In my experience, the distribution of sales among the various families of shells depends on whether a dealer's clientele are largely new collectors or more experienced in the hobby. Beginning collectors are more likely to be generalists. Some will remain generalists throughout their collecting careers, but of course many advanced collectors tend to become more specialized over time. If your mailing list includes a lot of generalists, especially beginning ones, you are going to sell a lot of those shells which just have to be included in every general collection - Epitonium scalare, Thatcheria mirabilis, Tibia fusus, Stellaria solaris, Scaphella junonia, Cypraea mappa, Conus textile, etc. A second factor is that beginners are often younger folks with very limited budgets. Some years back, I used to advertise in Boy's Life magazine, and as a result I did a lot of business with youngsters who were just starting out in collecting. (Interestingly, about 75% of the customers I got through those ads were girls, even though it was a boys' magazine.) I have always tried to offer a wide range of species, including the very commonest ones (who else is crazy enough to list 100 species of Nassariidae??), so beginning collectors, especially young ones, could find many things within their budget. And that, I believe, is a major factor determining who buys what. If a dealer does a lot of business with new collectors, then such species as Architectonica (sundials), Cancellaria (nutmegs), Trochidae (top shells) amd Naticidae (moon snails) will be good sellers. However, more advanced collectors, statistically, are less likely to purchase such shells. Beginning collectors also frequently like to obtain as many new species for their dollar as possible. If a youngster gets $20.00 in a birthday card, she would typically rather exchange it for 10 or 12 sparkling, colorful olives and cowries than one $20.00 shell. As a result, beginners often purchase a lot of low-priced shells like Nassariidae, Columbellidae, Cerithiidae, Olividae, and Neritidae. Within the more popular families, there is a similar trend. Novices purchase a lot of cowries and olive shells, fewer cones and murex, and almost no volutes. Among the more advanced collectors, I sell more cones and murex, again because many of them specialize, while the generalists are also interested in these groups. I have also noticed that during on-line shell auctions, the cones and murex seem to induce particularly competitive bidding. I did a little comparative study, based on my data base of shells in my current stock, which I think sheds some light on this. Of 130 species/subspecies of Olividae, over 85% list for $5.00 or less. In Cypraeidae (150 species), 63% fall in that price range. This I believe is one attribute that makes themse families attractive to beginners. Among the cones (200 species), only 49% make the $5.00 and under bracket. In Murex (125 species, excluding all the little rock shells like Drupa, Thais, Acanthina, Morula, etc.), only 20% are in that price range. And for the volutes (90 species), a mere 4%. Hate to close on an ugly note, BUT - several folks have alluded to "ugly but precious" specimens they possess. Maybe some others would care to share about the ugliest shell in your collection, and why you keep it. Dealers - the ugliest shell you have ever sold? Mine was a specimen of Spondylus calcifer, from west Mexico. The specimen was about 9 inches (22 cm) wide, and weighed 12 pounds (5.5 kg), with the lower valve about a pound heavier than the upper. The upper valve was almost 2 inches (5 cm) thick, with an additional layer of encrustation at least an inch thick. When closed, it looked like a coral-encrusted canon ball. Sticking out of the center of the upper valve was the 4-inch lower valve of a Chama mexicana, equally encrusted. It made a handy handle for lifting off the top valve of the Spondylus. Eventually someone purchased it, and hopefully it still has a good home on a strong shelf somewhere. Regards, Paul M. Rhode Island