[meteorite-list] Ad Ebay sellers must see

From: Galactic Stone & Ironworks <meteoritemike_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Fri, 19 Mar 2010 09:58:29 -0400
Message-ID: <e51421551003190658g3a7e7db1kcf2028091165a179_at_mail.gmail.com>

Hi Linton,

Yeah, we'll have to disagree on AstroMart. I wouldn't pee on the guy
that runs that place if he was on fire. I'd flush money down the
toliet before spending it there. I cannot begin to count the number
of times that guy has screwed over good people for minor technical
violations of the rules - which are enforced in an arbitrary manner.
For example, if Herb ran this List, 75% of the people on it would be
permanently banned - for posting more than one ad in a week or for
posting something that disagrees with Herb's politics or just because
Herb woke up on the wrong side of the bed. I can't say a single nice
thing about that guy. AstroMart was a great venue before Herb bought
it out turned it into his personal bully pulpit - to strongarm members
for donations while he poormouths how much money AM is losing, yet the
guy is multimillionaire. If he is reading this, I'd like to invite
him to come visit me so he can retrieve this can of Whoop Ass that he
forgot.

Don't be fooled by the lies, Herb still runs AM - he distanced himself
from it and made it an LLC so he and his main business (Anacortes)
will be insulated from the several lawsuits AM is facing from it's
former members. As for the peer group - suckups. One of them breaks
the rules constantly, but he stays on Herb's good side because he is a
rat and a "yes man".

To any meteorite dealer reading this - feel free to go register at AM
and start posting ads. I'd bet my last dollar that Herb will run off
any meteorite dealer who shows up and tries to make a regular
presence. He'll either run them off through his flaky hostile
behavior, or he will run them off by strong-arming them for an unfair
and unrealistic amount of their sales.

And I apologize to Tony Soprano for comparing him to that dung beetle Herb.

Best regards,

MikeG



On 3/19/10, Linton Rohr <lintonius at earthlink.net> wrote:
> 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
>>>>> Meteorite-list mailing list
>>>>> Meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com
>>>>> http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list
>>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> --
>>>> ------------------------------------------------------------
>>>> 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
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>>>>
>>>> ______________________________________________
>>>> Visit the Archives at
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>>>> Meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com
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>>>
>>> ______________________________________________
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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
>> http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list
>>
>
>

-- 
------------------------------------------------------------
Mike Gilmer - Galactic Stone & Ironworks Meteorites
http://www.galactic-stone.com
http://www.facebook.com/galacticstone
------------------------------------------------------------

Received on Fri 19 Mar 2010 09:58:29 AM PDT