Post by admin on Oct 23, 2013 21:47:26 GMT -8
I saw Dave at the Cal-Poly Insect Fair in Pomona, CA. on October 20, 2013. He was a vendor. We had a long talk about many subjects.
The main subject was about his aging mother, who requires special care 24/7. Dave is the head the family and he must divide his time between business and family. But lately more to family out of necessity. This is why he may be behind in business transactions with his customers.
I talked with him about the current international insect trading scene. I'll try to share with you a few tidbits from recall:
We talked about African dealers. He said he has gone through many and only 1 out of 10 has turned out to be good. On that search he, like many of you, lost a lot of money over the years with unreliable African dealers.
I asked him how he pays his African dealers. Wire transfer? Western Union? He said he has tried bank-to-bank wire transfers in the past and the recipient rarely gets all of the money, if any money. Why? African banks are corrupt! He prefers to use Moneygram. It's cheaper than Western Union.
I asked him about the availability of Graphium weiskei. He told me that Papua New Guinea has no good insect dealers left anymore. They faded out, were mismanaged, or were pushed out due to tribal warfare going on there. Something about land developers trying to come in and causing turmoil. Thus the scarcity of Graphium weiskei on the market. He said other areas are being researched for the Graphium.
I asked about getting stuff out of mainland China. He said payment conversion is difficult due to the fixed Yuan (currency manipulation?). When the dollar drops in value in the currency market the Yuan stays put and he often ends up paying more in dollars than he thought he would. Also, he said many of the Chinese dealers do not have legal documentation for the specimens they are selling. So that's a problem right there.
I asked him if he deals in Parnassius. Not very much, he said. He has not had the time to develop that market. I suggested Russian dealers. There are many dedicated Russian entomologists on the web and he should seek them out. He will take that into consideration.
He also mentioned that after much effort he recently developed a good source for Urania ripheus out of Madagascar. The first few small shipments went well. Then he forwarded some larger money to the guy to get a larger order and after that....no response. The connection went dead.
Troides brookiana out of Malaysia has held steady over the years. Still can be had for about $6.00-$8.00 each.
So it goes.
The main subject was about his aging mother, who requires special care 24/7. Dave is the head the family and he must divide his time between business and family. But lately more to family out of necessity. This is why he may be behind in business transactions with his customers.
I talked with him about the current international insect trading scene. I'll try to share with you a few tidbits from recall:
We talked about African dealers. He said he has gone through many and only 1 out of 10 has turned out to be good. On that search he, like many of you, lost a lot of money over the years with unreliable African dealers.
I asked him how he pays his African dealers. Wire transfer? Western Union? He said he has tried bank-to-bank wire transfers in the past and the recipient rarely gets all of the money, if any money. Why? African banks are corrupt! He prefers to use Moneygram. It's cheaper than Western Union.
I asked him about the availability of Graphium weiskei. He told me that Papua New Guinea has no good insect dealers left anymore. They faded out, were mismanaged, or were pushed out due to tribal warfare going on there. Something about land developers trying to come in and causing turmoil. Thus the scarcity of Graphium weiskei on the market. He said other areas are being researched for the Graphium.
I asked about getting stuff out of mainland China. He said payment conversion is difficult due to the fixed Yuan (currency manipulation?). When the dollar drops in value in the currency market the Yuan stays put and he often ends up paying more in dollars than he thought he would. Also, he said many of the Chinese dealers do not have legal documentation for the specimens they are selling. So that's a problem right there.
I asked him if he deals in Parnassius. Not very much, he said. He has not had the time to develop that market. I suggested Russian dealers. There are many dedicated Russian entomologists on the web and he should seek them out. He will take that into consideration.
He also mentioned that after much effort he recently developed a good source for Urania ripheus out of Madagascar. The first few small shipments went well. Then he forwarded some larger money to the guy to get a larger order and after that....no response. The connection went dead.
Troides brookiana out of Malaysia has held steady over the years. Still can be had for about $6.00-$8.00 each.
So it goes.
