[meteorite-list] Frustrated over some sellers pages

From: Galactic Stone & Ironworks <meteoritemike_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Tue, 5 Mar 2013 11:48:24 -0500
Message-ID: <CAKBPJW-LXQMJK_naAm8aQKy6HP427XKTMmvSD0xC9Cmi6L+J=g_at_mail.gmail.com>

Hi Mike,

That is one of my peeves also. But Mike Farmer raises a valid point -
it can be difficult to maintain a website that has hundreds or
thousands of specimens. This is especially true if one has a day-job,
such as flying all over the world hunting meteorites. I get that.

But, there are a few dealer sites out there that have not been updated
in months or years. In those cases, I'll email the seller to see what
is available.

As for myself, I generally have around 300-350 items listed on my
website at any given time. I used a hosted eCommerce store and the
monthly fee is based (in part) on the number of items a seller has
listed. If I go over 500 items, I get bumped into the next highest
tier of pricing. So I keep my website offerings trimmed down on a
regular basis to ensure I don't go over the limit.

Once an item sells, I will leave the listing up just long enough for
the buyer to receive the specimen and compare it to the listing. I
think it looks suspicious if a seller immediately deletes an item
right after it is sold. After about a week (following shipment) for a
domestic order, I will delete the item. I wait about 10-14 days to
delete an item purchased by an international buyer.

There are a couple of exceptions - I have a high turnover rate for
micromount specimens. I regularly run out of some, but always end up
buying more and restocking. So, if I run out of something relatively
common (like NWA 869), I will leave the listing there until I get some
more - rather than delete the listing and then completely re-write it
when more material comes in.

I had considered having a "Sold Archive" of previous specimens, but I
would have quickly gone over the 500 item limit long ago. I do keep a
folder on my PC that has all prior photos and most prior descriptions
for past items, so if a buyer (or myself) needs to reference a given
listing for some reason, I can go dig it out of my hard-drive.

Best regards,

MikeG

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On 3/5/13, SatWatch.org <contact at satwatch.org> wrote:
> Dear Sellers on the list,
>
> I have been looking to purchase a number of different meteorites, so I have
> been going to the webpage links under some of your seller messages. What I
> find on some pages are a bunch of items that appear to still be for sale,
> but when I go to the meteorite linked page, it says SOLD.
> I ask... if you have it listed on one page for sale, then when you go to the
> item page it is sold, and you have posted it that way... why keep it on
> there?
> It makes it more difficult to shop around, and I will probably not shop on
> that site any further. I see something that appears to be for sale, and I
> think I might want it... only to find out it sold, over and over on that
> site.
>
> Okay, I know you are proud of your past finds and sales, but think of the
> shopper.... Maybe you should put together an archive section of items
> sold....
>
> Just a thought...
>
> Thanks,
> Mike
>
> Sent from my iPad
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Received on Tue 05 Mar 2013 11:48:24 AM PST