Is it all about the chase?

[Hankphenom]

So much psychology at work in all aspects of the "hobby," as in our (more or less) free-market economy in general. As a dealer, I was always tempted to think I had underpriced an item that flew off my table right away, and overpriced items that sat there through several shows, neither of which was necessarily true at all. As the saying goes, timing is everything. Something that has always intrigued me is the reality that every item in every auction has a stopping point, and I wonder why, when there are so many collectors who could afford to buy every entire auction every year and never come close to feeling it financially. If you're sitting on 35 billion dollars and you want something you know will make you happy and you also know you will probably never have the chance to acquire it again, what could possibly make you stop short of getting it? The answer is not wanting to feel stupid, I guess. But if another person has just outbid you, doesn't that validate your bidding, no matter what level it's gotten to?