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

From: Bob King <nightsky55_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Wed, 27 Mar 2013 14:33:41 -0500
Message-ID: <CAG5KyVk9J_T3Tma6B0NOALNyTY34iSndUeOuDy70Lq6yLERV3g_at_mail.gmail.com>

Hi Kevin,

$32/g, 14 dealers

Bob


On Wed, Mar 27, 2013 at 1:39 PM, Don Hurkot <donhurkot at gmail.com> wrote:
> US $7.47/ 27 dealers
>
> Sent from my iPad
>
> On 2013-03-25, at 10:17 PM, Kevin Kichinka <marsrox at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> 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 03:33:41 PM PDT