[meteorite-list] AD: Wisconsin Fireball Meteorite Fall Part Slices on Eba...

From: MeteorHntr at aol.com <MeteorHntr_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Sat, 24 Apr 2010 01:19:51 EDT
Message-ID: <8e7a.78788786.3903d977_at_aol.com>

I am not sure I understand why it is a problem that I sell while people
are still in the field hunting?

I am expecting people to be in the field up there for the next several
months, maybe all summer. I can't wait until everyone gets out of the field
before I start selling. I had to promise the land owner where I found this
that I would pay him 50% of what I sell the rock(s) for to get permission to
hunt on his ground in the first place. I didn't want to promise him that,
but that is what the guy before me promised, so I had to agree or move on.
I have to start selling now so I will know how much I have to pay him for
his 50%.

I am being inundated with requests for what I want to sell these for and I
don't have a clue what they are worth. No one wants to offer me more than
about $15 to $20/g for them, and I am not about to sell them that cheap.
l also don't want to sell them for $100/g if other people are just going to
sell theirs for less, then I get blamed for selling them for too much and
ripping off my customers. People want to buy these now and the only fair
way to do it is to let Ebay set the price. If the prices go up later or go
down later, it isn't because I set the price too high or too low now.

I assume you or anyone else in the field are paying the land owners 50% as
agreed upon like I did. If these meteorites are indeed worth $10/g or
$50/g or $500/g, then per your "fair" agreement, pay the landowners their
promised 50%. What harm is there in that?

I had people selling West stones on Ebay last year when I was still
collecting in the field. It did raise some questions with the locals, but a
simple explanation between "Field Prices," "Wholesale Prices" and "Retail
Prices" was usually sufficient enough for them to realize the situation at hand.

If someone is leading the landowners to think that these are worth a small
fraction of what they really will prove to be worth, then I am sorry that
these lots might cause problems. But then again, the land owners will find
out sooner or later anyway. Are you saying it is better to wait until all
the specimens are recovered and everyone is out of the field before anyone
of the locals find out what these are really worth?

Bottom line is that I will probably go back up there to hunt more myself.
And honestly, I would feel a lot better knowing what these are really
worth when I do. I just assume I will have to pay 50% whether that is 50% of
$6/g or 50% of $1,000/g.

Steve Arnold
of Meteorite Men







In a message dated 4/23/2010 11:17:09 P.M. Central Daylight Time,
meteoritefinder at gmail.com writes:
Hey Steve do you realize some of us are still out in the field?
Received on Sat 24 Apr 2010 01:19:51 AM PDT