[meteorite-list] eBay Likes and Dislikes

From: Adam Hupe <adamhupe_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Thu Apr 22 10:21:04 2004
Message-ID: <003101c349c3$bc15c6e0$b4dbe60c_at_attbi.com>

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Dear List Members,

Since eBay is here to stay as far as meteorites and every other type of =
collecting goes I will offer an analogy.

When Wal-Mart moved into town about half of the small business owners =
complained saying they would have to close down because they could not =
compete with Wal-Mart's prices. The more informed shop owners looked at =
more than just pricing and did not worry much realizing that Wal-Mart =
could not possibly give the one-to-one service a small business that =
specializes can. Only the storefronts that were in it for a quick buck, =
no real customer support and a lack of product knowledge died off. =
Wal-Mart did the town a favor by weeding out all of the cheesy dealers =
with no long term business plan or solid customer support. I am not =
calling anybody in meteorites cheesy so do not take offense, thankfully =
Wal-Mart does not sell meteorites!

Business is survival of the fittest and eBay represents a part of every =
successful dealer's portfolio whether it be coins or cars. Dealers who =
do not embrace technology will be left in the dust complaining about it. =
 The days of huge profit making in meteorites for dealers is over for =
good. Several auction houses like eBay serve to regulate and keep =
profits in check. If a product is priced too high it simply will not =
sell. The days of a captive market are thankfully over. If it were not =
for the help of eBay in clearing out 2000 Kilos of ordinary chondrites =
that came out of Northwest Africa to a huge audience there would be no =
sense in looking for them in the first place, there would simply be too =
much material to move any other way. =20

We recieved a few emails from two dealers complaining to us about our =
auctions on eBay telling us to get married or something becuase we had =
too much time on our hands and we are helping to destroy a lucrative =
market. Lucrative is a realtive term. When we were manufacturing =
thousands of interent appliances and servers, 11% was considered an =
awesome gross profit margin. =20

There are dust makers and dust eaters. We certainly do not want to be =
left in the dust!


Wishing everybody well,

Adam



  ----- Original Message -----=20
  From: Sharkkb8_at_aol.com=20
  To: steve_schoner_at_yahoo.com=20
  Cc: meteorite-list_at_meteoritecentral.com=20
  Sent: Sunday, July 13, 2003 9:14 PM
  Subject: [meteorite-list] Re: eBay Likes and Dislikes


  steve_schoner_at_yahoo.com writes:


    When it comes to my opinion of E-bay, my mind cannot
    be changed.

    I made up my mind when E-bay first appeared, and my
    opinon today remains the same


  Yes, you've made that crystal clear. ;-)

  The listees who have posted that they like ebay, have all offered =
reasons for feeling that way. Do you have any reasons for your opposing =
opinion? Certainly there's no value in provoking a petty argument, =
that's not helpful for anyone. But with so many collectors, dealers, =
experts, novices, and the meteorite "hobby" itself seemingly getting so =
much visibility and benefit from ebay, I suspect I'm not alone in =
wondering what the other side of the coin might possibly be, that makes =
you not just indifferent to it, but so vehemently opposed. =20

       Gregory


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<BODY bgColor=3D#ffffff>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2>Dear List Members,</FONT></DIV>
<DIV>&nbsp;</DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2>Since eBay is here to stay as far as =
meteorites and=20
every other type of collecting goes I will offer an =
analogy.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV>&nbsp;</DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2>When Wal-Mart moved into town about =
half of the=20
small business owners complained saying they would have to close down =
because=20
they could not compete with Wal-Mart's prices.&nbsp; The more informed =
shop=20
owners looked at more than just pricing and did not worry much realizing =

</FONT><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2>that Wal-Mart could not possibly give =
the=20
one-to-one service a small business that specializes can.&nbsp; Only the =

