[meteorite-list] The use of "rare", "scarce", "one of a kind", etc in marketing

From: Bob Loeffler <bobl_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Tue, 4 Mar 2008 19:37:12 -0700
Message-ID: <20080305023602.7A140105B7_at_mailwash5.pair.com>

Hi all,

The use of subjective adjectives in advertising/marketing has always
bothered me. Some of the dealers on this list do it. Some of the dealers
in the rock and mineral community also do it. Dealers in all industries do
it. Terms like "rare", "scarce", "one of a kind", etc. And of course
"oriented" which has been discussed already. Other descriptive terms, like
"beautiful" and "gorgeous", are known to be in the eye of the beholder, but
some terms, like "rare", can actually mean something quantifiable.

So, what do meteoricists consider "rare"? Does the TKW of a meteorite have
to be less than xxx grams to be considered rare? Or is it the amount that
is offered to the public? Or ???

What about "one of a kind"? Aren't they ALL one of a kind? No two
meteorite individuals or slices or pieces look exactly alike, right?

I'm not sure what can be done about this, but maybe all of the dealers and
collectors on this list can start cleaning up the descriptive language that
we see every day, so others in the industry (including newbies) will follow
suit and keep the descriptive language to a minimum. Maybe the IMCA can
incorporate a policy that helps with this problem, such as define "rare",
"scarce", "uncommon", etc so it would level the playing field, so to speak.
Maybe it could be a grade or scale like weathering, shocking, orientation
(as Darryl suggested and Michael Blood said he would work on).

Just my 2 cents worth.

Thanks,

Bob
Received on Tue 04 Mar 2008 09:37:12 PM PST