[pstrany]

May I propose a slightly different theory here?

a well-financed bidder does not need a search aid - with his money, he can afford to acquire (or hire) some very sophisticated search aids. I'm sure he finds stuff that Ed - and many of us here - miss. I seriously doubt that Ed has any "special powers" or secret tools he uses (and I mean no disrespect to Ed - I for one am very grateful!) I know I've found quite a few gems that Ed has missed - and had Sudek trample me many times, in spite of the fact that Ed (nor anyone else) seemed to have made note of the auction. I have noted that these "hidden gems" tend to go for a lot less though when they are not as well known.

I would suggest that Sudek does not look at Ed's posts and go "oh, good! Another one!" Instead, he looks at Ed's posts (and I'm sure he is aware of them) and goes "oh no! another good one spotted! Now every bidder will try and jump on this one!"

Perhaps it is not that Sudek uses Ed as a spotter, but rather that Sudek would prefer to see Ed and his posts disappear. After all, Ed points out some pretty good auctions - and this increases attention to them, and increased attention is going to drive up the prices.

And this means Sudek will have to dig a little deeper. Sudek (and others like him) will continue to steal our history, but at least with the light of day played upon the process, they will have to pay a little more for it.

I doubt it would hurt Sudek if Ed (and anyone else like him) were gagged. Indeed I would suggest it is in Sudek's best interest to permanently stifle Ed and anyone else who would make it easier for those of us of the "great unwashed" to gain access to what once was the playground of the well financed. For too long, our history, the history that our fathers and forefathers fought and died for, has been locked away.

With the advent of internet auctions such as eBay, we are unfortunately still locked out of the club, but at least we get a glimpse of what before we never would have seen. So keep publishing, Ed. Maybe your fine efforts will finally drain Sudek's pockets dry, so that perhaps the playing field might become just a little more level.

Paul