[meteorite-list] Fwd: How many meteorite dealers are there?

From: Norbert Classen <riffraff_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Thu, 10 Jul 2008 01:54:54 +0200
Message-ID: <000001c8e21f$31005cb0$2002a8c0_at_lunatic>

Hi Alex, and All,

A very good question, and I believe there's an answer to that. But let's
start by asking some more questions:

If you sell a T-shirt or a pair of Jeans on eBay from time to time, does
this make you a commercial dealer, or even part of the textil
business/industry? If you sell a used book once in a while, does this make
you a book seller? Surely not.

If you have a registered business for selling meteorites (or minerals) you
might consider yourself a commercial seller (dealer), if you don't you are
probably no "dealer", but just a private person/collector who sells a
rock/meteorite sample once in a while. So, do you have a commercial eBay
account, or a private account? It's that simple.

I don't know for other countries, but in Germany there's a clear distinction
(set by the tax authorities): if you are making a profit with it you have a
business and you are considered to be a "H?ndler" (commercial seller). If
you are spending more on a hobby than you earn with your related sales you
are considered a "Liebhaber" (hobbyist), and they won't even tax your
related income because you are making zero profit with your once in a while
sales.

So I guess some people need to re-consider the real meaning of the word
"dealer" in a social and economical context. If we are talking of commercial
sellers, and people who make a real profit by selling meteorites there are
probaly not as many "meteorite dealers" as you might think.

Just my two cents,
Norbert

-----Urspr?ngliche Nachricht-----

> Can you tell the MeteoriteMan is a dealer or the collector is the
> MeteoriteMan? Is there a borderline?

Exactly this is what I called into question! :-) Any suggestions for a
definition of "dealer"?

Alex
Berlin/Germany

...who thinks there are more than those mentioned "dealers" on that list,
but then again, where is the borderline, in terms of, may be, common sense
and understanding? So any thoughts and ideas are welcome here....
Received on Wed 09 Jul 2008 07:54:54 PM PDT