[meteorite-list] Ad Ebay sellers must see

From: Linton Rohr <lintonius_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Thu, 18 Mar 2010 22:38:32 -0700
Message-ID: <F843AD9A61BD4112BDB014D183AE6CB8_at_D190TH71>

Yeah, I'll have to try some listings on Astro Auctions, Mike.
There's only 3 auctions listed there though, at the moment.

I have to disagree on Astromart, though.
In my opinion, it's the best place on the web to buy and sell astro gear.
Much safer than ebay, as either a buyer or a seller. Not the best market for
meteorites, I must admit. 85,000 members, but they're mainly interested in
scopes and accessories. Still, after a one-time registration fee of $12,
you're able to place up to 35 ads in any 6 months period with no cost. They
do have Terms of Service though, and they don't allow dealers to set up shop
there, without contributing. They don't allow simultaneous listings on other
sites, especially pee-bay. Having a website you sell from is a definite
no-no. But it's all spelled out in the TOS. Quite reasonable for the most
part, in my opinion. And no, Tony Soprano doesn't put the hammer down. There
is a "peer group" through which violations are policed. They debate and vote
on TOS infractions, and their decision is then enforced. If they notice
that you're always selling the same thing... say meteorites... they might
decide you're a dealer and ask you to buy ad packs. But for guys like me,
who mainly buy, and only occasionally sell anything, it's great.
By the way Mike, the site is now administered by Astromart LLC. Herb bowed
out quite a while back. Couldn't handle the headaches any more, I guess.
For anyone else, I am not affiliated with Astromart in any way, other than
being a happy member/user.
Linton


----- Original Message -----
From: "Galactic Stone & Ironworks" <meteoritemike at gmail.com>
To: "Walter Branch" <waltbranch at bellsouth.net>
Cc: <meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com>
Sent: Wednesday, March 17, 2010 11:36 AM
Subject: Re: [meteorite-list] Ad Ebay sellers must see


> Hi Walt and List,
>
> I'll check out Astro-Auctions - I'm always looking for new areas to
> expand the Galactic Stone empire into. I've never heard of it until
> now. I must have been under a rock.
>
> Just don't list anything on AstroMart - to put this nicely, the owner
> is like Tony Soprano and treats his members the same. Or, if you want
> to aggravate yourself and get bullied for an unfair cut of your sales,
> go ahead and try. LOL
>
> Best regards,
>
> MikeG
>
>
> On 3/17/10, Walter Branch <waltbranch at bellsouth.net> wrote:
>> Hi Mike,
>>
>> For years I was the only meteorite seller at Astro Auction Kim Poor (the
>> site administrator) asked me to bring more meteorite business to the
>> site.
>> I can't tell you how much Canyon Diablo I sold there.
>>
>> I informed a few dealers Astro Auction a few years ago but they never
>> took
>> advantage of the site. No one listed anything.
>>
>> Ironically Kim and Novaspace Galleries (the brick and morter store behind
>> Astro Auction) are located in of all places, Tucson.
>>
>> Not too long ago I mentioned Cloudynights.com as an alternative to ebay.
>> Totally free of fees. The time it takes to list an item is 30 seconds to
>> one minute. How many new dealers started listing there? None.
>>
>>>I see is that you are going to miss a massive chunk of the >exposure that
>>>eBay provides.
>>
>> Not really. List meteorites at both sites. They are not mutually
>> exclusive.
>>
>> The impetus for using sites other than ebay has to come from dealers, not
>> buyers.
>>
>> What did they say in the movie, "build it and they will come." Well, you
>> won't be playing baseball in the middle of a cornfield. You gotta build
>> the
>> stadium first.
>>
>> -Walter
>>
>>
>> ----- Original Message -----
>> From: "Mike Bandli" <fuzzfoot at comcast.net>
>> To: "'Galactic Stone & Ironworks'" <meteoritemike at gmail.com>;
>> <meteoriteman at comcast.net>
>> Cc: <meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com>
>> Sent: Wednesday, March 17, 2010 12:37 PM
>> Subject: Re: [meteorite-list] Ad Ebay sellers must see
>>
>>
>>> This auction site already exists and has been around for a long time.
>>> Best
>>> of all, there are zero fees. There is also a section for meteorites:
>>>
>>> www.Astro-Auction.com
>>>
>>> Though used mostly for space memorabilia, I believe an effort to move
>>> meteorite folks over there could be done. The only problem I see is that
>>> you
>>> are going to miss a massive chunk of the exposure that eBay provides.
>>>
>>> ----------------------------------------------
>>> Mike Bandli
>>> Historic Meteorites
>>> www.HistoricMeteorites.com
>>> IMCA #5765
>>> -----------------------------------------------
>>>
>>> -----Original Message-----
>>> From: meteorite-list-bounces at meteoritecentral.com
>>> [mailto:meteorite-list-bounces at meteoritecentral.com] On Behalf Of
>>> Galactic
>>> Stone & Ironworks
>>> Sent: Wednesday, March 17, 2010 9:26 AM
>>> To: meteoriteman at comcast.net
>>> Cc: meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com
>>> Subject: Re: [meteorite-list] Ad Ebay sellers must see
>>>
>>> Hi Jim,
>>>
>>> It's been tried before, most recently Eric W. tried it. (if memory
>>> serves me correctly)
>>>
>>> The problem is, many meteorite dealers are very competitive with each
>>> other, and I think if a dealer owns/runs the auction site, some other
>>> dealers will avoid it - no matter who that dealer/owner is.
>>>
>>> But I agree that a meteorite auction site (with traffic) would be great.
>>> :)
>>>
>>> Best regards,
>>>
>>> MikeG
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> On 3/17/10, meteoriteman at comcast.net <meteoriteman at comcast.net> wrote:
>>>>
>>>> It seems that the solution to these high ebay fees is a no brainer.
>>>> With
>>> so
>>>> many meteorite dealers on the met-list, all of you should get together
>>>> and
>>>> have your auctions on a new site. An existing site or create your own.
>>>> Possibly create a "Meteorite Dealers Association" that runs it and
>>>> keeps
>>> it
>>>> free of bogus sellers. I'm sure that a fee smaller than ebay's would
>>>> pay
>>> for
>>>> the site's maintenance. The possibility's of such a site would be
>>>> endless.
>>>>
>>>> Jim Konwerski
>>>> Crete, IL
>>>> USA
>>>> ______________________________________________
>>>> Visit the Archives at
>>>> http://www.meteoritecentral.com/mailing-list-archives.html
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>>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> --
>>> ------------------------------------------------------------
>>> Mike Gilmer - Galactic Stone & Ironworks Meteorites
>>> http://www.galactic-stone.com
>>> http://www.facebook.com/galacticstone
>>> ------------------------------------------------------------
>>> ______________________________________________
>>> Visit the Archives at
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>>>
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>>
>> ______________________________________________
>> Visit the Archives at
>> http://www.meteoritecentral.com/mailing-list-archives.html
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>>
>
>
> --
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> Mike Gilmer - Galactic Stone & Ironworks Meteorites
> http://www.galactic-stone.com
> http://www.facebook.com/galacticstone
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> ______________________________________________
> Visit the Archives at
> http://www.meteoritecentral.com/mailing-list-archives.html
> Meteorite-list mailing list
> Meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com
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>
Received on Fri 19 Mar 2010 01:38:32 AM PDT