[Milsurplus] Appraisal via eBay Virtual Sale

[H.W.Hall]

>
It occurs to me that a good way to appraise the market value of an item
for a private transaction is by an eBay 'virtual' sale, and I wonder if
anyone has tried this.
>

It might work but not all eBay auctions proceed to similar conclusions
about the value of an item.
Some days there may be frenzied bidding on a thing, yet other auctions for
the same kind of 
item produce little or no interest. It is probably fair to say that a
single sale doesn't really test the 
market unless there are many bidders involved. But, it is a novel way to
arrive at a price when 
neither the seller nor the buyer are sure about what to ask or offer. An
alternative I saw once, 
was for seller to write on a slip of paper the least he would take & the
buyer similarly the most he 
would offer. The slips are exchanged, & the sale price is the middle of
those 2 values.
--Wayne
  WB4OGM

It would work like this: The seller puts the item up with a description
and w/o a BIN or reserve as usual, and then the prospective buyer puts
in a very high bid and the sale goes to conclusion. The very high bidder
will get the item, except under the most unusual circumstances, at one
bid increment about what the impartial third party  (not involved in the
deal) is willing to pay. eBay gets it's fees, the buyer and seller have
arrived at a market price for the item, and the item has gone to the
intended buyer.

The only additional cost to the buyer is the eBay listing and final
value fees, but the seller knows the price was market.

Any comments?
-John