Guido and all,

A shell dealers association has already been tried in the
United States back in the early 1980's.  It was started by the
Janowskys, myself, Dick Kurz and others (sorry if I left
anyone out). There were over 30 members including every major
U.S. dealer at the time (which, BTW was far less than the
number of dealers that operate today).

The ASDA (American Shell Dealers Association) was formed to
provide a forum for dealers to discuss what was then a rash of
mail order frauds that left many dealers with sizeable
financial losses, as well as to represent the dealers at
national venues such as the newly forming annual COA Bourse;
to help monitor a change in the trends of the shell business;
and to help promote a positive view of shell dealers in general.

This all predated Web dealing. Email was in its infancy.  ASDA
was open to people who ran a shell business store front or
mail order business (I do not remember the particular
criteria).  We paid dues and there was an executive board to
be voted in by the dealers.  Unfortunately it never got to
that point.  The dealers were unable to come to any concensus
on many things and through apathy the organization dispanded
within a year.

So, lessons learned?  If a U.S. shell dealer association could
not make a go of it, will an international organization
survive?  Conch-L is not a forum to start such a discussion,
but it should make one think long and hard about how such an
organization can operate.

The issues on both sides of the fence (dealer/customer) are
the same today as they were 10, 20 and 30 years ago.  So what
is the answer?  Communication.  Unlike years ago, we now have
the ability to communicate quickly and over widely distributed
forums.  National and international shell club organizations
like COA help make the hobby one community.

The biggest issue in my mind is choice.  If a dealer wants to
grade shells with an alpha or numerical system, then they
should do so.  If someone wants to develop and promote a
numerical grading system and go down in the annals of
conchological history for creating that system, then they
should do so.  It is then up to individual choice whether the
system is adopted or fades away. Those who remember back in
the 1970’s – the HMS-ISGS system was quite slow to be adopted,
but had the backing of a respected international organization.
It was by choice that we now have a universal system of
grading shells – and BTW, it was spearheaded by a dealer as
well as collectors.

Change is a good thing if necessitated by outmoded systems.
Whether the current system is outmoded is a matter of personal
opinion.

Again, everyone has valid points.  Why a joke about grading
dealers in a thread about grading shells snowballed is not
important. What is important is honest communication -- in the
marketplace and on these forums. It all comes down to the fact
that shell dealers need to present their specimen shells
honestly and with knowledge, and customers need to become
educated consumers -- and that happens on forums like Conch-L
and belonging to shell clubs.  Then the hobby can once again
return to being an educational and enjoyable experience.

Rich
(stepping down off the soap-box)

----------------------------------------------------------------------
[log in to unmask] - a forum for informal discussions on molluscs
To leave this list, click on the following web link:
http://listserv.uga.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=conch-l&A=1
Type your email address and name in the appropriate box and
click leave the list.
----------------------------------------------------------------------