[sixtiesmuscle]

I think we're losing sight of a simple fact. When a buyer and a seller agree on a price, how is that a false value or market? The fact that a broker, the auction house, is the middle man is irrelevant. The reserve is the seller's asking price, just as it would be at a dealer or swap meet. The buyers make offers up to a point that the seller will accept. The notion that the seller should be compelled to sell his car at the highest bid, no matter how low, is just not reasonable. After all, this is an auction with a reserve. The responsibility for not paying a falsely inflated price belongs to the buyer. Nobody is forced to pay more than they are willing to pay.