[meteorite-list] Personal Notes

From: Adam Hupe <raremeteorites_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Sun, 8 Aug 2010 21:47:12 -0700 (PDT)
Message-ID: <753880.43958.qm_at_web30703.mail.mud.yahoo.com>

Thank You Richard and Other List Members,


Collectors are the main reason I continued to offer auctions on eBay long after
the losses started stacking up. Moving onto other aspects of the hobby will be
helpful to me. It was never my intention to become a dealer. I collected and
prepared specimens for years before ever offering them. It became very
expensive, almost an addiction. In order to acquire new specimens, others had
to be sold.

I am not blaming anybody, the market will bear what they are really worth from a
monetary standpoint, especially in a poor economy. The scientific value is still
being realized. I enjoyed preparing the specimens and making them available to
others who appreciated them. The costs keep increasing while the demand remains
static even though supply has been reduced and there has been much publicity.
After all, how important is it to purchase a meteorite when so many are in
danger of losing their houses? I mainly deal in rare items, having to cut them
into ever smaller pieces in order to make them affordable. In the process, the
work load, cutting loss and costs have increased while the price per gram has
dropped. It takes just as long to prepare a high priced auction as it does a
couple of dollar one. I should easily reach my 20,000 item goal this fall. My
current plan is to inventory what is left, make it available all at once, take
my final loses and move on. If I manage to sell a key piece from my personal
collection at a profit, then I will probably donate the rest of the sales
inventory for a write off.

I believe the prices will skyrocket once the economy recovers but I cannot wait
any longer to get out into the field and make some cold discoveries. It is my
strong belief that most federal and state land will be off limits in a short few
years and I do not want to miss out. There has been far too much publicity that
started out good and is now turning ugly. The truth is that I see the hunting
part of this avocation coming to a close, the same way amateur treasure hunting
went a few decades ago.


I don't want to talk about the good old days, I want to live them.

Best Regards,

Adam
Received on Mon 09 Aug 2010 12:47:12 AM PDT