[meteorite-list] talk about a good idea!

[ken newton]

(I have been requested by Leigh Anne DelRay to post the following.
She is not a Met List subscriber so any replies to her
should contain her email address listed below:)

My name is Leigh Anne DelRay and I am responding and defending myself 
against the slanderous thread that is present on the Meteorite Central 
and the IMCA list.  I just wanted to address a few things.

First. As far as Shill Bidding Goes, That is no joke, and is VERY 
serious, and to be accused of that is as close to malicious and I can 
think of.  I do not know, nor have I ever had this person as a 
customer.  I had a 0.99 cent bid for about 6 days and then about 3 hours 
before the auction was over it was up to 350.00.  And I never even saw 
the ebay id of the whoever was bidding against this guy. Then I invoiced 
him and he paid me through paypal about 2 hours later.

Second: The idea of shill Bidding is crazy in this instance simply 
because I paid triple my listing fee to have a reserve on this auction. 
I was at no risk to lose anything, there was a reserve.

Third: As far as Campos going for 5.00 per gram in a retail store I can 
offer two instances of this.  I have for the last year and a half sold 
Gibeons, Campos, and Sikhote Alins for Hands of Spirit Gallery in 
Boulder, CO  for 5.00 a gram. As well as the very first meteorite I ever 
purchased in my life was a Campo at 5.00 a gram in a store in Idaho 
Springs, Colorado called The Desert Rose.

Fourth: I just wanted to also say that the people that are evaluating 
this auction are dealers that are used to dealing with other dealers. I 
am very aware that Campos are generic meteorites and to you guys they 
are not anyhing special. And in the meteorite Community (being a member 
of IMCA as well as COMETS) I realize that Campo's and Sikhote Alin's and 
Gibeon's are nothing special either, but I just want to remind you guys 
that I am really interested in targeting as my main customer, the person 
who has either never owned a meteorite or is a very new beginner in 
collecting.  I want really to grab new people who are just a little 
interested, and maybe not very educated on meteorites. That is why I 
sell (what the big dealers may call) generic meteorites.  And the target 
Audience that I am attempting to attract are the people that are 
normally going to purchase a meteorite in a store that would charge 5.00 
per gram! I know because I was that person only a few years ago.  If I 
would buy it for 5.00 a gram and I have been selling it in a gallery 
successfully for almost 2 years for 5.00 a gram, then I know that  is 
sort of an idea of what the average rock shop/crystal gallery shopper 
would maybe spend. And that is my targeted audience, not those who are 
spending $5,000 on a Lunar Piece.

Fifth: As opposed to most of the people that are selling meteorites on 
E-bay, this is my career and pays my rent as well as feeds me. I have no 
other form of income. This is why making allegations of this nature and 
reporting them to e-bay is  very serious and potentially disastrous.  I 
FULLY understand and agree that IMCA has a reputation to keep as far as 
making sure that the meteorites that are being sold to the public are 
Authentic. That is why I am a member and pay my fees and am very proud 
to display the logo on my auctions. And I am very happy that IMCA and 
MeteoriteCentral are on top of things when there is suspicion about 
particular sellers and particular pieces. I just wanted to state that 
this is a case of false assumptions and maybe a bit of boredom on the 
person who brought it all up. And I just don't want something that came 
up due to boredom, to jeopardize my ability to pay my rent.

Thank you so much for your time in reading this and your understanding,

Leigh Anne DelRay
delraygoddess at yahoo.com
www.delraygoddess.com
ebay id : delraygoddess