I appreciate you sharing your thoughts Brian. If you look back through the mid-auction thread you'll see several bouts of this discussion over the last few years (and what I'm writing below has no doubt be better articulated by me in the past on multiple occasions). Clearly, many of us have already gotten our $0.02 in and everyone should have that option. However, I think this discussion may have veered off course...
As far as I know, NO ONE is advocating the limitation of discussion and/or the sharing of posters. That's what makes this place great. Sometimes we talk about our own acquisitions (monthly acquisitions thread), sometimes we discuss beautiful posters we might never be able to afford (strikes your fancy thread), sometimes we discuss genres (Bond, Hammer, etc...), sometimes we discuss authentication (mid-auction and authentication threads), and sometimes we talk about the crazy results achieved by certain posters -- whether high or low (post-auction thread). All of that discussion will and should of course continue.
What we are talking about here is only a tiny fraction of what is discussed at APF. For me it boils down to the pros and cons of outing auctions before they finish -- that emphasis is key to the whole thread.
Pro: Helps collectors -- I see this one as the most cited reason. If you think you are helping someone specific, remember there are probably 10+ visitors for every member you interact with here. So if you think you are talking to 20-30 people, you are really talking to 200-300+. When I started here, I envisioned my posting as akin to quietly sharing stock tips at a dinner party. However, I quickly realized it's more like sending out a PA at Disneyland!
Pro: Doesn't increase prices -- Yes, there is no proof that outing an auction will increase prices, but that is a two way street. I might impact prices every single time it happens and there would also be no proof. No data != proof.
Pro: More discussion -- Sure, but there is absolutely no reason it couldn't happen after auction. When this thread was started, even Mel suggested that super high profile auctions -- think Casablanca 6-sheet at Heritage or that Theda Bara Salome coming up at eMovie -- can be fun to discuss ahead of time and that discussion will likely not impact final prices. The mid-auction thread is also useful (IMO) to raise flags for fellow buyers for suspected bootleg posters or authenticity issues. It's also fun to laugh at some sellers who have ridiculous buy-it-now prices.
Con: Increases prices -- Sure, there will never be proof that this happens, but there is certainly no proof that it won't either.
Con: Increases competition -- Or the "monkey see, monkey do" effect. If you hang around here long enough you will certainly notice that buying habits are impacted by what is posted (i.e. Anything Gosling, Japanese B1s, Under Her Skin, etc...). It's only natural when you see new cool posters (even those outside your collecting interest) for some to expand into those spaces and increase the competition.
Con: No one posts what they are personally bidding on -- Not even Mel, who is beloved by so many. Mel and I had many discussions about his arbitrary outings in the past -- once they passed *his* price threshold, he thought they were fair game to post. Or if they weren't of interest to *him* personally, he thought they were ok to post. How can one person assume their wants/needs apply to everyone? That is is just being naive at best, reckless or spiteful it worst.
Even the *potential* for making my fellow collectors pay more or to increase their competition are reasons enough for me to NEVER out an ongoing auction. I stick to PMs and emails if my goal is to help fellow collectors. Sure, the mid-auction thread can be used carefully without hurting anyone -- and in the case of authentication issues, possibly helping people -- but there are other threads more appropriate for all three of the examples I posted.
This thread poll shows a nearly 50/50 split, and the discussion proves it's a very polarizing issue at that. If we could summarize this discussion concisely and put it at the front of the thread so people could at least weigh these issues before deciding to either post or wait until it's over to post (see, no limiting discussions!), great. I'd be all in favor of that as a reasonable compromise. However, if that is too complicated or T/H don't want to start down the slippery slope of codifying "rules" -- then I say lock it, which is how I voted.
All I know for sure, is there is no "Pro" on that list above that would compel me to post *before* an auction is finished. It can wait, 100% of the time.
