As you are aware, this auction is non-standard taking into account the factors of 'pre-approved bidders, private sale, escrow a/c through ebay' etc. When ebay were approached about the sale THEY required James to do this. I can understand that. I think in this instance you would need to direct your questions to ebay rather than the seller or James. If you were to create a new ebay userid and start an auction at $1m with zero feedback and all those questions then ebay would remove it immediately. This was one of the factors that led to the delay in the auction.

James and the other people 'employed' by the seller have been paid for what they have done. They are not receiving a commission based on whether it sells or not and at what price.

James and Howdy Herz took this on because of the exposure it would give to the hobby, not for financial gain. In fact the time they have put in is far greater than they were initially led to believe when they took it on.

Also, I understand the owner did an interview with ESPN yesterday which might be broadcast today and receive newspaper publishing tomorrow.