[meteorite-list] AD, New Meteorite Men Collectible on Ebay Closing on Thursday Night
Hello List, I am excited to announce the prototype to a new line of meteorite collectibles Geoff Notkin and I are working on. Several years ago, I put some pieces of Brenham Shale in a plastic slabs as a test as a Limited Edition Collectible at the Haviland Kansas Meteorite Festival, they seemed to go over well. I then took it a step further and made six different slabs holding dust from various meteorites (Moon Dust, Mars Dust, etc). I put that project on the back burner, until revisiting the concept with Geoff now. These slabs are manufactured for the rare coin industry and are quite popular in that industry. The slim clear plastic cases also work great for holding thin part slices of meteorites as well. With our TV show Meteorite Men airing on Science Channel, more people are being introduced to the world of meteorite collecting, and as such we thought it would be nice to make it a little easier for them to get started with meteorites with a little different packaging. Of course, most all of you on the Meteorite List are not in need of help in getting started collecting, but we wanted to get your feedback on this as well. Some of you remember our limited run of Brenham part slices in Lucite from Tucson. These were quite popular, but at $99 they were priced out of the range of a lot of beginning collectors. We wanted to have something in the $3 to $50 retail price range to offer. We are expecting that more Meteorite Men episodes will be coming in the near future. If more TV episodes do materialize, then we will almost certainly take these slabbed meteorites collectibles up to a far more professional level in appearance, as well as with a wider selection of available specimens. But for now, this is what we have. Some of these will slabbed specimens in the future will not be limited editions, where we would most likely set the retail price and then make as many as the market would continue to buy. While others will be limited to a just a few limited number specimens, in some case a very limited number. So we have made a prototype assortment of limited edition meteorites encased in the slabs, and we have some of them up on Ebay right now. Getting the exact same size part slice for each of a limited edition of 20 pieces, for example, would be very hard to do. With low priced per gram material, it is not a big deal, as they can all be priced all the same. But with more rare material, the actual value of the specimen could differ greatly base upon the weight of the slice. Then there is the value of the item as a collectible. It is so hard to predict what the values should be, as that is so subjective. Ask some people, and they will say the collectible factor is not even worth $1.00. If our TV show does go to series, and becomes a big hit, and we start cranking out thousands of these specimens in slabs, then the first ones out in this batch theoretically could become more valuable up and beyond the raw value of the meteorite specimen enclosed in it. Why are some rare coins with the same about of silver in them worth more than others? Why are some baseball cards worth more than others? It all has a bit to do with supply and demand. The demand is real low for these right now, since (relatively speaking) no one knows about us, or these items, yet. Some of these specimens are almost impossible to find on the market, while some are very common. Some are exotic types, others more common. The numbers available of each range from 6 up to 27, so there is a wide range on the availability factor. So, I have put some of these up on Ebay with a 3 day listing. We hope some of you buy these at what will be a fair price right now, and we hope they later become worth a lot more. In addition to making the buyers happy, and us happy, it would really tweak one person out there! :-) So, I am starting each of these at $0.99, with no reserve, and we will see where they go. Also, I have one complete set with all 18 specimens, all numbered #4, up for auction in one lot. In this prototype run, the lower the number the BIGGER the specimen enclosed. So many of the #4 specimens are much larger than the others being listed here on the same night. Remember that when looking to The Colony, OK specimen only has 6 units. And the #6 unit is up for sale as an individual with this batch. So, at the most, there is only going to be 5 complete sets available. In fact, this one full set might be the only complete set that will go on sale as such. Check them out here: http://stores.ebay.com/Steve-Arnold-Meteorites?refid=store Please look at the listings, and feel free to respond to me off list if you would like to share some comments, or ask questions. Also, if you are one of the people who eventually buys one, please check back with me on your opinion of these after
Re: [meteorite-list] AD, New Meteorite Men Collectible on Ebay Closing on Thursday Night
Hi Steve, Mike and List, From the peanut gallery - Ok guys, enough is enough. This back and forth is making us all look bad and making meteorites look bad by proxy. Newbies are going to come here and think that space rocks infect people with Andromeda Strain madness. Look, when I act up and say stupid things on the List, most people ignore it. Who am I anyway? But you guys are the big names in the field - you guys are representatives of the hobby. You are in magazines and on TV. I knew who Steve Arnold and Mike Farmer were before I knew there were different types of carbonaceous chondrites. So when you guys come on the List and start going back and forth with general nastiness, it carries more weight and grabs more attention than it would if I was saying it. (or some other Johnny Come Lately) People are going to think - so this how meteorite people behave, I think I'll go collect pez