That's an old post from two years ago. I've said many times since then that the issue is whether you are realistically depriving someone of a bargain by discussing a pending auction. I used to think a $1,000 threshold was the right balance but now I think the number of watchers/bidders is key. If there are a boatload of watchers/bidders, it's highly probable it will sell for fair market value, so public discussion of it will not affect the final price. And if it does, well that's the "cost" of an interesting forum discussion.
So you are changing your "rules" again Mel?
What about auctions with no bids (you can't see the number of watchers)?
What about auctions that aren't on eBay?
What about my $305 Breakfast at Tiffany's 1-sheet that had several bids and lots of watchers, but had a poor description that ultimately stopped people from bidding?
What about auctions that
you are bidding on that have lots of watchers/bidders?
Are you going to publish a list of your rules that state what you will and will not out early so at least we can expect to know when to be fucked over?
As you have stated above, even your own criteria is very subject and inconsistent year to year, week to week. In that case, can't you just wait a day or two until the auction is over and discuss it then?
If you aren't bidding, you gain nothing by drawing attention to it and discussing it early. For those who are bidding, you are rolling the dice with their dollars.
As Rich stated, I can't prove that posting an auction will adversely affect the result. But on the same token, you can't say with all certainty that you *aren't* adversely affecting the result. You are kidding yourself if you think you can make that claim with 100% accuracy.
