[meteorite-list] Meteorite hunter takes £10,000 rock to auction - And a particularly BAD quote

[Michael Farmer]

Danger is prison in Oman, on your knees in Kenya with machete at your throat, escaping corrupt border cops in Peru, not opening a post parcel:).
Perhaps these crotchety old millionaires need a lesson in life of really hunting meteorites.
Michael Farmer

Sent from my iPhone

On Aug 19, 2013, at 7:56 AM, "Galactic Stone & Ironworks" <meteoritemike at gmail.com> wrote:

> Yup, stories of daring-do and danger to enhance the gavel price.
> Oldest trick in the book.
> 
> It's the Forbidden Fruit Premium.
> 
> 
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> 
> On 8/19/13, Michael Farmer <mike at meteoriteguy.com> wrote:
>> This article is crap and so is the auction. H has been doing nothing but
>> putting together these auctions ever couple of years. As I went to Russia
>> and brought back thousands, actually more than 10,000 pieces, I am pretty
>> sure I have more Chelyabinsk in the west than Eliott:) Te smuggling quotes
>> don't help, and in fact, i think under UK law could easily get the pieces
>> frozen in the Auction or confiscated by the government there.
>> 
>> These are just promotional sales pitches to the gullible.
>> 
>> Michael Farmer
>> 
>> Sent from my iPad
>> 
>> On Aug 19, 2013, at 7:40 AM, Mendy Ouzillou <ouzillou at yahoo.com> wrote:
>> 
>>> http://www.astrowatch.net/2013/08/meteorite-hunter-takes-10000-rock-to.html
>>> 
>>> Dear list members,
>>> 
>>> This is an interesting article but what really caught my eye was the
>>> following quote: "The Russian government told the local residents that
>>> they would arrest anyone selling pieces of the meteorite overseas, so my
>>> contact had to disguise the airmail package and mix the meteorites with
>>> pieces of electronic equipment to hide them,"
>>> 
>>> 
>>> The intricacies of Russian export laws are as dense as as any Russian
>>> novel and less decipherable as highlighted by some of our own
>>> conversations regarding the topic. This quote unfortunately removes any
>>> doubt that the Chelyabinsk meteorites were smuggled out and only
>>> reinforces the misconception that our (a)vocation is run like a black
>>> market.
>>> 
>>> I am sure that the actual interview was filled with more details and
>>> clarifying comments, but that is clearly NOT what was printed. Dealing
>>> with the press is a skill like any other that requires training and
>>> experience. At the very least ask for the questions in advance and respond
>>> by email if at all possible. The most important thing to do is to ask for
>>> the ability to review and make edits to the article BEFORE agreeing to
>>> doing the interview.
>>> 
>>> Though you will figure out easily who was quoted, this is not about the
>>> individual. I was not there during the interview (obviously) and can't say
>>> what was or was not said. I really just want to highlight this story as a
>>> cautionary tale.
>>> 
>>> As a final thought, not all reporters are bad or out to get people. They
>>> have a job to do and are motivated by a different set of requirements than
>>> what we may understand. They want a good story and you (may) want the
>>> public recognition. This is a symbiotic relationship, but if you do not
>>> understand how the game is played, you will likely get played.
>>> 
>>> Sincerely,
>>> 
>>> Mendy Ouzillou
>>> ______________________________________________
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