[meteorite-list] Posting sources

[Walter Branch]

Hi John,

>Be careful about who you do business with.  Don't let your emotions 
>overrule common sense

Sounds like good advice to me!

-Walter Branch


-----------------------------------------------------
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "JKGwilliam" <h3chondrite at cox.net>
To: "Jim Strope" <nwa482 at comcast.net>; <meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com>
Sent: Monday, April 14, 2008 12:21 PM
Subject: Re: [meteorite-list] Posting sources


>I agree.  There were a few times several years ago when someone demanded 
>provenance on items I was selling only to have them contact my source 
>directly and attempt to take me out of the middle of the deal.
> If buyers aren't sure that they can trust a dealer to sell them exactly 
> what is claimed, they should probably take there business elsewhere.
>
> I was on the other side of this situation years ago.
>
> Several years ago, a well known dealer called me on the phone and said he 
> had a fantastic deal for me - 0.10 grams of  Governador Valadares for 
> $1,000.  I said I wasn't interested but he pressed me. When I asked about 
> provenance, he balked but said that I could always send it to a lab and 
> have it tested. Hmmmm, destroy the specimen to prove whether or not it is 
> the Real McCoy. Kind of like dunking women in 17th century New England - 
> if they floated they were witches, if they sank (and drowned) they were 
> innocent. The dealer is still making a full court press telling me how 
> fantastic ( he always described his specimens in the superlative form) 
> this piece was.  But, as we talked, a few more tidbits came to the 
> surface.   In fact, there were several "conditions" that came with the 
> purchase of the specimen.  One - I couldn't tell anyone where I got it 
> from. In fact, it was best if I didn't tell anyone that I even had it. 
> Two - I couldn't ask for provenance, the source wanted to remain 
> incognito.  Three - I had to buy it "right now" or the deal was off.  I 
> saw red flags waving at me and I still held my ground about not wanting 
> the specimen.  "You must be crazy," says the well known dealer, " You 
> could turn around and sell it for three grand easily."
>
> Some of you, I'm sure, know what my next question to Mr. Pushy was.  When 
> I asked him why HE didn't sell it for three grand there was a very 
> pregnant pause.  Finally, his reply was the often used tactics of those 
> whose business practices aren't always on the up-and-up. "It's starting to 
> sound like you don't trust me," he stammered.  Well, to make a long story 
> short, I hung up the phone and added the dealer to my "black list".
>
> Be careful about who you do business with.  Don't let your emotions 
> overrule common sense.
>
> Best,
>
> John Gwilliam
>
> At 08:22 AM 4/14/2008, Jim Strope wrote:
>>Sounds like a good solution Matt.
>>
>>I would not want my name published on a website that I provide 
>>consignments if I did that sort of thing.  If I was a buyer and saw that 
>>dealer A had a specimen acquired from dealer B, I would just contact 
>>dealer B and see if they had any more and eliminate dealer A's mark up.
>>
>>Would anyone expect Marting to reveal his source for his new Martian 
>>Meteorite?  Or Adam for NWA 5000?  I would bet that they will not reveal 
>>their planetary sources any quicker than I will.
>>
>>Provenance, in my opinion, exists where old labels accompany the specimen, 
>>or it came from a museum or famous old collector of yesteryear.
>>
>>Jim Strope
>>421 Fourth Street
>>Glen Dale, WV  26038
>>
>>http://www.catchafallingstar.com
>>
>>
>>----- Original Message ----- From: <mmorgan at mhmeteorites.com>
>>To: <meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com>
>>Sent: Monday, April 14, 2008 9:23 AM
>>Subject: [meteorite-list] Posting sources
>>
>>
>>>Why not just ask the dealer where the material came from? This has worked 
>>>for over a decade for my business.  Personally, I always will tell a 
>>>customer if the ask, but only if that source wants the information given. 
>>>Posting the info for all to see, poses a problem for the privacy of that 
>>>source and yes, I do not want others finding that source.
>>>
>>>Matt Morgan
>>>Mile High Meteorites
>>>----------------------
>>>Matt Morgan
>>>Mile High Meteorites
>>>http://www.mhmeteorites.com
>>>P.O. Box 151293
>>>Lakewood, CO 80215 USA
>>>
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>>>Meteorite-list mailing list
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>>>http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list
>>
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>
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