[meteorite-list] Auction Kings meteorite - $2000 Sikhote Alin

[Michael Gilmer]

Hi Adam and List,

Some good points there.

About COA's - even if a COA comes from a trusted grading or
certification firm, the value in the COA is not the COA itself, it is
the name of the grading or certification service on it that is known
to collectors of that particular type of collectible.  If you buy a
rare collectible and the COA says "Confirmed authentic by Acme
Certification Services, Walla Walla Washington, Serial number
#123456", then the value of the certificate is that the buyer or
potential buyer can contact Acme Services, have them check their
database and confirm that the item in question is indeed genuine.
However, anyone can print a piece of paper that looks like it came
from Acme Certification Services and the ruse will only be exposed if
the buyer follows up on the info printed on the COA.   The COA itself
is worthless.

In the world of meteorites, there is no certification service or
central authority that can be relied upon to authenticate meteorites.
Without an authoritative body backing a COA, it's just a pretty piece
of paper.

Otherwise, I agree 100% with the other things you said.  :)

Best regards,

MikeG
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On 3/23/12, Adam Hupe <raremeteorites at yahoo.com> wrote:
> A lot of buyers judge the price of collectable items from eBay.  EBay is
> not known for fetching top dollar, especially on collectables.  A solid
> auction house will almost always fetch more than what would be realized
> on eBay.  The problem with many auction houses is that their commissions are
> out of line, some charging in excess of 40%! Then some fleece the
> buyers with expensive shipping and handling fees.
>
> Don't get me wrong, there are a few great auction companies out there, I
> have used some of them.  One problem I encountered is that if the item
> doesn't sell or the buyer can't pay for the item after bidding on it,
> then the seller can be out of some serious money including catalog and
> no-sell fees.  They need to do a better job of vetting their bidders!
>
> A lot of dealers don't bother with middle men anymore since they can get
> wholesale prices right off of eBay.  Some specialty shops get most of
> there product from eBay, mark it up considerably and put it on their
> shelves. The problem is that a lot the collectable items offered on eBay
> have no expertise behind them and are accidentally or purposely
> misrepresented.
>
> There are reputable independent companies that can authenticate and paper
> items so COAs  are important to me.  I wouldn't purchase a valuable
> coin, baseball card or any other collectable without first seeing that
> it has been papered through an independent grading and certificate
> service.  A properly papered item will almost always bring in the big
> bucks in an auction house whereas it may not do so well on eBay where
> some dealers tend to print their own COAs and grade items themselves.
>
> Kind Regards and Happy Collecting,
>
> Adam
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