Balinese, and the secondary market. Can we *avoid* having a round 2 of this?

[Liriel Garnet]

Tagging onto Khea's only because it's the last post, but there's some great advice in these numerous posts that we can all take to heart.

Whoever said they don't support fire-sales -- I for one agree. Yes, I miss out on steals, but I can live with that because I know I'm not contributing to the decline of the secondary market prices.

As auction patrons, we need to be aware of the skill and knowledge of the auctioneers, we need to do our OWN homework on our cats we put up for sale, we need to set reasonable opening bids (as Khea said, listing a kitty worth 5k with a 3k opening is still a great deal if it doesn't get bid up), and we need to help diversify the audience by encouraging friends to attend auctions places they might not normally. The fact that they're held all hours of the day now is great for the global community, IMO, because we can reach different audiences with our special cats.

Auctioneers, the good ones, earn their lindens and then some. They research every cat on every panel, they take the time to ensure a good mix of cats in their auctions, they help the patrons and they help the community by getting the word out about all the yummy kitties being sold at their auctions.

Just a final note. When I started with kittycats last September or so, a 5 or 6 trait cat was considered a VERY nice cat. Now 9T kitties are all over. That said, a lot of people that come in new to the community come in with starters, so they won't have the 9t kitties and tons of special traits that those of us who have been breeding a while do. They still deserve our attention and respect and the opportunity to showcase the kitties they've worked hard to produce!