dispensers now. Professional meteorite hunters (the successful ones, like you guys) live a life the rest of us armchair chasers dream of - you get to work by chasing space rocks and finding them. It beats the hell out of getting up at 4:30am and running a forklift at a distribution center or digging ditches for a living. (although, one could argue that finding meteorites does involve some ditch digging) - you guys are part of a very small brotherhood that gets to make a living from a PASSION. How cool is that? To wake up in the morning and ENJOY the idea of going to work. Steve is riding high on his Meteorite Men success right now - let him have it. Damn, if the tables were turned, I'd like to think that any of us wouldn't get our hides skinned because we revelled in our success of finding meteorites. And I understand what Mike is saying about too much hype - it what the radio does to new music - they run it into the ground until you are sick of hearing it. But there is no reason to carry out a public slapfight over this. Take it to private email. Mike, I'm sure you have Steve's phone number - call him up and bitch him out over the phone so we don't have to hear it. All you are doing is alienating customers/newbies - which I'm sure you don't care about because they are nickel and dime customers anyway. Actually, if I was profit-minded, I'd be loving this - because for every newbie you guys turn off, they come running to people like me - and I am more than happy to sell them all of the nickel and dime meteorites they want. I promised myself and the List, I'd keep my mouth shut and think before hitting send - which I have done for a week now while this continues on and on. So here you have it. Best regards and let's knock it off, MikeG On 7/15/09, Michael Farmer meteorite...@yahoo.com wrote: Let me get this strait, so you put it in a box, and make a label saying it is from you, and all you do is put a number on it, say #4 of 45. Damn, can't believe I didn't think of that first. I have thousands of Allende fragments, (I used to buy kilos of them from the Mexicans direct until they ran out) I could really ramp up the gimmicks to try and squeeze another buck or two out of the buyer using their own stupidity against them. I am sure though, when they go to sell their box later that anyone with brains will say, h .35 gram fragment of Allende retails for about $3.00, so I offer you $1.00 and not wow, this is a limited edition plastic box so let's call it $30.00. I don't know why you cant just sell what you own for what it is, and not try to Billy Mays it all daytime TV style. It is good for a laugh though. Michael Farmer __ http://www.meteoritecentral.com Meteorite-list mailing list Meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list -- . Michael Gilmer (Louisiana, USA) Member of the Meteoritical Society. Member of the Bayou Region Stargazers Network. Websites - http://www.galactic-stone.com and http://www.glassthrower.com .. __ http://www.meteoritecentral.com Meteorite-list mailing list Meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list
Re: [meteorite-list] AD, New Meteorite Men Collectible on Ebay Closing on Thursday Night
BTW - show some respect for Mr. Billy Mays. He was a better salesman than any of you or us. If he was shilling meteorites, there'd be a space rock in every home. ;) On 7/15/09, Galactic Stone Ironworks meteoritem...@gmail.com wrote: Hi Steve, Mike and List, From the peanut gallery - Ok guys, enough is enough. This back and forth is making us all look bad and making meteorites look bad by proxy. Newbies are going to come here and think that space rocks infect people with Andromeda Strain madness. Look, when I act up and say stupid things on the List, most people ignore it. Who am I anyway? But you guys are the big names in the field - you guys are representatives of the hobby. You are in magazines and on TV. I knew who Steve Arnold and Mike Farmer were before I knew there were different types of carbonaceous chondrites. So when you guys come on the List and start going back and forth with general nastiness, it carries more weight and grabs more attention than it would if I was saying it. (or some other Johnny Come Lately) People are going to think - so this how meteorite people behave, I think I'll go collect pez dispensers now. Professional meteorite hunters (the successful ones, like you guys) live a life the rest of us armchair chasers dream of - you get to work by chasing space rocks and finding them. It beats the hell out of getting up at 4:30am and running a forklift at a distribution center or digging ditches for a living. (although, one could argue that finding meteorites does involve some ditch digging) - you guys are part of a very small brotherhood that gets to make a living from a PASSION. How cool is that? To wake up in the morning and ENJOY the idea of going to work. Steve is riding high on his Meteorite Men success right now - let him have it. Damn, if the tables were turned, I'd like to think that any of us wouldn't get our hides skinned because we revelled in our success of finding meteorites. And I understand what Mike is saying about too much hype - it what the radio does to new music - they run it into the ground until you are sick of hearing it. But there is no reason to carry out a public slapfight over this. Take it to private email. Mike, I'm sure you have Steve's phone number - call him up and bitch him out over the phone so we don't have to hear it. All you are doing is alienating customers/newbies - which I'm sure you don't care about because they are nickel and dime customers anyway. Actually, if I was profit-minded, I'd be loving this - because for every newbie you guys turn off, they come running to people like me - and I am more than happy to sell them all of the nickel and dime meteorites they want. I promised myself and the List, I'd keep my mouth shut and think before hitting send - which I have done for a week now while this continues on and on. So here you have it. Best regards and let's knock it off, MikeG On 7/15/09, Michael Farmer meteorite...