[meteorite-list] Dealer Refunds

From: Philip R. Burns <pib_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Thu Apr 22 10:22:44 2004
Message-ID: <5.2.0.9.2.20030629022749.02167bf8_at_pibburns.com>

At 10:59 PM 6/27/2003 -0400, you wrote:
>I just got a request from a customer that I give him a refund for a
>specimen he purchased a month or so ago from me that he wants to return
>now. His request was not based on the fact that the specimen was damaged
>or otherwise in a different condition than described when it was sold to him.
>
>The request he felt was justified because he thinks the specimen is now
>not worth as much as he paid for it bach then. He seems to think he can
>get the same thing for a lower price elsewhere. So I assume he wants the
>refund to go buy the other cheaper specimen to replace the one he wants to
>give back to me.
>
>While I do guarantee authenticity and that the specimens are as described
>on all my specimens I sell, I do not have a Walmart style lowest price
>guarantee, that the person cannot find a similar specimen somewhere else
>in the present or in the future for a lower price. If someone bought
>something and didn't like it for whatever reason and wanted to return it
>promptly for a refund, that would be one thing but this is another.
>
>I find this refund request unreasonable and bordering on unethical. A
>similar but opposite request would be if I would contact buyers a month
>after I sold them a specimen and demanded that they let me buy back a
>specimen I sold them a month earlier because new information tells me that
>I sold it to them too cheap and that if I had it back at the price I sold
>it, I could turn around and sell it to someone for an even higher
>price. That request would be absurd.
>
>As I recall, there is just one dealer that offers a written lifetime
>guarantee to buy back any specimens at the customers purchase
>prices. However, one would expect that having a stated guarantee such as
>that would help such a dealer to generate more than enough extra sales to
>cover the losses when a meteorite genuinely drops in value and a few
>people decide to take that dealer up on his offer. But without offering
>that incentive to make all the extra sales along the way, a dealer could
>go bankrupt giving refunds on demand for price fluctuation reasons.
>
>I guess my question is, how would some of the other dealers respond to
>such a request? Has anyone had such a request nade if them? And for
>collectors out there, do you feel making such a request (and expecting it
>to be fulfilled) is reasonable? Would a direct purchase be different from
>an ebay purchase?

I suggest refunding this purchase. "The customer is always right." Of
course, there is no need for you to sell to this person again :-}. Problem
buyers are surely a minority.

I also suggest that all meteorite vendors clearly state any guarantees (or
lack thereof) in a prominent place in catalogs and web sites.

This incident raises a more fundamental issue. What kind of a guarantee
should a seller (or trader) offer for a meteorite specimen? Certainly a
guarantee of authenticity -- that is reasonable and typical for collectible
items. Many meteorite vendors offer a lifetime guarantee of authenticity,
and explicitly state this in their sales sites and/or catalogs. A smaller
number of meteorite vendors offer 15 or 30 day unconditional money-back
guarantees. Most explicitly state such guarantees. A 30-day unconditional
guarantee seems to be common enough for other types of collectible items,
including other geology-related items (e.g., fossils).

Should meteorite vendors adopt such guarantees as standard business
practice? What effect would this have on prices and values of
meteorites? Would smaller-scale vendors be helped or hurt? Would
collectors feel safer about making purchases from vendors offering such a
guarantee? How would this affect acquisition by museums and research
facilities? How would this affect trades between institutions and
meteorite vendors or collectors?

As for prices, meteorites are not the only collectible items subject to
volatile market forces. Even items with a fixed available quantity (e.g.,
stamps) can fluctuate dramatically in value within a few years. A buyer of
meteorites (or any other collectible) should be prepared to accept that
fact of life. If you aren't, don't collect meteorites.

-- Philip R. "Pib" Burns
    pib_at_pibburns.com
    http://www.pibburns.com/
Received on Sun 29 Jun 2003 04:41:45 AM PDT