[meteorite-list] It was intuition ? OK ?

From: Walter Branch <waltbranch_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Sat, 12 Apr 2008 12:52:50 -0400
Message-ID: <00f101c89cbd$a5813700$6101a8c0_at_BranchFamily>

>Other thoughts?

Hi Martin,

Here are my thoughts and opinion.

>"This meteorite is guaranteed to be authentic or your
>money back !!"

The word "or" bothers me. It's a hedge.

This statement should NEVER appear on a meteorite sale listing, be it
auction, retail or whatever. Either it is a meteorite, or it isn't and if
the seller isn't sure, the seller should say so.

Think about it. It is certainly acceptable to offer a refund for various
reasons, but it is not acceptable to offer a refund because the meteorite
you are selling is not really a meteorite, or the meteorite which claim it
to be. How much sense does that make? None!

IMHO, anyone who buys a meteorite under those circumstances is asking for
trouble.

Either it is a meteorite or it is not and if you are not 100% sure it is
what you claim it is, then you don't need to be presenting it as such and
selling it as such.

I am astounded anyone would buy a meteorite with that disclaimer. I am just
now beginning to build back up my collection. Only reputable dealers and
sources will get my money and I certainly won't be spending money on
auctions or retailers where I have to prove authenticity to get a refund.

The onus is not on the buyer to prove it is a meteorite, it is on the
seller.

BTW, Martin, nice to see you writing on the list again. How is Big Sky
Country?

-Walter Branch


________________________
----- Original Message -----
From: "Dark Matter" <freequarks at gmail.com>
To: "Mike Bandli" <fuzzfoot at comcast.net>
Cc: <Meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com>
Sent: Friday, April 11, 2008 11:31 PM
Subject: Re: [meteorite-list] It was intuition ? OK ?


> Hi Mike and all,
>
> I too am curious about some of the rare meteorites I see advertised on
> ebay, and I look forward to reading something that demonstrates the
> authenticity on these historic piece beyond the somewhat unnerving
> statement that "This meteorite is guaranteed to be authentic or your
> money back !!"
>
> Over the years I have acquired a sizable portion of a world-class
> collection among other special pieces and have above average knowledge
> of material distribution, and of course, a vested interest in
> preserving the reputation of the historic and valuable specimens.
>
> For example, some recent ebay offerings included Bialystok and
> Andover, two historic falls of extremely low distribution. Here are
> the auction links.
>
> http://cgi.ebay.com/Bialystok-Meteorite-Rare-Historic-Howardite-from-Poland_W0QQitemZ250229710427QQcmdZViewItem?hash=item250229710427
>
> http://cgi.ebay.com/Andover-Maine-Meteorite-Witnessed-Fall_W0QQitemZ250229711253QQcmdZViewItem?hash=item250229711253
>
> Representatives of both these localities are in my collection and I
> have written about them in my Accretion Desk articles. Here are some
> pictures:
>
> http://www.meteorite-times.com/Back_Links/2005/November/andover.jpg
>
> http://www.meteorite-times.com/Back_Links/2005/November/bailystok.jpg
>
> http://www.meteorite-times.com/Back_Links/2005/November/bailystok_number.jpg
>
> Although I have not chased down all the total weight of the pieces of
> Bailystok distributed over time, I have personally gone so far as to
> contact the Humboldt museum (the original source of my piece and its
> number) shed light on the distribution of this extremely rare and
> historic howardite. Therefore, the appearance of half a gram of
> Bailystok on ebay was somewhat extraordinary, only to be outdone by
> its low selling price.
>
> Andover is another matter. Its distribution is greater, but still few
> have comparison. At $425/g for an L6, I hope there is more than an
> Nininger quote to back up its provenience.
>
> Other thoughts?
>
> Martin
>
>
>
> On Fri, Apr 11, 2008 at 8:04 PM, Mike Bandli <fuzzfoot at comcast.net> wrote:
>> Bob,
>>
>> I'm sure there are a couple people on the list that benefit from your
>> eBay
>> authenticity posts, but maybe you could set that time aside for doing a
>> little research as to where your 'Zulu Queen' meteorite really came from
>> (if
>> it really is Zulu Queen). No sense it in pointing out other people's
>> authenticity issues if you can't back up your own.
>>
>> Still waiting for an answer (the truth).
>>
>> Kind regards,
>>
>> Mike Bandli
>>
>>
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: meteorite-list-bounces at meteoritecentral.com
>> [mailto:meteorite-list-bounces at meteoritecentral.com] On Behalf Of Bob
>> Evans
>> Sent: Friday, April 11, 2008 3:47 PM
>> To: Meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com
>>
>> Subject: [meteorite-list] It was intuition ? OK ?
>>
>>
>>
>> I guess it amuses me when I get a response from some idiot selling junk
>> as
>> meteorites on ebay
>>
>> Case in Point :
>>
>> http://cgi.ebay.com/meteorites-and-collectables_W0QQitemZ110242519960QQihZ00
>> 1QQcategoryZ3224QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
>>
>> Response to my inquiry regarding authenticity :
>>
>> Dear maccers531,
>>
>> " your not going to like this but its intuition ive been studying them
>> for
>> awhile now and i know what im doing because also when i check certain
>> areas
>> i found stuff at i go back later and ive recovered what ever else new
>> fell
>> around they are planetary and ill probably be told no its not real but i
>> know they are and if you do not like them send them back for a full
>> refund
>> and also the magnet the look the fusion lets talk "
>>
>>
>> - deazombie
>>
>> Duh !
>>
>> Seems like all these people selling fakes one ebay share the inability
>> to
>> spell correctly and use proper grammar.
>>
>> BE
>>
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Received on Sat 12 Apr 2008 12:52:50 PM PDT