[meteorite-list] Meteorite hunter takes £10,000 rock to auction - And a particularly BAD quote

From: Galactic Stone & Ironworks <meteoritemike_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Mon, 19 Aug 2013 10:56:59 -0400
Message-ID: <CAKBPJW8SFM59WMmp=HA1JZVAw+bVAxKbmX7TXKUUDawa-4hxZA_at_mail.gmail.com>

Yup, stories of daring-do and danger to enhance the gavel price.
Oldest trick in the book.

It's the Forbidden Fruit Premium.

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On 8/19/13, Michael Farmer <mike at meteoriteguy.com> wrote:
> This article is crap and so is the auction. H has been doing nothing but
> putting together these auctions ever couple of years. As I went to Russia
> and brought back thousands, actually more than 10,000 pieces, I am pretty
> sure I have more Chelyabinsk in the west than Eliott:) Te smuggling quotes
> don't help, and in fact, i think under UK law could easily get the pieces
> frozen in the Auction or confiscated by the government there.
>
>  These are just promotional sales pitches to the gullible.
>
> Michael Farmer
>
> Sent from my iPad
>
> On Aug 19, 2013, at 7:40 AM, Mendy Ouzillou <ouzillou at yahoo.com> wrote:
>
>> http://www.astrowatch.net/2013/08/meteorite-hunter-takes-10000-rock-to.html
>>
>> Dear list members,
>>
>> This is an interesting article but what really caught my eye was the
>> following quote: "The Russian government told the local residents that
>> they would arrest anyone selling pieces of the meteorite overseas, so my
>> contact had to disguise the airmail package and mix the meteorites with
>> pieces of electronic equipment to hide them,"
>>
>>
>> The intricacies of Russian export laws are as dense as as any Russian
>> novel and less decipherable as highlighted by some of our own
>> conversations regarding the topic. This quote unfortunately removes any
>> doubt that the Chelyabinsk meteorites were smuggled out and only
>> reinforces the misconception that our (a)vocation is run like a black
>> market.
>>
>> I am sure that the actual interview was filled with more details and
>> clarifying comments, but that is clearly NOT what was printed. Dealing
>> with the press is a skill like any other that requires training and
>> experience. At the very least ask for the questions in advance and respond
>> by email if at all possible. The most important thing to do is to ask for
>> the ability to review and make edits to the article BEFORE agreeing to
>> doing the interview.
>>
>> Though you will figure out easily who was quoted, this is not about the
>> individual. I was not there during the interview (obviously) and can't say
>> what was or was not said. I really just want to highlight this story as a
>> cautionary tale.
>>
>> As a final thought, not all reporters are bad or out to get people. They
>> have a job to do and are motivated by a different set of requirements than
>> what we may understand. They want a good story and you (may) want the
>> public recognition. This is a symbiotic relationship, but if you do not
>> understand how the game is played, you will likely get played.
>>
>> Sincerely,
>>
>> Mendy Ouzillou
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Received on Mon 19 Aug 2013 10:56:59 AM PDT