[meteorite-list] Ad New Canadian Meteorite for sale

From: Darryl Pitt <darryl_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Sun, 7 Dec 2008 12:26:48 -0500
Message-ID: <8AEC260D-E7F6-486F-B4D6-FCF939359569_at_dof3.com>

Jason,

Small detail....I never mentioned Park Forest. And speaking of being
"at a loss for words," I don't quite know how to respond to your
unbridled attack on "my" point of view regarding the same(?!)

As it regards the Chergach and Bassikounou examples, I sincerely
believe that irrespective of how inexpensive initial suppliers sell
material, that it is incumbent on us to consider the implications of
our pricing in the marketplace.

I take a longer view of such anomalies. Just because I was offered
Chergach at $0.50/g doesn't mean that it's responsible for me to
widely offer it for $1.50/g even though it represents a 200% profit to
me. Whether we can quantify the effect or not, beyond cheap
meteorites have an effect on the rest of the marketplace. They create
their own "gravity." That's all I'm trying to say.

All best / Darryl




On Dec 7, 2008, at 11:02 AM, Jason Utas wrote:

> Darryl,
> Low-end numbers? Even Park Forest which was witnessed, caught on
> numerous videos, and fell in a densely populated urban environment -
> in what may well be a majority of cases, hitting man-made objects, was
> selling for $30/g or so at the time of the fall - a price which has
> stayed roughly the same, if it hasn't come down a few dollars per gram
> since then.
> How much Park Forest was recovered? According to this report,
> roughly 30kg.
>
> http://www.psrd.hawaii.edu/Aug04/ParkForest.html
>
> More of this fall has been recovered in the past week than from the
> entire fall of Park Forest.
> It hasn't hit anything interesting, as far as we know.
> It's an ordinary chondrite - even Park Forest had some pretty
> brecciation/melt. I've heard of nothing of the sort from this fall.
> It was caught on video, granted, and that does make it special in one
> way...why you think that should boost the value of it to twice the
> value of the undoubtedly more interesting Park Forest, also caught on
> video (and five or ten times the price of other comparable falls), I
> honestly...I'm at a lack for words.
>
> "Low-end numbers being bandied about?"
>
> On the one hand, you seem to criticize the high price being asked by
> these sellers, and on the other, you say the current market rates for
> other falls are "low-end numbers?"
>
> I don't understand. $5-10/g for these new falls is far overpriced, as
> best I can tell. At least with Chergach and Bassikounou, suppliers
> were contacting list-members directly and offering stones at $2/g
> initially - less for larger stones.
>
> You seem to be saying that's too cheap. Why? If the sellers are
> content, and I don't think the buyers are complaining, well, I can't
> see any reason for you to say such a thing. If both parties are
> happy, I honestly don't see how you can say such a thing.
>
> Look at the numbers from my last email. A mere $10/g would provide
> the hunters each with $5,000, assuming they only came back with 250g
> each.
>
> It's classic marketing technique to tell potential buyers that they
> got precious little out of the fall, as they said they did.
> If people think there's less, they'll want to buy more. There's a
> reason they're not telling anyone how much they got, after all. I
> wonder why...and I wonder if they ever will tell us how much they
> found/were allowed to keep.... After all, unless they're just using
> that as a marketing ploy, they really have no reason not to tell us.
>
> Jason
>
> On Sun, Dec 7, 2008 at 7:38 AM, Darryl Pitt <darryl at dof3.com> wrote:
>>
>>
>> Folks,
>>
>> If I've said it once I've said it a thousand times: meteorites as a
>> collectible do not attract more serious collectors because there
>> are too
>> many aberrations of valuation--such that the aberrations have
>> become the
>> norm. Several serious collectors who have been intrigued with
>> meteorites
>> have shared with me that they've opted not to climb in because of
>> their
>> belief in an "immature" and "unsophisticated" marketplace. Their
>> words.
>>
>> In my humble opinion, the quality of the fireball video associated
>> with the
>> Canadian event makes it worth far more than the low-end numbers being
>> bandied about.
>>
>> Everything else being the same, no witnessed fall should ever sell
>> for a
>> couple of bucks a gram, and we should all strive to make certain this
>> doesn't occur.
>>
>> All best / d
>>
>>
>> =====================
>>
Received on Sun 07 Dec 2008 12:26:48 PM PST


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