(I promised myself I wouldn't get into this mess, but can't help myself)
GeorgeK said:
...and perhaps other consideration that we don't know about...
That's the key, "we don't know". We don't know the details of every transaction, because it's really none of our business. When real estate sells, we don't know the details. We see the sale price recorded in the deed, but we don't know what other motivation the buyer or seller had. I've inquired about domain names and had the owner ask me what I plan to do with the name. That implies the price might vary according to the buyer's plans. When I buy a car and get x dollars for the trade-in, is that an accurate estimate of what the trade-in was worth? If I buy a car and get a rebate, how much did I really pay? The fact is most domain name sales are not even reported, so we have a very cloudy view of market value. Sellers and buyers who disclose their sales do so for a variety of reasons, as do those that do not.
Read all the spin by Domain King, and you can tell he's a net seller, not a net buyer, who wants domain values inflated (i.e. someone who is buying domains isn't going to be going around saying candy.com is worth $50 million -- it would make others want more to sell their own domains)
I don't know if he buys more or sells more. I do know he is buying. As far as him being a proponent of the value of domain names, that is pretty much indisputable. Are you suggesting we all try to downplay the value of domain names until such time as you are finished acquiring names, and then let the secret out?
...folks are entitled and deserve *accurate* reports of sales
Who made up that rule? Folks are not entitled to any such information. The fact that Ron Jackson is trying to make the information available to folks, when the information is hard to obtain, hard to verify, and subject to a lot of criticism is something to be applauded, and I think anyone who bets their ranch on any particular data point is either idealistic or naive.
It may just be my interpretation, but your posts do not come across as neutral, informational, posts.