[meteorite-list] a little collector advice........

From: Rhett Bourland <rbourlan_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Thu Apr 22 10:02:27 2004
Message-ID: <IOEBKAHMGFBDJMOFGDFNOEHMDHAA.rbourlan_at_evansville.net>

Is anyone else here into electronic gadgets or computers? I know I really
am. When I have people over to my house for the first time they're usually
more impressed that stuff than my meteorite, fossil, or artifact collection.
Never mind the fact that I have moon rocks, Mars rocks, dinosaur bones,
fossils that are hundreds of millions of years old that I found myself,
Egyptian scarabs, or a piece of the Titanic brought up from the bottom of
the ocean, they always love my gadgets and quite frankly, unless you're
interested in scientific things I don't blame them. I don't buy as much
stuff as I did before I started collecting meteorites (when you only have a
limited budget for stuff you don't need you prioritize). What I do know
though is that when new technology comes out it costs more. When DVD
players first came out the cheapest, most bare bones modle was $500 and that
was only if you could find them. I was ecstatic when months later I was
able to get an open-box, close-out model for $240. Now you can go to
Walmart and get one for around $100 that is better quality and can do more
than the original ones that cost $500 could. Why am I talking about this
stuff? To prove a point. When there are limited numbers of something
available or something new it costs more. CR2's used to be so expensive
because they were of very limited numbers and all the insane type collectors
(self included) just had to have them despite the costs. Now that there are
a lot of them the prices have gone down.
If you want to buy this new meteorite at $15 a gram without knowing the
classification because its something new and you have to be the first on
your block to own one then go for it. To me, unless your sole reason in
being into meteorites is to make money that's one thing (I know there are a
handful of people who do that) but most of us do it as a hobby or a side way
to make a little extra cash (that would be my area) quite whining about
prices and the market. You wanna know how much a certain meteorite is
worth? However much someone will pay for it. Obviously, if there's a high
demand and limited supply then the price is going to be higher. Instead of
having arguements about how much this new meteorite (or any other for that
matter) is worth, let's talk about what kind it is.
My 4 cents worth,
Rhett Bourland
www.asteroidmodels.com
www.asteroidmodels.com/personal
www.meteoritecollectors.org
-----Original Message-----
From: meteorite-list-admin_at_meteoritecentral.com
[mailto:meteorite-list-admin_at_meteoritecentral.com]On Behalf Of Michael
Cottingham
Sent: Tuesday, March 12, 2002 12:43 PM
To: meteorite-list_at_meteoritecentral.com
Subject: [meteorite-list] a little collector advice........


Hello Everyone! (Who might care)


I would suggest one thing with this "New" Fall
from Morocco. Before buying any....wait until it
is classified and wait until a ~ total known weight
is known. Buying in the beginning can sometimes
be smart....but often, until all the facts are known
you will get a price burn.

You might want to wait a bit......

If there is 100 kilos or more of this new fall....it will
be on ebay for $2.00 a gram (perhaps) in the
near future. However, if there is only 10 kilos you
might want to grab it now! You see....there is
information missing here..... and you could get
a bad price burn by not having this information.

When Zag first came out it was $3-$5.00 per gram
and then it shot up to $11.00, and now you can buy Zag
for $1.00 to $5.00 per gram......

Also, I do not have any...nor do I plan on getting
any in the near future..... my advice about waiting
is from personal experience with a meteorite
collection now numbering well over 700 falls
and finds.

I mean..... CR2,s were $200 to $500.00 per gram last year
and now you could of bought some last week for $20.00
per gram! Be careful!

In anycase....just a few personal thoughts....


Best Wishes

Michael Cottingham
Received on Tue 12 Mar 2002 04:39:51 PM PST