[meteorite-list] Important Message From the IMCA Board

[almitt2 at localnet.com]

Hi Jeff and all,

I'm sure that everyone is thinking what I am thinking, and that is, if 
this individual was caught on these items, how many other items were 
not caught up to now?

If I had dealt with this individual, I'd be asking if my other 
specimens were authentic. Some items are easy to identfy while others 
are not.

As I have pointed out in the past, some people continue to do business 
with some of the known frauds. While not every piece may be 
mis-represented, it is hard to tell and more and more bad specimens are 
going to be floating in collections. If this becomes an epidemic, 
collecting meteorites may become a think of the past.

--AL Mitterling
Mitterling Meteorites

Quoting Jeff Kuyken <info at meteorites.com.au>:

> Hi everyone,
>
> Last weekend the IMCA Board received an official complaint in regards 
> to an IMCA member who sold three meteorite samples to two different 
> IMCA members that were not what they were purported to be. This 
> complaint included classification test results on these reported 
> pieces that were confirmed by the Board with the highly reputable 
> meteorite scientist who completed the testing.
>
> The first sample tested was a small 4.06g stone sold as Ash Creek 
> that came back as an equilibrated H-Chondrite and definitely not Ash 
> Creek.
>
> The second sample was a ~1.6g fragment sold as "Zunhua". This 
> specimen also returned results of an equilibrated H-Chondrite which 
> do not match the current studies on the actual Zunhua meteorite. 
> While the following cannot be considered conclusive, the classifying 
> scientist of the fragment mentioned that "the olivine and 
> orthopyroxene compositions for the alleged "Zunhua" stone (as well as 
> its physical appearance) are consistent with available information 
> about stones from the Tamdakht (Morocco) fall".
>
> The third sample was an iron slice sold as "Deport" that was clearly 
> too coarse to be that.
>
> To basically sum up, these three meteorites were sold as meteorites 
> they were actually not. After receiving the complaint, we did some 
> further investigation and approached the seller. We were not 
> satisfied with his answer at all. On requesting a more substantial 
> answer and provenance of the sold samples, the member resigned before 
> we even had a chance to remove them. (The process for removal is in 
> the ByLaws.)
>
> However at the same time, this member assured me that they would make 
> things right with the buyers and provide the documentation we 
> requested. I have also been helping another non-member who made us 
> aware of his problems this week with the same seller. I know his 
> refund request was accepted by PayPal.
>
> I think it is important that all collectors know who this person is 
> that sold the misrepresented meteorites as they are a reasonably 
> active seller on eBay. If you have purchased any of the above 
> meteorites from this seller the potential is there for you to be 
> affected too. The seller in question is:
>
> John (Bryan) Scarborough - #6135
> eBay User ID: quietstorm2476
>
> I find it extremely disappointing as a Board member but even more so 
> as a fellow member, that on trying to further communicate with this 
> person a couple of days ago, I found their yahoo email account had 
> been deleted. - "I'm afraid I wasn't able to deliver your message to 
> the following addresses. This is a permanent error; I've given up. 
> Sorry it didn't work out. This user doesn't have a yahoo.com account."
>
> The Board will of course still continue to attempt further 
> communication with this individual and assist those affected buyers 
> in any way we are able.
>
> On a further note, it's important for us all to remember that it is 
> our responsibility as collectors and "temporary custodians" of these 
> extraterrestrial treasures to ensure proper curation and provenance 
> history. This is ALL part of authenticity and whether mistakes are 
> deliberate or happen by accident... well both have the exact same end 
> result of misrepresented meteorites. There are people out there who 
> watch very carefully and as one IMCA member put it very well this 
> week, the meteorite community is very small and at some point all 
> cheats are eventually caught.
>
> While this has been a disappointing episode, I am not disillusioned. 
> This is one member. There are nearly 400 now from around the world 
> who do believe in the ideals of the IMCA. To put it in perspective, 
> there are thousands and thousands of transactions performed with IMCA 
> members every year that all go without a problem. This is a learning 
> experience for us all and I'm sure in the long-term we can only grow 
> from it.
>
> Remember that IMCA Board members are always available for any 
> questions or concerns you may have so please always feel free to 
> approach us.
>
> Sincerely,
>
> Jeff Kuyken
> Meteorites Australia
> www.meteorites.com.au
> Vice President - I.M.C.A. Inc.
> www.imca.cc
>
>
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