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Posted By: Hal Lewis

Leon:

I agree 100%, and was extolling the virtues of EBay earlier in this post.

In fact, the whole reason for my calculated hypothetical was to show where sales on Ebay might give us a MORE ACCURATE indication of an item's "true worth" to the buyer.

EXAMPLE:

Someone bid $210,000 for a 1914 Babe Ruth card in the last REA auction. But, with the buyer's commission, he ended up having to spend $240,000.

If the exact same card was immediately consigned to Mastro and put up in their auction a few weeks later...

would there REALLY be ANYONE willing to bid $240,000 for the card when they would truly have to pay $290,000 after the buyer's commission??

It is hard to imagine that NOBODY (except the buyer) was willing to spend more than $240,000 for the card in one auction...

but that a few weeks later someone would suddenly pay $290,000 for it??

Is the card worth $210,000? (What the original seller pocketed)

Is the card worth $240,000? (What the original buyer paid)

Is the card worth $290,000? (What the next buyer would need to pay for the original buyer to sell it)