Regarding dealers,

The Conch-list is one of the best place, if not the first, to chat about
shells, shelling, shellers etc.
Anyone who collects or studies these little things begins of finishes by a
little visit to this list, according to one's ability to understand English.
So, building a grading table of w.w. dealers could become the best tool ever
imagined to destroy those who are not on top.
The audience is the whole planet ! Ireland to New Zealand, Australia to
Brasil via Spain; South Africa, Canada...

Two words about a dealer whose shells were not on top : during years, I
visited this person because the shells stored there, even if they were far
from Gem, had all a nice story.
A Conus mercator led to a chat about Senegal, Goree, and more generally to
all the background that surrounded the specimen, if a background is allowed
to surround something.
In the shop, upon the desktop where the visitor was sitting, all kind of
artifacts slumbered on the shelves: polynesian shell carvings, turtles,
masks from the old occidental french africa, and many more curiosities.
Buying a shell was, there, a real pleasure, even if the specimen was not so
good, and the price often... hrmlrml.
What kind of grading for such a shop, in a list posted on the web ?
Regarding seashells, let's say... 4 on a ten degrees scale.
For the pleasure, the coffee, the discussions : 10/10.

Grading dealers is certainly a wonderful idea, but simple notes will never
reflect the reality.
"Selected", "Exceptional", "Famous", "Adequate", "Representative" make sense
to Andrew as a customer who's looking for a specimen.
We might find such words to describe our dealers; to give them the
possibility to shine in their particularities, as in their peculiarities.

Olivier Caro

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