[meteorite-list] Tucson Auction #1

From: mail at mhmeteorites.com <mail_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Fri, 25 Feb 2011 03:01:02 +0000
Message-ID: <2143317260-1298602862-cardhu_decombobulator_blackberry.rim.net-943158857-_at_bda686.bisx.prod.on.blackberry>

Hi Kevin and list:
Kevin, while I appreciate what you are doing and applaud you for putting together a detailed and extensive list, I will just say that I think any price guides in any field are problematic. All collectibles are worth only what one is willing to pay. Coinage may be a different situation since there is underlying value in the metal commodity and there are fairly accurate mintage numbers.

A good example are home values. An owner can ask 500k for their home but only realize 300k in today's "market". Zillow.com is a great example of how a "price guide" should work; they show the recently sold price not asking prices (as you do in your guide). If one were to use asking prices the housing market would be artificially higher than what is realized in the market.

I also think that price guides give collectors a false sense of hope when it comes to selling their collections. For example, a dealer should be paying them $10/g for Estherville (according to a price from your list) when in fact I wouldn't pay more than $6/g, which is perceived as "ripping" the collector off. This creates a feeling of animosity for the collector and may result in them not collecting any longer.

With meteorites or any other collectible for that matter, a dealer (or any person with the item) can ask whatever he or she wishes to ask. The consumer is best served by doing their own market analysis. As you pointed out there are dozens of different reasons for assigning a value to a meteorite, many of which are subjective (appearance, freshness, orientation, etc.). Even the TKW is misleading if one uses the MetBull as the standard for that. Who says that Allende is "worth" 10/g? The consumer does. Not Kevin, not Matt, not Cap"n Blood.

So while price guides may seem like a good idea and may be perceived as educational, I think they offer little to no value in the collectible marketplace. I could go on, but my fingers are tired from the Blackberry keyboard!

Matt

------------------------
Matt Morgan
Mile High Meteorites
http://www.mhmeteorites.com
P.O. Box 151293
Lakewood, CO 80215

-----Original Message-----
From: Kevin Kichinka <marsrox at gmail.com>
Sender: meteorite-list-bounces at meteoritecentral.com
Date: Thu, 24 Feb 2011 16:45:55
To: <meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com>
Subject: [meteorite-list] Tucson Auction #1

Hola from Costa Rica to "Team Meteorite".

That's my impression of how the folks on this bulletin board have come
together over the last couple of years to become a self-policing body
of collectors, dealers, hunters and researchers. The discourse here is
now civil, informative, personal, supportive and energetic. I take my
daily dose of world met events by way of the list archives and enjoy
reading your comments covering the personalities, business, sales
offers and breaking news of world falls. Just excellent! I'm glad I
stuck around.

These days, I'm interested in reading about your hunting adventures,
seeing your photos, and learning more about the mets that interest me.
And because I write about meteorites from time to time, I do want to
know your opinions about this hobby, as per my request this week for
views on your collection habits to help me respond to a magazine
feature to be written by someone else.

I was pleased that "team member" Richard Montgomery asked me to share
my thoughts about the publication on the m-list of the results of the
Blood auction in Tucson this month. I think this is important, too. I
also have comments on two other current topics, the usefulness of a
meteorite "price list" and about transparency in this hobby.

In my recently released "2011 Global Meteorite Price Report" I state:
"I hope to continue to educate and inform collectors and dealers while
encouraging market transparency. We all want to acquire fine specimens
at a fair price."

The price list I compile is based on "prices dealers are asking", i.e. "retail."

Later I add, "I do not do not collect data from auctions, eBay or from
sources that represent circumstantial, limited or privileged
exchanges."

Respected dealer Matt Morgan wrote today, "... coming up with
meteorite price lists is a joke. They don't account for all the sales
that are dealer-dealer, dealer-collector, collector-collector, ebay,
etc."

Price lists for stamps and coins don't report "dealer-dealer,
collector-collector, ebay..." but are surely considered a tool of the
trade. The real problem with coming up with average dealer ask prices
for mets is in determining the value of the same specie that are sold
in slices, fragments, as individuals, with crust, with regs.... This
is not easy, it is subjective, and when someone comes up with a better
way, I will step aside.

Because I set up a methodology years ago before eBay or the Blood
auction, the results and trends of my work are consistent. And yes,
the results of these other "classes of sales" is relevant. The more
data collected leads one to make better purchasing/selling decisions.
But one has to start somewhere. Use my price report and do more due
diligence before pulling the trigger on that buy. Be confident in your
decision.

Many in the dealer community consistently purchase my "Global Price
Report", voting with their cash as to its usefulness. Written from a
collectors point-of-view, I believe it helps keep the market
transparent, helps people guess-ti-mate the value of their
collections, (my personal reason for doing this work) and provides
clear trends for many specific and classes of meteorites.

I'm emailing Matt a courtesy copy of "The 2011 Global Meteorite Price
Report" for his re-consideration.

(to be continued...)

Kevin Kichinka
Tambor de Alajuela
www.theartofcollectingmeteorites.com
www.LaQ-CostaRica.com
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Received on Thu 24 Feb 2011 10:01:02 PM PST