Re: [meteorite-list] eBay Likes and Dislikes

[Adam Hupe]

Dear List Members,   Since eBay is here to stay as far as meteorites and every other type of collecting goes I will offer an analogy.   When Wal-Mart moved into town about half of the small business owners complained saying they would have to close down because they could not compete with Wal-Mart's prices.  The more informed shop owners looked at more than just pricing and did not worry much realizing that Wal-Mart could not possibly give the one-to-one service a small business that specializes can.  Only the storefronts that were in it for a quick buck, no real customer support and a lack of product knowledge died off.  Wal-Mart did the town a favor by weeding out all of the cheesy dealers with no long term business plan or solid customer support.  I am not calling anybody in meteorites cheesy so do not take offense, thankfully Wal-Mart does not sell meteorites!   Business is survival of the fittest and eBay represents a part of every successful dealer's portfolio whether it be coins or cars.  Dealers who do not embrace technology will be left in the dust complaining about it.  The days of huge profit making in meteorites for dealers is over for good.  Several auction houses like eBay serve to regulate and keep profits in check.  If a product is priced too high it simply will not sell. The days of a captive market are thankfully over.  If it were not for the help of eBay in clearing out 2000 Kilos of ordinary chondrites that came out of Northwest Africa to a huge audience there would be no sense in looking for them in the first place, there would simply be too much material to move any other way.     We recieved a few emails from two dealers complaining to us about our auctions on eBay telling us to get married or something becuase we had too much time on our hands and we are helping to destroy a lucrative market.  Lucrative is a realtive term.  When we were manufacturing thousands of interent appliances and servers, 11% was considered an awesome gross profit margin.     There are dust makers and dust eaters.  We certainly do not want to be left in the dust!     Wishing everybody well,   Adam       ----- Original Message ----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Cc: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Sunday, July 13, 2003 9:14 PM Subject: [meteorite-list] Re: eBay Likes and Dislikes [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: When it comes to my opinion of E-bay, my mind cannot be changed. I made up my mind when E-bay first appeared, and my opinon today remains the same Yes, you've made that crystal clear.     ;-) The listees who have posted that they like ebay, have all offered reasons for feeling that way.  Do you have any reasons for your opposing opinion?  Certainly there's no value in provoking a petty argument, that's not helpful for anyone.  But with so many collectors, dealers, experts, novices, and the meteorite "hobby" itself seemingly getting so much visibility and benefit from ebay, I suspect I'm not alone in wondering what the other side of the coin might possibly be, that makes you not just indifferent to it, but so vehemently opposed.        Gregory