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can someone give me an idea of the going price
of buying SG pieces? I found a store that will sell
pieces for $2.00 a lb. Just wanted to know if this
was a fair price.
Good deal or not? Depending on the glass types, manufacturers, size, weight etc. would have to be determined to see if it was a "Good Deal" or not. We purchase wholesale and some glass you can get for .99 a square foot others can be up to $45 sq ft or be sold by the pound (types of glass Bullseye, Uroboros etc just off the top of my head.)
Also you have to take into consideration age of the glass. Some old glass (antique) can be very hard to cut and will brittle and/or break wrong unless you know what your doing and then it is a guess at best some times. New glass if an off beat brand can have all kinds of things wrong with it. Most Spectrum, Wissmach, Armstrong to name a few have different categories it can fall into, RX, TX, RXW, are just some. They can mean anything from one of a kind sheets (not good if you reproduce the glass art work or repairs down the road are needed) to major problems down the road or could be with the first cut or day it is hung in a window.
I have been watching eBay since the very beginning and have seen a lot of what I will refer to as "not in the buyer best interest" transcations. I have also went to glass businesses to just look around and found the same type of problem occuring. For a beginner and anyone who isn't WELL seasoned in glass the deals look GREAT...BUT what I can quickly tell you is one of the markers they are selling is called "TX" there is other names also for it, but "TX" is the most widely used. "TX" means off color, surface problems, streaking or as we say "Problem glass" the seller aren't telling you about it and alot of them, more then I can count on eBay and retail glass places, don't even know the difference themselfs. I have asked questions to them and I would say only 1 seller on eBay was up front about not knowing anything and he only knew he was selling glass that was cheap. The others replied or didn't reply. The ones that did were good at selling junk glass. The retailers I visited had a better idea, but not as good as they wanted you to think and some even out right lied to our face about the "TX". After being in glass for a long time and studying the glass you will be able to tell a "TX" etc from a sheet that is made correctly.
I guess all I can say is ask questions first. If you don't you will probably end up with a lot of glass that isn't good. Not all sells are bad, but the bad out weigh the good mostly due to lack of knowledge. If you are just learning to cut glass and just want to cut up the town or learn how to properly solder, apply foil or how to do the lead came process then go for it, but please just remember that you get what you pay for in service and in product.
If you have questions just let me know.
Disclaimer:
Advice given by us, you are responsible for determining what is and isn't safe. We are not omniscient, nor do we pretend to be when dealing with glass art, tools, chemicals and/or reactions. You are therefore responsible for insuring your own safety. Some examples are protecting your eyes and avoiding lead poisoning etc. Our advice we give is correct to the best of our knowledge and we've been exposed to many techniques that have worked and some that haven't. We offer no warranty as to the success of any techniques. We can not be responsible for any damage, cracked/broken glass or other events that may or may not happen to the art. We don't mind sharing our knowledge, but ask you to remember you make the choices and how to use them.
