Yeah, I'll have to try some listings on Astro Auctions, Mike.
There's only 3 auctions listed there though, at the moment.
I have to disagree on Astromart, though.
In my opinion, it's the best place on the web to buy and sell astro gear.
Much safer than ebay, as either a buyer or a seller. Not the best market for
meteorites, I must admit. 85,000 members, but they're mainly interested in
scopes and accessories. Still, after a one-time registration fee of $12,
you're able to place up to 35 ads in any 6 months period with no cost. They
do have Terms of Service though, and they don't allow dealers to set up shop
there, without contributing. They don't allow simultaneous listings on other
sites, especially pee-bay. Having a website you sell from is a definite
no-no. But it's all spelled out in the TOS. Quite reasonable for the most
part, in my opinion. And no, Tony Soprano doesn't put the hammer down. There
is a "peer group" through which violations are policed. They debate and vote
on TOS infractions, and their decision is then enforced. If they notice
that you're always selling the same thing... say meteorites... they might
decide you're a dealer and ask you to buy ad packs. But for guys like me,
who mainly buy, and only occasionally sell anything, it's great.
By the way Mike, the site is now administered by Astromart LLC. Herb bowed
out quite a while back. Couldn't handle the headaches any more, I guess.
For anyone else, I am not affiliated with Astromart in any way, other than
being a happy member/user.
Linton
----- Original Message -----
From: "Galactic Stone & Ironworks" <[email protected]>
To: "Walter Branch" <[email protected]>
Cc: <[email protected]>
Sent: Wednesday, March 17, 2010 11:36 AM
Subject: Re: [meteorite-list] Ad Ebay sellers must see
Hi Walt and List,
I'll check out Astro-Auctions - I'm always looking for new areas to
expand the Galactic Stone empire into. I've never heard of it until
now. I must have been under a rock.
Just don't list anything on AstroMart - to put this nicely, the owner
is like Tony Soprano and treats his members the same. Or, if you want
to aggravate yourself and get bullied for an unfair cut of your sales,
go ahead and try. LOL
Best regards,
MikeG
On 3/17/10, Walter Branch <[email protected]> wrote:
Hi Mike,
For years I was the only meteorite seller at Astro Auction Kim Poor (the
site administrator) asked me to bring more meteorite business to the
site.
I can't tell you how much Canyon Diablo I sold there.
I informed a few dealers Astro Auction a few years ago but they never
took
advantage of the site. No one listed anything.
Ironically Kim and Novaspace Galleries (the brick and morter store behind
Astro Auction) are located in of all places, Tucson.
Not too long ago I mentioned Cloudynights.com as an alternative to ebay.
Totally free of fees. The time it takes to list an item is 30 seconds to
one minute. How many new dealers started listing there? None.
I see is that you are going to miss a massive chunk of the >exposure that
eBay provides.
Not really. List meteorites at both sites. They are not mutually
exclusive.
The impetus for using sites other than ebay has to come from dealers, not
buyers.
What did they say in the movie, "build it and they will come." Well, you
won't be playing baseball in the middle of a cornfield. You gotta build
the
stadium first.
-Walter
----- Original Message -----
From: "Mike Bandli" <[email protected]>
To: "'Galactic Stone & Ironworks'" <[email protected]>;
<[email protected]>
Cc: <[email protected]>
Sent: Wednesday, March 17, 2010 12:37 PM
Subject: Re: [meteorite-list] Ad Ebay sellers must see
This auction site already exists and has been around for a long time.
Best
of all, there are zero fees. There is also a section for meteorites:
www.Astro-Auction.com
Though used mostly for space memorabilia, I believe an effort to move
meteorite folks over there could be done. The only problem I see is that
you
are going to miss a massive chunk of the exposure that eBay provides.
----------------------------------------------
Mike Bandli
Historic Meteorites
www.HistoricMeteorites.com
IMCA #5765
-----------------------------------------------
-----Original Message-----
From: [email protected]
[mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of
Galactic
Stone & Ironworks
Sent: Wednesday, March 17, 2010 9:26 AM
To: [email protected]
Cc: [email protected]
Subject: Re: [meteorite-list] Ad Ebay sellers must see
Hi Jim,
It's been tried before, most recently Eric W. tried it. (if memory
serves me correctly)
The problem is, many meteorite dealers are very competitive with each
other, and I think if a dealer owns/runs the auction site, some other
dealers will avoid it - no matter who that dealer/owner is.
But I agree that a meteorite auction site (with traffic) would be great.
:)
Best regards,
MikeG
On 3/17/10, [email protected] <[email protected]> wrote:
It seems that the solution to these high ebay fees is a no brainer.
With
so
many meteorite dealers on the met-list, all of you should get together
and
have your auctions on a new site. An existing site or create your own.
Possibly create a "Meteorite Dealers Association" that runs it and
keeps
it
free of bogus sellers. I'm sure that a fee smaller than ebay's would
pay
for
the site's maintenance. The possibility's of such a site would be
endless.
Jim Konwerski
Crete, IL
USA
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