@yahoo.com wrote: Let me get this strait, so you put it in a box, and make a label saying it is from you, and all you do is put a number on it, say #4 of 45. Damn, can't believe I didn't think of that first. I have thousands of Allende fragments, (I used to buy kilos of them from the Mexicans direct until they ran out) I could really ramp up the gimmicks to try and squeeze another buck or two out of the buyer using their own stupidity against them. I am sure though, when they go to sell their box later that anyone with brains will say, h .35 gram fragment of Allende retails for about $3.00, so I offer you $1.00 and not wow, this is a limited edition plastic box so let's call it $30.00. I don't know why you cant just sell what you own for what it is, and not try to Billy Mays it all daytime TV style. It is good for a laugh though. Michael Farmer __ http://www.meteoritecentral.com Meteorite-list mailing list Meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list -- . Michael Gilmer (Louisiana, USA) Member of the Meteoritical Society. Member of the Bayou Region Stargazers Network. Websites - http://www.galactic-stone.com and http://www.glassthrower.com .. -- . Michael Gilmer (Louisiana, USA) Member of the Meteoritical Society. Member of the Bayou Region Stargazers Network. Websites - http://www.galactic-stone.com and http://www.glassthrower.com .. __ http://www.meteoritecentral.com Meteorite-list mailing list Meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list
Re: [meteorite-list] AD, New Meteorite Men Collectible on Ebay Closing on Thursday Night
To all from a newbie, What MikeG has published from the peanut gallery is pretty sage commentary. I'm one of the newbies who has been chasing sites on the web and crusing eBay buying nickel and dime specimens. Fact is, I have bought nickel and dime meteorites from Steve and Mike and MikeG and a half dozen other dealers on the List here, and in Europe and the Orient. That's where newbies start... and you know what happens after they have filled their cabinets with the cheap compulsory examples and read the right books, accessed the data banks, subscribed to the pubs and read your on line stories and wowed over your finds? Eventually, they have the good fortune to tap into the List..as I did a few weeks ago. What an amazing resource! The science is right there for me to read and see..and free! Wonderful dissertations by respected and credentialed professionals..the very names in the books. ( Incidentally, Martin's letters are in a class of their own.) Why, for a while there I thought I was back at Indiana U. in a graduate program...Well, at least until I started reading the contentious posts about the Arizona and the Pennslyvania falls and the ongoing dust up over the pros and cons of hyping the marketing of space rocks, the personal digs, ill concealed expressions of envy, borderline slanders and finger pointing... then I knew I was back in school...kindergarten. Count Deiro -Original Message- From: Galactic Stone Ironworks meteoritem...@gmail.com Sent: Jul 15, 2009 12:47 PM To: Michael Farmer meteorite...@yahoo.com Cc: meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com, meteorh...@aol.com Subject: Re: [meteorite-list] AD, New Meteorite Men Collectible on Ebay Closing on Thursday Night Hi Steve, Mike and List, From the peanut gallery - Ok guys, enough is enough. This back and forth is making us all look bad and making meteorites look bad by proxy. Newbies are going to come here and think that space rocks infect people with Andromeda Strain madness. Look, when I act up and say stupid things on the List, most people ignore it. Who am I anyway? But you guys are the big names in the field - you guys are representatives of the hobby. You are in magazines and on TV. I knew who Steve Arnold and Mike Farmer were before I knew there were different types of carbonaceous chondrites. So when you guys come on the List and start going back and forth with general nastiness, it carries more weight and grabs more attention than it would if I was saying it. (or some other Johnny Come Lately) People are going to think - so this how meteorite people behave, I think I'll go collect pez dispensers now. Professional meteorite hunters (the successful ones, like you guys) live a life the rest of us armchair chasers dream of - you get to work by chasing space rocks and finding them. It beats the hell out of getting up at 4:30am and running a forklift at a distribution center or digging ditches for a living. (although, one could argue that finding meteorites does involve some ditch digging) - you guys are part of a very small brotherhood that gets to make a living from a PASSION. How cool is that? To wake up in the morning and ENJOY the idea of going to work. Steve is riding high on his Meteorite Men success right now - let him have it. Damn, if the tables were turned, I'd like to think that any of us wouldn't get our hides skinned because we revelled in our success of finding meteorites. And I understand what Mike is saying about too much hype - it what the radio does to new music - they run it into the ground until you are sick of hearing it. But there is no reason to carry out a public slapfight over this. Take it to private email. Mike, I'm sure you have Steve's phone number - call him up and bitch him out over the phone so we don't have to hear it. All you are doing is alienating customers/newbies - which I'm sure you don't care about because they are nickel and dime customers anyway. Actually, if I was profit-minded, I'd be loving this - because for every newbie you guys turn off, they come running to people like me - and I am more than happy to sell them all of the nickel and dime meteorites they want. I promised myself and the List, I'd keep my mouth shut and think before hitting send - which I have done for a week now while this continues on and on. So here you have it. Best regards and let's knock it off, MikeG On 7/15/09, Michael Farmer meteorite...@yahoo.com wrote: Let me get this strait, so you put it in a box, and make a label saying it is from you, and all you do is put a number on it, say #4 of 45. Damn, can't believe I didn't think of that first. I have thousands of Allende fragments, (I used to buy kilos of them from the Mexicans direct until they ran out) I could really ramp up the gimmicks to try and squeeze another buck or two out of the buyer using their own stupidity against them. I am sure though, when they go to sell their box later
