory billiard balls on there. Just as a test, I reported an auction to ebay about a ball set being ivory and not ox bone. I was sent a "we'll handle this, don't email again about it" message. The auction remained. Ebay wants their profit, and they have obviously figured out that they will face zero consequences for allowing the sales labelled this way. The seller of this plastic set has an advantage due to this. If a person looks at the ivory color and the deep cracks, and they see the description of the numbers as scrimshawed which implies ivory, they assume the balls are ivory and that the seller would say ivory if they could. This seller therefore puts in a disclaimer that says "you decide" about the material. Other auctions that are actually ivory where the seller wants to make it clear that the material is indeed ivory are saying ox bone but describing "Schrager lines" that are characteristic patterns in ivory. Tricky. But these balls are junk made in a Soviet gulag...buyer beware.

 

[Bob Jewett]

You are right, Bob. But the dirty little secret is that once people figured out to use the code phrase "ox bone balls," all the people who were afraid to sell their ivory balls on Ebay immediately listed them so that now there is an absolute explosion of ivory billiard balls on there. Just as a test, I reported an auction to ebay about a ball set being ivory and not ox bone. I was sent a "we'll handle this, don't email again about it" message. The auction remained. Ebay wants their profit, and they have obviously figured out that they will face zero consequences for allowing the sales labelled this way. The seller of this plastic set has an advantage due to this. If a person looks at the ivory color and the deep cracks, and they see the description of the numbers as scrimshawed which implies ivory, they assume the balls are ivory and that the seller would say ivory if they could. This seller therefore puts in a disclaimer that says "you decide" about the material. Other auctions that are actually ivory where the seller wants to make it clear that the material is indeed ivory are saying ox bone but describing "Schrager lines" that are characteristic patterns in ivory. Tricky. But these balls are junk made in a Soviet gulag...buyer beware.

I think that all the ivory balls being sold on Ebay were in fact legal because they were "harvested" before the ban on trade went into effect. My understanding is that such old ivory is OK. Of course documenting it as such is tricky. And so far as I know, there is no ban on trade in ivory within the US.

 

[hunger strike]

All true....

Bob, you are 100% correct as usual. Ebay has their public relations stance that ivory cannot be sold on there, but they allow it as ox bone. I don't care if old ivory balls are sold at all. I just don't want anyone to buy plastic balls thinking they are ivory. Good input though as usual Mr. Jewett. For those of you who have not met or spoken with Bob, he is a true gentleman and an ambassador for billiards.

 

[Vahmurka]

These are not ivory, bone, or any other natural material. They are cheap plastic from Soviet era Russia, and they have cracks because they are a cheap plastic.

Here are two balls made of what is called mastic here (sort of a plastic).

Note the yellow color and the damage taken over years of use. I once happened to play in a village, literally, on a dead table with unlevel seams, using a cue without a tip, and the balls cracked ten times as heavy as these ones. Some of them would hardly roll true even a couple of inches, they were closer to cubes than spheres.