[meteorite-list] A fine line

From: SSachs9056_at_aol.com <SSachs9056_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Thu Apr 22 10:06:17 2004
Message-ID: <f4.254fc95a.2b156b8c_at_aol.com>

Hi Russ and list,

You know, I think that as long as one does not say outright that this thing
is a meteorite it will always be "Let the Buyer Beware" on all goods offered
on EBAY. The only time I have really seen EBAY step in is when local law
enforcement spotted stolen golf clubs from a burglary which occured from a
nearby upscale residence (actually the owner of the clubs saw them on Ebay.
Ebay was very cooperative, After all Ebay would not want to be knowned as an
"online fence" operation.

Sometime ago I posed a question to Ebay regarding persons who knowingly sell
questionable goods (specifically meteorites) or who may falsify it's
provinance. And their reply was that experts in the field of meteoritics
exposing fraudulent specimens might open the way to lawsuits and who can
define what or who an expert is. A scientist? A dealer? A long time
collector? Needless to say their pat answer was indeed maddening. I did
however pose this follow-up question to EBAY....What if I tried to sell a
pair of shoes using this description:

"I inherited this pair of ruby red shoes from my grandmother who found them
at a garage sale in Beverly Hills California, during the 1940's. The woman at
the garage sale claimed to be a wardrobe assistant. On the box is written MGM
Studios, and they are a size 7. The box looks to be from around the late
1930's, and written in pencil is: wofoz-pair # 5. I'm not an expert in this
area of movie props" Etc....

You get the idea. Obviously a fraud...but if an Movie Wardrobe "expert"
complained, I'm sure they would have received the same canned answer from
Ebay.

By the way, I never got a reply back from the people of EBAY when I posed
this scenario to them. Don't ask---don't tell? All I can say is the with
regards to meteorites, it's best to continue to refer people to the IMCA
"Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval" or dealers who may not belong to IMCA
but have established themselve as reputable meteorite dealers over the long
haul. Ebay may not come to your rescue. So again it's Buyer Beware.

Best,

Steven L. Sachs IMCA # 9210 http://www.geocities.com/gangwise/meteorite.html
Received on Tue 26 Nov 2002 07:27:56 PM PST