Personally I don't think a "black-balled" list is a good idea at all, it
puts the finger pointers at risk and makes the association look bad. What
it sounds like is the IMCA needs to get involved and promote members that
are dealers in good standing and if any member is caught selling
fraudulently they will lose their membership. Consumers and collectors can
be educated to only by from members of a reputable association that verifies
members and will admonish them if they don't act with utmost honesty and
integrity.
I certainly wouldn't trust a lawyer that was disbarred or a stock broker
that wasn't a member of the NASD. I'm not a dealer and have a very limited
collection, and will only buy from a legitimate dealer.
Seeing these posts on this forum is distracting from the real discussions
and now they have spread to the FB Meteorite group.
Rob Holcomb
(not an IMCA affiliate)
--------------------------------------------------
From: "Richard Montgomery" <[email protected]>
Sent: Thursday, May 12, 2011 8:22 PM
To: "'Meteorite-list List'" <[email protected]>
Subject: [meteorite-list] New Thread regarding scams
Hi List,
It is no debate that scams should be recognized and exposed, and shared on
this List...yet pending un-intended consequences (liable lawsuits and
false accusations) will weigh heavily upon us all if they are in fact ill
conceived and recklessly tossed about.
Our objective is to maintain integrity....and the majority of participants
here have more than a rudimentary knowledge in things meteoritic, and know
already when a sham is under way. This recent suggestion of a
blacked-list of scammers is currently directed at all of us, yet not yet
directed to the un-informed, and therefore really doesn't reach those new
to meteorites...(they are also most likely not members of this List and
our discussions...hence the dillema.)
I suggest that we simply alert the rest of the community when suspect
substitutes or outright fraud appears. Simple as it seems, word of mouth,
or word of List, will alert us. And then we'll investigate it. En route,
keep the culprit at bay.
En route, I don't see an upside to pointing out fraudsters in a
formal-format-published-list, since the potential downside would only
further the fire; also potentially harm an already fragile public
opinion. Remember that most newbie eBayers aren't even aware of this
discussion, nor of the List and this thread.
Yes, this is a big problem if fraudulent eBay listings spawn and infect
collections. What to do, besides writing individual opinions to those
infected?
Some thoughts: Pointing out fraudulent people is much more volitile than
pointing out meteorwongs, and miss-labled true specimens (although, the
Mifflin case may offer a compelling counter to this suggestion) since
meteoritic knowledge speaks volumes on its own.
So, I suggest we follow a true path to a solution to an ongoing issue:
spread knowledge of our meteorites, and avoid getting trapped in the
process.
-Richard Montgomery
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