Peter Charles wrote:



Provided the auction isn't rigged and there are enough bidders, an
auction is usually a good indicator of fair market value.


hmmm... i went to a coastal conservation association banquet. there was
an auction. 400 potential bidders present. $50 prints brought $400;
nothing sold anywhere the normal retail or even wholesale. in these
parts, auctions are considered opportunities to get things at bargain
prices...though, on occasions they seem to become soap boxes for
personal pride or wants, and bids unexplainably skyrocket out of the
range of reason. usually, an auction is a good method of getting
something sold...i'm not sure i would trust it as a method of
establishing fair market value.

btw...i went shad fishing this weekend. it was mcphee brought home.
others near me caught a few; i struck out (fortunately jim went founding
fishless too). yesterday, we pulled up at a spot in a backwoods creek
(same place we took indian joe last year). the hunting club had built a
small dock nearby. a fella was perched on it with a zebco-appearing
closed spinning reel. he was wearing his church-attending shirt, bermuda
shorts, shoes & socks. he claimed it was his first time ever shad
fishing. he caught more than 10 in our moments nearby. he looked at us
and grinned with each catch. i was close to committing a serious
criminal offense. neither jim nor i had even a bump from an angry shad.
of more than 50 shad fishermen...all in boats trying to find the best
shad lies g...this one fella was the only one we saw catch a fish. it
looks to be a very humiliating season of fishing.