Many of us have been in that position where, at a local flea market or antique shop, a stone we know to be worth a fair amount of money is being sold for pennies on the dollar. Sometimes even just pennies.
Suppose you stumbled on a scenario like this:
You see nice stone in box of junk and get very excited. It's a vintage coticule, good size, a bit muddy but in otherwise great shape. You ask in excitement "Excuse me, but what are you looking to get for this stone?"
The dealer takes a look, likely not even recalling that he had it, or maybe even seeing it for the first time if the box was just removed some some recent house cleanup. He ponders for a minute, then says "eh, gimme 3 bucks"
Now....do you say something like
A. "Man, that would be great but let me tell you more about it and lets work something out that's nice for both of us", hopefully settling on a price that is, let's say, a fair discount when compared to fleabay but certainly not 3 bucks.
Or...do you say
B. "Sure".
Or...do you say
C. "How's 2 sound? It's a bit muddy."
I've been in this predicament a few times, and I must admit I typically just hand the 3 bucks over quickly, take the stone, and walk on hiding my excitement. I don't think there is anything "wrong" with that, as I'm just buying something for whatever the seller is asking, and knowing the flea market type like I do it's likely they are still making 200% profit on the stone, but for some reason I can't shake the guilty feeling sometimes.
I feel like John Quinones, but 'what would you do'?
Suppose you stumbled on a scenario like this:
You see nice stone in box of junk and get very excited. It's a vintage coticule, good size, a bit muddy but in otherwise great shape. You ask in excitement "Excuse me, but what are you looking to get for this stone?"
The dealer takes a look, likely not even recalling that he had it, or maybe even seeing it for the first time if the box was just removed some some recent house cleanup. He ponders for a minute, then says "eh, gimme 3 bucks"
Now....do you say something like
A. "Man, that would be great but let me tell you more about it and lets work something out that's nice for both of us", hopefully settling on a price that is, let's say, a fair discount when compared to fleabay but certainly not 3 bucks.
Or...do you say
B. "Sure".
Or...do you say
C. "How's 2 sound? It's a bit muddy."
I've been in this predicament a few times, and I must admit I typically just hand the 3 bucks over quickly, take the stone, and walk on hiding my excitement. I don't think there is anything "wrong" with that, as I'm just buying something for whatever the seller is asking, and knowing the flea market type like I do it's likely they are still making 200% profit on the stone, but for some reason I can't shake the guilty feeling sometimes.
I feel like John Quinones, but 'what would you do'?
The ethics of stone hunting
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