[meteorite-list] Movie uses

From: Steve Arnold <meteorhntr_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Thu, 24 Jun 2010 20:53:22 +0000
Message-ID: <2089748670-1277412713-cardhu_decombobulator_blackberry.rim.net-1360101927-_at_bda825.bisx.prod.on.blackberry>

Hey Guys,

I wanted to jump in and say I am pretty certain that Meteorite Men did not beat out American Idol, at least not head to head on any given night.

I'm not sure where Geoff got his information, but it might have been in reference to the total numbers of people who saw it on all the reruns. Possibly it was extrapolated that if the show ends up airing in 162 countries like our friends over at Orange County Choppers have grown to on American Choppers, the total people who will see us will indeed out number the people who watch a one time airing like Idol that is only shown (as I understand) in the US market.

Or maybe our ratings were to Science Channel what American Idol was to ABC?

Anyway, back to the topic at hand. I agree with Geoff and Adam that those who care should be proactive in talking with their legislators.

I think what Eric has wanted to do with the Meteorite Hunters Association could be a great step in the right direction.

I would venture to say, whenever Adam or Eric or anyone announces a new meteorite, especially if they don't want to put a retail price on it publicly, most of the questions that will be asked first is "What price are you selling it for?".

Everyone, even meteorite people care about the prices.

So like Eric says, to pretend they don't have value is a bit unrealistic. There is a reason reporters want a hard price on things. There is a reason why the TV audience wants to know these things.

On a different note, are there any scientists that are publicly taking a stance that collecting meteorites on public grounds is a bad thing?

Steve Arnold
Of Meteorite Men
Sent from my BlackBerry

-----Original Message-----
From: Meteorites USA <eric at meteoritesusa.com>
Sender: meteorite-list-bounces at meteoritecentral.com
Date: Thu, 24 Jun 2010 13:04:35
To: <meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com>
Subject: Re: [meteorite-list] Movie uses

Hi Geoff, Steve, List

A BIIIIIIIGGGGGG Congrats to you and Steve, and the Network, for the
Award and for beating out American Idol! That's one BIG ratings boost to
beat them. Nice!

Guys, Geoff is right... Anyone who's ever run a meteorite website, or
meteorite forum, dealt in meteorites, or had any contact with the public
on a regular basis regarding meteorites will testify to the fact that
one of the first questions you get asked is when someone is inquiring
about any given meteorite is "How much is it worth?" or "Is it worth
anything?" . This question usually comes right after the question "Is
this a meteorite?" Meteorite value is seemingly one EVERYONE'S mind. To
ignore it is akin to sticking your head in the sand and hoping it will
all go away.

Another common sense point I'd like to make which some seem to be
forgetting... Collectors "buy" meteorites. They don't get them for free!
If meteorites weren't worth money nobody would sell them, and the market
would not exist. They would in a sense be worth nothing. But this is not
the case is it? They are worth money. It's as if it's a "secret" that we
in the meteorite world know, but "Shhhh" we shouldn't share that with
the world because we have some special monopoly on their value. It's
like somehow people in the meteorite world are the privileged ones and
the only people who can honestly appreciate the value of a meteorite.
That's a crock!

My belief is to SCREAM it from the rooftops! Stand up for what you
believe in, let the world know how you feel about them. Don't hide your
face in your hands and pray the people will ignore it.

Fact: Meteorites are worth money.
Fact: Meteorites are valuable to science.
Fact: Meteorites are the coolest rocks on the face of this or ANY
planet! (ok... that's just my opinion) ;)

I see the point that some would argue that it's not about the value, but
the perceived over inflation of the prices and the damage that does to
the market. This IS a problem and could cause more problems for hunters
in the field. It HAS caused problems in the field. But it's only a
"temporary" problem which will balance itself as public knowledge is
increased...

I attribute that to the fact that more people outside the meteorite
world have just learned that meteorites are worth money, not that
there's over-inflated prices. This will level out and find a natural
balance as more people learn the true monetary value. It's an
inconvenience right now to lose a meteorite deal because of the
ignorance of those few who think their meteorite is worth a million
dollars. Eventually they will realize that no one will pay that
"over-inflated" price for it and they too will sell for true market value.

