Well, what am I going to do? This is an auction, not a retail site, and if two bidders go to war over an item, and run it up to 10X its "average" value, I'm not going to email the winner and say "I'm sorry, you're an idiot and a spenthrift, and this chip is not worth anywhere near that much. Send me $5.00, that will be plenty".

No, I sent him a letter that said "Congratulations! You Won!"

If he won at $36.00, it's only because another bidder had said the chip was worth $35.00 to him.

If he's noticed the same chip selling week after week for $4.99 since then, he might be chagrined, but he certainly has no beef with me. HE set the price, not me.

I've been a bidder in bidding wars, and ended up paying much more than I should have, sometimes knowingly, sometimes not. In either case, it would not occur to me to think any less of the seller for it, I'm a big boy and responsible for my own decisions.

I'm sure the seller was gleeful at the final price, but he certainly shouldn't feel guilty.

About 20% of the time, bidders tell me my opening bid amount is too high, by not bidding on my listing. About 50% of the time, one bidder tells me the price is OK by opening the bidding, and winning. About 30% of the time, bidders tell me my opening bid is just a starting point, and they determine the true market value of the chip that week by bidding competatively.

I think auctions are the purest form of appraisal, and as long as I don't exxagerate or misrepresent my items, I'm happy to let the bidders tell me what my stuff is worth in the real world (as opposed to price guides).