[meteorite-list] From Russia (with love) - a contest with prizes!

From: hall at meteorhall.com <hall_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Wed, 27 Mar 2013 01:38:14 -0400
Message-ID: <0608f52ad022ab2a91e5e92990dc4281.squirrel_at_emailmg.ipage.com>

Well, I hope that I don't trip over that thrown gauntlet.
$15.00 per gram. 25 qualified dealers, 12 unqualified dealers, one of
which only deals in stones with roll-over lips.
Fred Hall

> Team Meteorite:
>
> In the last hours many list contributors have opined on the
> 'worth/value' and predicted availability of this latest and greatest
> meteorite fall occurring in Russia.
>
> Like every collector, I wish to eventually own a piece of the
> Chelyabinsk meteorite, who's dramatic escapade was captured so many
> times by dash-cams installed by drivers dedicated to thwarting the
> mischievous. Thanks to corrupt cops, really, really bad drivers and
> suicide-bent pedestrians, we have a library of video unrivaled in
> history. Some will argue (mostly sellers of meteorites) that this is a
> 'one off' event, and any specimens offered today demand a premium.
>
> This is true.
>
> Until the next time.
>
> As with stocks, real estate, Van Goghs and flea-market hubcaps, most
> of us want to 'buy low' even if we never intend to sell. Certainly,
> those who pay $50 or $70 or $1,000 a gram today will not love and
> respect their personal specimen as much a couple of years from now if
> they see dealers offering kilos of the same material _at_ $1/gram, "Buy
> one get one free'.
>
> OK. I probably exaggerate.
>
> This we know. The MetBull predicts a TKW of "100-500kg". That's a
> whole lot of weight to move when offered on eBay as 0.12 gram micros
> starting at .01 cents, no reserve.
>
> As noted by a list member, and in a scary sign carelessly edited out
> of 'Revelations' confirming that the Apocalypse is near, Mike Farmer
> (his real name) agrees with Steve Anold (likely an alias) that Russian
> customs officials demanding "your pay-pahs, please" coupled with
> slushy snow will keep the pristine specimens, even the
> teeny-bit-of-rusty W=1 pieces off of the market, making for a 'firmer'
> price this moment until ?
>
> Steve articulates well his way around 'roll overs' and Michael has
> been there, done that, and his opinion demands respect.
>
> So I'll guess that for now, we best defer to these sound arguments.
>
> But marketing forces always prevail. The Russian border is porous.
> Capitalism will yet again raise its Keynesian head over the heavy fist
> of communism in the form of contraband. The Cossacks will ride again.
>
> And as interest wanes, and customs officials become less interested in
> what LEAVES Moscow and more interested in taxing imported flat screen
> TV's, every Russian dealer arriving in the 'free world' will be
> competing with his brethren price-wise (and for those hopers and
> dreamers, nothing is 'free' in the 'free world', that's an ironic
> political slogan).
>
> And for sure, any material brought to Tucson will never return to the
> Fatherland.
>
> Or Motherland, whatever.
>
> So....
>
> For our fun and your profit, I will offer a prize to the person that
> publicly, on this very list, CORRECTLY PREDICTS THE AVERAGE PRICE PER
> GRAM of all types of Chelyabinsk specimens (average price determined
> from individuals, slices, primary crusted, secondary crusted,
> uncrusted, frags, oriented, disoriented, rollover lips, roll-under
> lips, hot lips, hot lips with holes, hot lips with facial decoration,
> oriented-with-holes-and-rollover hot lips, etc.) AS DETERMINED by my
> bi-annual survey of all qualified dealer's websites. AND, in case I
> need a tiebreaker, you MUST also mention how many dealers will offer
> this as sales inventory, both estimates as published on the internet
> by midnight calculated from my house in the mango grove, November 30,
> 2014.
>
> Example - "US$5.25/gram, 18 dealers".
>
> Your prizes will be a copy of "The Global Meteorite Price Report -
> 2015" as prepared by me, at least a $15 value depending upon the
> demise of the US$1, AND an ebook copy of "The Art of Collecting
> Meteorites", presently on Amazon for $9.99 which just happens to
> describe the economics of meteorite pricing on p 70-71- "When to buy".
>
> FYI - I am the messenger, not a genius in solving this 'pricing/value
> equation'. Nininger, Norton, Foote and Wulfing were my references.
>
> But hey, take a chance, win a prize, everyone likes a prize,
> especially when they don't even have to purchase a lottery ticket!
> Maybe there IS something FREE in the 'free world'.
>
> So the gauntlet is thrown.
>
> Contest entries must appear publicly on this Meteorite-Central
> bulletin board by midnight, Easter night, March 31 Eastern (USA)
> Daylight Savings Time to be considered.
>
> Limited to one entry per household. In case the winner 'expires'
> before the contest ends, his/her heirs/next of kin will be awarded the
> prizes. All taxes, duties and baksheesh are the responsibility of the
> winner. By submitting entries, contestants from Italy agree to play
> fair and accept the decision of the judge, me. Contestants from the
> People's Republic of China (begs the question, if it wasn't 'People'
> what WOULD it be) agree NEVER to invade my computer with
> spyware/malware/dishware and use it as a malicious robot tool to bring
> down the 'free world' (see comment re: "free world" above).
>
> For contestants protection, I will manually write down each and every
> submitted entry by the Easter egg deadline in case an even larger
> meteorite that makes us all forget Chelyabinsk impacts Art's
> meteorite-list secure servers and the archives are lost. Or just
> destroys the State of California, leaving the rest of us wondering
> what to drink now that the Napa Valley is one with the fishes.
>
> This list of entries will be stored in a hermetically sealed box next
> to my collection of rare Cuban cigars and in front of my bottles of
> thirty-year old Scotch.
>
> I hold all of these treasures very closely to my heart, protected by
> multiple security installations, including devices to ensure that if
> the wrong sequence is punched into the code box immediate
> electrocution/vaporization will permanently 'dissuade' the interloper,
> leaving him/her "like ashes in a moment".
>
> Trust that if you win, your prizes will be awarded.
>
> Let the contest begin.
>
> Kevin Kichinka
> Marsrox at gmail.com
> Rio del Oro, Santa Ana, Costa Rica
> www.theartofcollectingmeteorites.com
> The Global Meteorite Price Report - 2013
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Received on Wed 27 Mar 2013 01:38:14 AM PDT