Just my 2 cents...

Regards,
Eric







On 6/24/2010 10:45 AM, Notkin wrote:
> Guido posted:
>
>> Would somebody tell me what earthly good does it do for the monetary
>> value (usually grossly inflated) of meteorites to be publicized to an
>> unsophisticated public
>
>
> Dear Guido, Adam, and Listees:
>
> This topic has been discussed before, and explained clearly and in
> some detail by my co-host Steve. Since it's come up yet again, I am
> happy to share my perspective.
>
> I agree with Guido to some degree. Although I am a full-time meteorite
> hunter and dealer, I typically do not sell pieces that I find. They
> have a value to me that's greater than money, and I'm in this business
> because I love space rocks. In the "Meteorite Men" pilot there were
> only a couple of brief mentions of the value of our finds. In the
> later episodes a decision was made (not by us) to display approximate
> cash values of our finds on the screen. Steve and I do our best to
> make an engaging, informative and entertaining show, but
> determinations about what appears on screen are entirely the purview
> of our network.
>
> The reasoning for including cash values on the show goes something
> like this: As meteorite enthusiasts and professionals we all know,
> roughly, how much a 50-gram Buzzard Coulee is worth on the collectors'
> market. On the other hand, an audience of millions of laypersons sees
> Steve or myself pick a little black rock up from a cornfield and to
> them it's just a little black rock, unless the value is explained. I
> hate to burst anyone's bubble, but the show is not being made for the
> microcosm of meteorite collectors, but for the world at large.
>
> "Meteorite Men" fan mail is directed to my office, and I have received
> a number of comments (interestingly enough, every one of them from
> meteorite people or geologists) stating that they didn't much care for
> the way in which the monetary value of meteorites is presented on
> screen. I forwarded those comments to our executives for their
> consideration. Unfortunately, we live in a society where money is what
> most people are most interested in. I've been fielding phone calls for
> well over a decade from people who think they've found a meteorite,
> and one of the first questions typically is, and always has been: "How
> much is it worth?" This is nothing new! And when professional hunters,
> high-end collectors, or enthusiastic amateurs come into my showroom in
> Tucson to look at meteorites, the first thing most ask is: "How much
> does this one cost?" So let's be realistic here, and not pretend that
> the financial values of meteorites are unimportant.
>
> I wasn't sure if Guido's comments about "usually grossly inflated"
> referred to our show, or media stories in general. There certainly
> have been an abundance of news stories that presented inaccurate
> values of meteorites and the best we can hope to do to prevent that is
> educate and inform journalists.
>
> Steve and I have been buying, selling, and finding meteorites for
> about 35 years between us, and I think we have a pretty good idea of
> values. The network asked us to estimate possible retail values of our
> finds, and those values were mostly based on actual cash transactions
> that we witnessed or took part in. An exception were the Whitecourt
> Crater irons. Since no Whitecourt material had legally made it to
> market, we had to guess what they might be worth. Guido is entirely
> correct in one case, however: The value of the Buzzard main mass was
> estimated by somebody else, without consulting us, and that value was
> highly exaggerated.
>
> I think the fact that eminent meteoriticists such Drs. Alan Rubin,
> Laurence Garvie, Meenakshi Wadhwa, Chris Herd and others gave
> generously of their time to appear on the show clearly demonstrates
> that it's not all "bucks and Buck Rogers" -- great "Right Stuff"
> reference, by the way : )
>
> Finally, "Meteorite Men" was just given a 2010 Telly Award in the
> documentary category and received stellar ratings (beating out the
> Olympics and even "American Idol" -- gasp!), so I guess the public
> likes it.
>
> On to Season Two.
>
>
> Respectfully,
>
> Geoff N.
>
> www.aerolite.org
> www.meteoritemen.com
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Received on Thu 24 Jun 2010 04:53:22 PM PDT