storefronts that were in it for a quick buck, no real customer=20
support</FONT><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2> and a lack of product =
knowledge died=20
off.&nbsp; Wal-Mart did the town a favor by weeding out all of the =
cheesy=20
dealers with no long term business plan or solid customer support.&nbsp; =
I am=20
not calling anybody in meteorites cheesy so do not take offense, =
thankfully=20
Wal-Mart does not sell meteorites!</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2></FONT>&nbsp;</DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2>Business is survival of the fittest and =
eBay=20
represents a&nbsp;part of every successful dealer's portfolio whether it =
be=20
coins or cars.&nbsp;&nbsp;Dealers who do not embrace technology will be =
left in=20
the dust complaining about it.&nbsp; The days of huge profit making in=20
meteorites for dealers is over for good.&nbsp; Several auction houses =
like eBay=20
serve to regulate and keep profits in check.&nbsp; If a product is =
priced too=20
high it simply will not sell. The days of&nbsp;a captive market are =
thankfully=20
over.&nbsp; If it were not for the help of eBay in clearing out 2000 =
Kilos of=20
ordinary chondrites that came out of Northwest Africa to a huge audience =
there=20
would be no sense in looking for them in the first place, there would =
simply be=20
too much material to move any other way.&nbsp;&nbsp;</FONT><FONT =
face=3DArial=20
size=3D2></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2></FONT>&nbsp;</DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2>We recieved a few emails from two =
dealers=20
complaining to us about our auctions on eBay telling us to get married =
or=20
something becuase we had too much time on our hands and we are helping =
to=20
destroy a lucrative market.&nbsp; Lucrative is a realtive term.&nbsp; =
When we=20
were manufacturing thousands of interent appliances and servers, 11% was =

considered an awesome gross profit margin. </FONT>&nbsp;</DIV>
<DIV>&nbsp;</DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2>There are dust makers and dust =
eaters.&nbsp; We=20
certainly do not want to be left in the dust!</FONT></DIV>
<DIV>&nbsp;</DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2></FONT>&nbsp;</DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2>Wishing everybody well,</FONT></DIV>
<DIV>&nbsp;</DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2>Adam</FONT></DIV>
<DIV>&nbsp;</DIV>
<DIV>&nbsp;</DIV>
<DIV>&nbsp;</DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE=20
style=3D"BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-RIGHT: =
0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px">
  <DIV style=3D"FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV>
  <DIV=20
  style=3D"BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; FONT: 10pt arial; font-color: =
black"><B>From:</B>=20
  <A href=3D"mailto:Sharkkb8_at_aol.com" =
title=3DSharkkb8_at_aol.com>Sharkkb8@aol.com</A>=20
  </DIV>
  <DIV style=3D"FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A=20
  href=3D"mailto:steve_schoner_at_yahoo.com"=20
  title=3Dsteve_schoner_at_yahoo.com>steve_schoner@yahoo.com</A> </DIV>
  <DIV style=3D"FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Cc:</B> <A=20
  href=3D"mailto:meteorite-list_at_meteoritecentral.com"=20
  =
title=3Dmeteorite-list_at_meteoritecentral.com>meteorite-list@meteoritecentr=
al.com</A>=20
  </DIV>
  <DIV style=3D"FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Sunday, July 13, 2003 =
9:14 PM</DIV>
  <DIV style=3D"FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> [meteorite-list] Re: =
eBay Likes=20
  and Dislikes</DIV>
  <DIV><BR></DIV><FONT face=3Darial,helvetica><FONT face=3DArial =
lang=3D0 size=3D2=20
  FAMILY=3D"SANSSERIF"><A=20
  href=3D"mailto:steve_schoner_at_yahoo.com">steve_schoner@yahoo.com</A>=20
  writes:<BR><BR>
  <BLOCKQUOTE=20
  style=3D"BORDER-LEFT: #0000ff 2px solid; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; =
MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px"=20
  TYPE=3D"CITE">When it comes to my opinion of E-bay, my mind =
cannot<BR>be=20
    changed.<BR><BR>I made up my mind when E-bay first appeared, and=20
    my<BR>opinon today remains the same</BLOCKQUOTE><BR><BR>Yes, you've =
made that=20
  crystal clear.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; ;-)<BR><BR>The listees who have =
posted=20
  that they like ebay, have all offered reasons for feeling that =
way.&nbsp; Do=20
  you have any reasons for your opposing opinion?&nbsp; Certainly =
there's no=20
  value in provoking a petty argument, that's not helpful for =
anyone.&nbsp; But=20
  with so many collectors, dealers, experts, novices, and the meteorite =
"hobby"=20
  itself seemingly getting so much visibility and benefit from ebay, I =
suspect=20
  I'm not alone in wondering what the other side of the coin might =
possibly be,=20
  that makes you not just indifferent to it, but so vehemently=20
  opposed.&nbsp;&nbsp; <BR><BR>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;=20
Gregory<BR></BLOCKQUOTE></FONT></FONT></BODY></HTML>

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Received on Mon 14 Jul 2003 12:52:31 AM PDT


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