Scot,

Purchasing from an auction can be a gratifying way to build a collection
especially when you are interested in marine molluscan families and are
landlocked. It can also be somewhat treacherous to those who are not
careful.

One needs to do their homework before bidding. How rare is something and
how often does one appear for sale. Do multiple vendors list them or is it
the same person releasing them one at a time to make them look rare. I
don't take the sellers word for it. Once I was looking at a "rare shell,
once in a lifetime acquisition" according to the seller and there were at
least a dozen others being sold on Ebay at lower prices and apparently of
similar quality.

Often, if one is patient and waits, another will appear for sale. There
was a relatively rare pecten that I acquired. Most being auctioned on Ebay
were selling for $500-1200. I got mine for under $300. I decided what my
maximum bid would be, bid it on 3 shells (sequentially not simultaneously)
and eventually acquired one for a price I was willing to pay. I lost the
first two to other bidders, I eventually got mine for a whole lot less
than they paid.

I try not to get passionate about a specimen. This only leads to bidding
wars, and to me, unrealistic prices being paid for some specimens. I try
to determine what the shell is worth (at least to me) and that is my
maximum bid. Have I lost shells this way? Oh yea. But my limited bank
account thanks me  :-)  Often I will acquired a similar specimen somewhere
down the road.

I sometimes ask for additional photos to make sure I am getting what I
want. Sometimes need to compare things to the original descriptions and
once passed on a rare shell that was not what it was advertised as. Some
dealers are appreciative when this is pointed out and correct their
listings, some are not as gracious. I don't deal with them again.

I occasionally trade, thought I don't have much material to trade. I have
purchases a few collections. The largest was the late Kevin Lamprell's
collection of Pectinidae (465 lots, 1200 specimens). Occasionally, folks
have just offered me specimens for whatever reason. Sometimes because I
obtained a paper for them that they needed, offered some help with a
project, or we met previously and they know that I like Pectinidae (and
Propeamussidae) and they offer them to me.

My collection resides at the Carnegie where I use it for various studies.
If someone visits there, they can make arrangements to see it and use it.
Eventually it will be donated to them but not until I am a bit older!

Hope this viewpoint is of use to you and that you find it interesting.


> I have been collecting 5 decades now, and as I try to grow my private
> collection, it seems that so
> many shells are now "auctioned" and that the prices are escalating
> astronomically. Obviously,
> someone, somewhere, is willing to pay "whatever" to get a specimen shell
> (and frequently, poor
> quality specimens at that).
>
> My question to you all is this now the reality of collecting? Do we need
> to be "independently wealthy"
> to pursue our passion?  (Are there alternatives?)
>
> Many of us specialize in specific fauna (species) areas, and can collect
> physically, but for (and I am
> assuming) most of us, the days of "local collecting trips" are getting
> fewer between.
>
> How do institutions deal with acquiring new species...
>
> How much will you pay for a missing specimen?
>
> I am curious as to what you think, I hope to open a broad discussion on
> this...
>
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Regards,
Charlie
.................................................
Charlie Sturm

Treasurer
American Malacological Society

Research Associate - Section of Mollusks
Carnegie Museum of Natural History
Pittsburgh, PA, USA

Associate Professor - Family Medicine
Fellow-American Academy of Family Practice
Fellow-Academy of Wilderness Medicine

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