[meteorite-list] Membrane Boxes

From: Darren Garrison <cynapse_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Sat Feb 11 15:28:13 2006
Message-ID: <dohsu1d1h6sdhc805uambek79mghq6mjpj_at_4ax.com>

On Sat, 11 Feb 2006 13:15:53 -0500, you wrote:

>I find Ron Hartman's pricing very reasonable. Try to beat that by buying
>from the source in Europe and having them shipped to the US.
>

The prices are reasonable-- if you are displaying pieces worth a sizable
multiple of the price of the membrane box. For instance, a $800 lunar in a $2
membrane box is no big deal. I tend to collect micromounts, both for economic
and for space reasons. I thought about putting all of mine into membrane boxes,
but I just could not justify paying the price per membrane box when you could
get a gem jar of about the same size for a small fraction of the price. The gem
jars are about the same size, about the same amount of material, and about the
same complexity to manufacture, but because only one company is making the
membrane boxes, there is no competition for them, and therefore inflated,
monopoly prices. You can't tell me that stretching that membrane across the
plastic is so much more difficult than sticking a piece of round foam in a jar
that it costs 3-4 times as much to make? I only go with a membrane box for the
pieces with great interest on both size. My other micro pieces go into gem
jars. Also, I have one of the boxes like this one, and am really annoyed by the
mold mark in the middle of it-- exactly where a mold mark should NOT be on a
display case: http://home.earthlink.net/~capricorn89/box23.jpg (irrelevant side
note-- I worked in a plastics plant running injection molding machines one
summer during school, some of the machines the size of rooms. It gives an
interesting perspecitive on how plastic objects are made).
Received on Sat 11 Feb 2006 03:36:41 PM PST