The fact that poorer quality specimens still have much scientific value cannot
be denied. And, such specimens would be a good deal for folks who wanted
them, since they would undoubtedly be priced substantially lower than fine+ or
gem specimens. And yet, realizing this, most dealers still will not offer
such material to their customers. Why? In a word, pride. For a dealer,
every specimen he/she sends out, with personalized label attached, is an
advertisement, positive or negative, for himself as a dealer. I have this
recurrent vision of John visiting Jane and viewing her collection. A chipped,
faded specimen attracts his attention, since most of Jane's shells are very
nice quality. He turns over the data slip, and it is - mine! (shiver). And
John immediately forms an impression of the kind of material I send to
customers - even though that may have been the only poor specimen I ever
shipped - and maybe passes that impression along to a few other people. That
is a major reason why I don't offer second-rate material, even with the up-
front understanding that it is inferior material at a reduced price. I figure
that others, viewing the material later, may not be aware of that pre-sale
agreement. Maybe I'm just a bit psychotic about this, but that's how I feel.
Paul M.
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