[meteorite-list] For the record - I do not buy unsolicited meteorites from unknown sellers

From: Galactic Stone & Ironworks <meteoritemike_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Sat, 14 Aug 2010 16:20:06 -0400
Message-ID: <AANLkTim=7Rt=OPNknA=9Pyn6G4ySZM1CGQ1LBG6jpZk__at_mail.gmail.com>

Hi List and Lurkers,

For the record, let me clearly state - I do NOT buy meteorites from
strangers. I don't care how you found it, where you found it, or what
other people told you about it. I'm not interested.

Over the last week I have received no less than 20 emails (most copy
pasted to several other dealers) from people with strange specimens
that are obviously not meteorites. I am not trying to be unfriendly
or harsh here, but please take 10 minutes to surf the web and read up
on the basics of meteorites. A few simple Google searches will tell
you that your vesicle-covered lava rock is not a meteorite. A simple
streak test will reveal that your specimen is hematite or magnetite.
If a person is not willing to do a small amount of homework before
bombarding me with multiple spam offers, then don't expect a reply
from me. I just don't have the time or inclination to carry on a
discussion with every person who finds a weird rock. I've tried many
times over the years to give thoughtful and helpful advice to people
who send me these emails and the majority of these people ignore what
I say and then contact several other dealers in the hopes that someone
will buy their story and rock. If a person doesn't trust my
assessment of their specimen, then why contact me in the first
place?......it's because they didn't do their homework on me either.

I am a small potatoes dealer - even if your weird specimen turns out
to be a rare meteorite, I cannot afford to buy it, unless it's offered
for less than $100 with free shipping, regardless of size - this also
goes for basketball-sized lunars that have been verified by a
MS-approved lab. I'm just not in the market to buy such meteorites.

I have a handful of trusted sources that I get my material from.
These sources are reliable with spotless reputations and I have a long
history of doing business with them. If I am going to buy a meteorite
from anyone, it's going to be one of my regular sources - not some guy
in Laos, a prison guard, or anyone else who is not a MS or IMCA
member.

To anyone reading this who has found a possible meteorite - go to
these websites and do your homework before contacting a meteorite
dealer :

http://meteorite-identification.com/index.htm

http://meteorites.wustl.edu/meteorwrongs/meteorwrongs.htm

http://meteorites.wustl.edu/realities.htm

http://meteorites.wustl.edu/what_to_do.htm

http://www.meteoritemarket.com/metid1.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meteorite

If after reading these links, you still think you have a meteorite,
please contact anyone else but me - unless I win the lottery and later
retract this statement. LOL

Best regards,

MikeG

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Mike Gilmer - Galactic Stone & Ironworks Meteorites
http://www.galactic-stone.com
http://www.facebook.com/galacticstone
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Received on Sat 14 Aug 2010 04:20:06 PM PDT