I understand your position on this, but have a couple of points to get onto the table:

-- In terms of the transparency, I can think of no marketplace less transparent than eBay. In five minutes, the seller can open accounts for three shills, and off we go. And the bricks and mortar are not much better. For example, what do we know about the recent sale of the Autavia Ref 3646 for $25,000? Was the buyer in the room / on the phone / on the internet? How confident are you that this was a real auction, free of manipulation?

-- Yes, there are ample opportunities for deception and manipulation, as there are in most of the other marketplaces. In the end, you are buying the watch and you are buying the seller. In this instance, I like both of them!!

Will be interested to see other views and reactions. Who knows, maybe we do some work and develop a more formal methodology for these informal auctions. Would you feel better if I were holding the watch? Receiving the bids? Still massive opportunities for abuse, and I am not looking for a new job!!

I believe that these informal auctions are an interesting concept. Perhaps we can do some fine-tuning / model rules or guidelines, for everyone's benefit!!

Jeff

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

: Frankly, I don't like it. The main reason is, because it is 100%
: intransparant and offers great potential for manipulation. If
: you want to let the market dictate the value, you should use a
: real auction (eBay, auction houses etc.) and pay the price for
: their effort. But you have to sell for the price then, if you
: like it or not. And imo this is the main reason for this
: informal auction thing. You don't like the price after week,
: well lets go for another week or try again later.

: I saw 3-4 of these informal auctions in the last couple of month
: and made my experience. I would never ever take part in such a
: thing again, no matter how beautiful the watch is.

: Kind regards,
: Manuel

: :