Re: [meteorite-list] AD, New Meteorite Men Collectible on Ebay Closing on Thursday Night
Both these guys are grown men who don't mind saying what they think. Their latest go round was pretty bland. You should have been here seven or eight years ago when Michael Casper was an active participant. Truly an ego on steroids...and lithium. Best, John At 06:05 PM 7/15/2009, countde...@earthlink.net wrote: To all from a newbie, What MikeG has published from the peanut gallery is pretty sage commentary. I'm one of the newbies who has been chasing sites on the web and crusing eBay buying nickel and dime specimens. Fact is, I have bought nickel and dime meteorites from Steve and Mike and MikeG and a half dozen other dealers on the List here, and in Europe and the Orient. That's where newbies start... and you know what happens after they have filled their cabinets with the cheap compulsory examples and read the right books, accessed the data banks, subscribed to the pubs and read your on line stories and wowed over your finds? Eventually, they have the good fortune to tap into the List..as I did a few weeks ago. What an amazing resource! The science is right there for me to read and see..and free! Wonderful dissertations by respected and credentialed professionals..the very names in the books. ( Incidentally, Martin's letters are in a class of their own.) Why, for a while there I thought I was back at Indiana U. in a graduate program...Well, at least until I started reading the contentious posts about the Arizona and the Pennslyvania falls and the ongoing dust up over the pros and cons of hyping the marketing of space rocks, the personal digs, ill concealed expressions of envy, borderline slanders and finger pointing... then I knew I was back in school...kindergarten. Count Deiro -Original Message- From: Galactic Stone Ironworks meteoritem...@gmail.com Sent: Jul 15, 2009 12:47 PM To: Michael Farmer meteorite...@yahoo.com Cc: meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com, meteorh...@aol.com Subject: Re: [meteorite-list] AD, New Meteorite Men Collectible on Ebay Closing on Thursday Night Hi Steve, Mike and List, From the peanut gallery - Ok guys, enough is enough. This back and forth is making us all look bad and making meteorites look bad by proxy. Newbies are going to come here and think that space rocks infect people with Andromeda Strain madness. Look, when I act up and say stupid things on the List, most people ignore it. Who am I anyway? But you guys are the big names in the field - you guys are representatives of the hobby. You are in magazines and on TV. I knew who Steve Arnold and Mike Farmer were before I knew there were different types of carbonaceous chondrites. So when you guys come on the List and start going back and forth with general nastiness, it carries more weight and grabs more attention than it would if I was saying it. (or some other Johnny Come Lately) People are going to think - so this how meteorite people behave, I think I'll go collect pez dispensers now. Professional meteorite hunters (the successful ones, like you guys) live a life the rest of us armchair chasers dream of - you get to work by chasing space rocks and finding them. It beats the hell out of getting up at 4:30am and running a forklift at a distribution center or digging ditches for a living. (although, one could argue that finding meteorites does involve some ditch digging) - you guys are part of a very small brotherhood that gets to make a living from a PASSION. How cool is that? To wake up in the morning and ENJOY the idea of going to work. Steve is riding high on his Meteorite Men success right now - let him have it. Damn, if the tables were turned, I'd like to think that any of us wouldn't get our hides skinned because we revelled in our success of finding meteorites. And I understand what Mike is saying about too much hype - it what the radio does to new music - they run it into the ground until you are sick of hearing it. But there is no reason to carry out a public slapfight over this. Take it to private email. Mike, I'm sure you have Steve's phone number - call him up and bitch him out over the phone so we don't have to hear it. All you are doing is alienating customers/newbies - which I'm sure you don't care about because they are nickel and dime customers anyway. Actually, if I was profit-minded, I'd be loving this - because for every newbie you guys turn off, they come running to people like me - and I am more than happy to sell them all of the nickel and dime meteorites they want. I promised myself and the List, I'd keep my mouth shut and think before hitting send - which I have done for a week now while this continues on and on. So here you have it. Best regards and let's knock it off, MikeG On 7/15/09, Michael Farmer meteorite...@yahoo.com wrote: Let me get this strait, so you put it in a box, and make a label saying it is from you, and all you do is put a number on it, say #4 of 45. Damn, can't believe I didn't think
