when a seller begins an auction process he does not know where the price will shake out.

maybe he has a sense for the market value, but we have all seen pieces that were worth more than what a final auction results were.

case and point was the ridged marker flat v autavia that sold for $2,800 last week.

when an observer makes an offer to purchase the watch at a given price point - they are offering the seller the opportunity to consummate without final price risk.

this is common not only on ebay but in the real world as well. Corporate M&A processes sometimes follow a similar path sometimes.

The Comcast Charter Time-warner debacle two weeks ago is a good example, who knows what charter would have been willing to counter bid for time-warner, the Comcast deal was struck so quickly they did not have time to respond.

I think this is the wild west, and we should accept it for what it is.

just my two cents - and no I don't like it when I have my eye on a piece and it trades away, but I know that is a risk of playing the game and I should not be surprised when it happens.