Well, since this day is floating like a rock so far, i might as well
attempt to rescue it a tad by keeping my comittment to "go second" in
the Dealer Derby (Paul's excellent reflections of last night being a
good start!!).
I will glide over the prliminaries, since they are known to many
already - started shelling 1988, just one of a long series of "Natural
History Obsessions" in my life (Edible and medicinal wild plants,
astronomy, geology, physics, psychology, paleontology and birding having
previously dominated my "private studies" in that category). Fascinated
at first by the sheer # of spp in this huge and wondrous crowd, quickly
amassed what could only be described as a "heap" of miscellaneos
material in need of curating (which i have become better at since
then!!), but then an opportunity to sort, count, identify and make a
reference collection of 100 sample's worth of molluscs from near Sable
Island (on the Scotian Shelf) quickly convinced me that the poorly
-studied E. Canadian fauna was more exiting and fascinating than the
multitudinous more tropical beasties. Sold off my initial assortment
(could not really be called a "collection"!!) as a church fund-raising
project, and met so many interesting and friendly (and a few truly
Wierd!!) people in the process that i started a little dealership of my
own- still on a charitable basis, but admittedly not so much for the
sake of the loot, as to continue corresponding with people from all over
the planet, and of course for the privilege of enjoying a good few
shells (Canadian expression) in the process, as they passed thru my
hands! By 1995 or 6, the Schooner (named after the most famous sailing
ship Canada ever had, the Bluenose - which i greatly admire because she
was not just a sleek, trim racing vessal, but a hard worker most of the
year in the Grand Banks fishing fleet - her record for the most fish
caught in one trip stood for years, in the 1920s!!) FINALLY started to
turn a profit, and since then i've tried hard to expand the operation -
the Website (which i plan to "re-launch" on the first day of spring!!)
is the latest effort, although i **vastly** underestimated the amount of
time it takes to maintan the monster!!
Now the "trade secrets" part! - my strategy from the first has always
been twofold: 1) to try to come up with "**something for (almost!)
everyone**" from specialists in particular groups; to beginners seeking
inexpensive "starter specimens"; to aesthetic collectors seeking beauty;
to scientific types systemmatically studying interesting groups like
Turridae; in-depth collectors who enjoy the often-surprising and
fascinating variety found in local populations (my variation sets have
proven to be well-enjoyed by those who go out on a limb and actually try
them out!!) , to the adventurous sort who is always looking out for
"something different" - unusual material and specimens, etc., and 2) to
always seek out "the unusual" - even, or perhaps ESPECIALLY in
relatively common species, where the possibilities areso much greater of
actually Finding interesting and uncommon variations, mutations,
malformations and odd sensations, since not only does one have far more
material to look at (**secret**:one of my favorite things is to purchase
a large # of specimens from a given local population (even commercail -
data sometimes hard to get, but who can beat the price!!), selecting
out the most unusual and interesting (and of course largest!)
specimens, then selling the most "far out" of them as singles, and
making up variation series and "high-contrast pairs" or small sets out
of the balance of "the good stuff". The remaining many "typical"
specimens, i either sell for a small amount, or just give away to
children in the church, to friends, clerks at stores, or even total
strangers (which is IMMENSE fun!! - walking up to someone on the street
and handing them a lovely Harp Shell from far-off Zanzibar just because
they are there and so am i, can produce MONDO entertaining results
(Halifax, although the largest Canadian city east of Montreal, still has
a certain "small town" feel to it, so nobody has pulled a gun on me yet
for being strange!!)), but the more variable a species is (variability
is related to adaptability!), the more succcessful they tend to be,
hence the more common they become (does't always follow tho - regard
Littorina littorea L.!!). OF course, i also get **some** true rarities
in terms of species, but with little capital to work with, these don't
form the bulk of my offerings. / Given the way i go about things, the
result tends to be long lists with a predominance of well-described ( i
like to tell people just What sort of critter they are purchasing!!)
"one-of-a-kind" items - takes a lot of work, but i'm hoping people will
come to appreciate it, in time!!
One thing i do, which doesn't seem to be a big trend in the Dealer-side
of The Shell World, is to try to inject a bit of humor into my lists -
often oblique, warped, obscure or just plain silly, but ocasionally
actually funny! . Also, i occasionally use tactics perhaps more suited
to used-car lots, to encourage purchases - odd little sales, free
specimens, colors and capitals - admittedly often uncalled for, but as
someone pointed out yesterday, few tasks are more tedious than listing
scores and scores of shell items at a go!- so to help pass the time
(and keep my mind off the ever-tardy Godot!), i unfortunately stray from
the Straight and Narrow somewhat. I fear these two tendancies have lost
me far more business than they gain, so i'll try to keep a tighter lid
on it from here on in. .. of course since the company motto is after
all "we specialize in the Unusual", i may not always be successful - so
if *Anyone* is still reading this, i hope you will forgive some of the
odd-ball things which sometimes go in in my lists!!
One more "secret": the "we" i am so fond of using, is "Royal" - ie,
there is no we, just me.
Canadian to the Core (For better or worse!!),
-Ross M.
--
Ross Mayhew: Schooner Specimen Shells: Http://www.schnr-specimen-shells.com
"We Specialize in the Unusual"
Phone: (902)-876-2241
But try to find Something for EVERYONE!!
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