[meteorite-list] Meteorite smugglers anger scientists

From: Michael Farmer <meteoriteguy_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Mon, 16 Apr 2007 15:18:34 -0700 (PDT)
Message-ID: <124849.7519.qm_at_web33110.mail.mud.yahoo.com>

Um, not even close! While I have been fortunate in the
past with some purchases, these days, it is no longer
profitable for me to go to Morocco, thus, last year I
was only there two times in conjunction with European
trips. Moroccans now want $10-$20 gram for Eucrites, I
can pay less for known names. They want $5-$10 gram
for Carbonaceous chondrites, I can buy Allende, a
witnessed fall for less.
The last Lunar from Morocco that I was offered was
offered to me for more than $150,000. I can buy a new
home in America for that price. The Moroccans want too
much, they make 100,0005 profit and expect me to shell
out $100,000 to make $5000 in profit in a year or two
time if I am lucky. It is no longer good for me, thus
I no longer go to Morocco. The market will even out in
time.
Michael Farmer
--- Alhyane Abdelaziz <nwameteorite at yahoo.com> wrote:

> Hi Mike and list
>
>
> thought you were to say hundreds, and for you to
> make thousands and even millions, because if you
> have to pay $100 automaitically you see that you'll
> sell at $1000 or more, but if you do not see a
> profit, you would not pay $100.this is the comerce.
> Thanks
> Aziz
>
>
>
>
> Michael Farmer <meteoriteguy at yahoo.com> wrote: The
> Moroccans are smarter now than most collectors.
> You will not get a lunar or Martian meteorite cheap
> there now. 90% of them can recognize one in a
> second.
> Don't feel too sorry for most of the Moroccans, they
> make much more money than most of us dealers who pay
> nearly retail for the material IN MOROCCO, and they
>
> live quite well off of the meteorites. It has
> greatly
> impacted the financial well-being of most of them
> involved in the meteorite trade. I mean come on, now
> they get tens of thousands of $$$ for a black rock
> they picked up in the sand. How often does that
> happen
> to someone in Germany or the UK?
> Michael Farmer
> --- Darren Garrison wrote:
>
> > On Mon, 16 Apr 2007 15:06:52 -0400, you wrote:
> >
> > >Hello Moni and List,
> > >If the article is referring to unclassified
> > material,which would make sense,
> > >thereby allowing material never to reach the
> > scientific community, the point
> > >is well taken.
> >
> > The problem with that argument is that from the
> > stories that the people who go
> > to Morocco tell, those nomads aren't nearly as
> > clueless as the article writer
> > claims that they are. They may have been at
> first,
> > but they learned to notice
> > the difference between a common meteorite and a
> > valuable one. Which is why
> > people like MF and the Hupes have to make big
> > negotiations to get their lunars,
> > Martians, and other rare achondrites instead of
> > getting them for 10 cents a gram
> > in heaps of OCs. The rare stuff is going to be
> > recognized by the original
> > dealers and sold at rare stuff prices to rare
> stuff
> > dealers/collectors.
> > ______________________________________________
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> > Meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com
> >
>
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> >
>
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Received on Mon 16 Apr 2007 06:18:34 PM PDT