[meteorite-list] The problems with Amgala

From: Martin Altmann <Altmann_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Fri Aug 6 15:45:18 2004
Message-ID: <000d01c47bee$24b82fa0$7eec50d9_at_9y6y40j>

Yip collectors,

the main reason that Amgala is not a good example is furthermore,
that it's a FALL.
For observed falls always other rules seems to be valuable.
Falls are more appealing than finds, first only a few dealers are offering
material,
no closer information is available, especially not about the tkw and there
are always some collectors, who fear to miss something, so that in the first
weeks the prices are highest.
After a while the prices settle down, then it's the best time to buy, before
they start to raise again, if only a limited amount is available.

There are many examples. Take Bilanga. First specimens were offered by two
dealers at 60$/gm, after a while more and more dealers were able to offer
Bilanga, those fast buyers had their samples and the demand diminished, thus
the prices fell within view months to 25$-10$. It had a limited tkw and
nowadays not much is around anymore and for good quality specimens the
prices starts to raise a little bit again.
Or Park Forest - first weeks up to 50-60$, now sometimes 10$ for minor
quality on ebay.
Not so much material collected, so in 2-3 years, who knows...
Camel Donga, gosh was it cheap...now: unaffordable monster prices..
Bensour is now fine to buy, <2$ sometimes on ebay, when it came up often 8$,
in future, I guess, it will be more expensive then now.

It's never good to buy immediately after the fall - only if one is very
sure, that there is only a small amount of material left.

Cheeers!
Martin A.




> Dear List,
>
> A few List members have been mentioning Amgala as an example of price
> fluctuation. I do not believe Amgala is a very good example for the
> following reasons:
>
> The problem is that Amgala has not been completely classified yet so it is
> being sold as an unclassified meteorite. One of the reasons it is taking
so
> long to classify is that many interesting features have been found in
Amgala
> and the scientists want to describe them properly, something every fall
> deserves.
>
> Another major problem is that a stockpile of Zag has been released at the
> source in Morocco and is being sold as Amgala. Fresher specimens of Zag
> look pretty close so it is hard to tell. This makes it appear that there
is
> much more available than stated.
>
> A situation that had the most impact was brought about when one dealer who
> heard rumors panicked and dumped his material below costs to the public.
> Some so-called "cowboys" think it is some kind of race to dump material as
> quick as possible before anymore is found. This caused a mini-stampede
and
> a few other dealers followed his example. This has happened many times
the
> past few years and shows that the meteorite market needs to mature. There
> are too many loose cannons lacking professionalism and true business sense
> selling meteorites to a somewhat thin market. Day trading does not work
> with meteorites so those lacking long term resources should find another
> gig!
>
> All the best,
>
> ------------------------------------
> Adam Hupe
> The Hupe Collection
> Team LunarRock
> IMCA 2185
> raremeteorites_at_comcast.net
>
>
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Received on Fri 06 Aug 2004 03:47:01 PM PDT