One of the really nice things about ebay is the bidding system where the
auction is handled automatically and each bidder knows immeadiately what the
current bid is. As such, one suggestion to people wanting to offer stuff to
listmembers first might be to put in on ebay as a private auction with a
reserve price high enough to protect the seller. I personally have not used
or participated in private auctions, but the idea seems sound.