This is a curious thread.
To offer another view: If a member decides to sell his collection or pieces from it, I am guessing he requires the money from the sale. Otherwise, it becomes part of an estate which will be subject to estate law.
Does a seller want to sell his collection at a lower price (missing the bump of hysteria produced in an online auction) so that another collector can claim the pieces? This sounds quiet altruistic.
What does the seller gain by selling his goods at a lower price than that determined by the market? Sorry this doesn't work.
It sounds to me like the OP is miffed that he could not purchase a fellow SRP's pieces at an insider trading rate.
My sympathy is with the seller. Well, if I was capable of sympathy.