I hope this isn't another diversion with a hidden "POINT"! <g>

I think the point of this discussion is honesty, not education. If someone lists an item for auction without knowing what it's worth, they may still get what it's worth or more. At least they didn't sell it for nothing at a garage sale. And no, I'm not apt to tell the person at the garage sale what their chips are really worth, either.

If someone bids too much for an item because they don't know what it's worth, then I think they have the right to pay what they bid. I've said that before here and taken some flack. What I don't like is dishonesty. In an auction format like eBay, only the seller has a forum to say anything about the merchandise, so there's not much to be said about bidders' honesty. Shilling is also a dishonest practice enganed in by sellers. I think we have also discussed and disdained a couple of dishonest bidder practices. One is bid manipulation, where two bidders overbid then withdraw at the last minute, leaving a third accomplice to win with "openers." Another is deadbeat bidders who won't actually pay for what they buy.

Now then there's the little game we played with the Chesterfield chips. Maybe I am a hypocrite after all. I agreed not to bid against my friends, because I believed I wasn't willing to outbid them in the end. In return, I hoped I might buy one of the chips for less than the "fair market value." That action lies somewhere in the gray area between the outcome that is changed everything I don't bid on anything, and the outcome we didn't have because the auction process works in spite of our little games. So sue me.