[meteorite-list] AD: Wisconsin Fireball Meteorite Fall Part Slices on Eba...

[MeteorHntr at aol.com]

I am not sure I understand why it is a problem  that I sell while people 
are still in the field hunting?

I am expecting  people to be in the field up there for the next several 
months, maybe all  summer. I can't wait until everyone gets out of the field 
before I start  selling.  I had to promise the land owner where I found this 
that I would  pay him 50% of what I sell the rock(s) for to get permission to 
hunt on his  ground in the first place. I didn't want to promise him that, 
but that is what  the guy before me promised, so I had to agree or move on.  
I have to start  selling now so I will know how much I have to pay him for 
his 50%.

I am  being inundated with requests for what I want to sell these for and I 
don't have  a clue what they are worth.  No one wants to offer me more than 
about $15  to $20/g for them, and I am not about to sell them that cheap.  
l also  don't want to sell them for $100/g if other people are just going to 
sell theirs  for less, then I get blamed for selling them for too much and 
ripping off my  customers.  People want to buy these now and the only fair 
way to do it is  to let Ebay set the price.  If the prices go up later or go 
down later, it  isn't because I set the price too high or too low now.

I assume you or  anyone else in the field are paying the land owners 50% as 
agreed upon like I  did.  If these meteorites are indeed worth $10/g or 
$50/g or $500/g, then  per your "fair" agreement, pay the landowners their 
promised 50%.  What  harm is there in that? 

I had people selling West stones on Ebay last  year when I was still 
collecting in the field.  It did raise some questions  with the locals, but a 
simple explanation between "Field Prices," "Wholesale  Prices" and "Retail 
Prices" was usually sufficient enough for them to realize  the situation at hand.

If someone is leading the landowners to think that  these are worth a small 
fraction of what they really will prove to be worth,  then I am sorry that 
these lots might cause problems.  But then again, the  land owners will find 
out sooner or later anyway.  Are you saying it is  better to wait until all 
the specimens are recovered and everyone is out of the  field before anyone 
of the locals find out what these are really  worth?   

Bottom line is that I will probably go back up there  to hunt more myself.  
And honestly, I would feel a lot better knowing what  these are really 
worth when I do.  I just assume I will have to pay 50%  whether that is 50% of 
$6/g or 50% of $1,000/g. 

Steve Arnold
of  Meteorite Men







In a message dated 4/23/2010  11:17:09 P.M. Central Daylight Time, 
meteoritefinder at gmail.com writes:
Hey  Steve do you realize some of us are still out in the field?