LOVE EBAY HATE EBAY????

No doubt there are no shortage of websites out there with people selling their lives and their life's possessions.  And when it comes to collecting a lot of people use this as a gauge as to how much things perhaps should cost or what they can sell their item for.  A couple of weeks ago while I was on vacation I came across a lovely antique store.  God Bless the owners of this shop as there was a terrible storm the night before and their store as a result was flooded and one big mess.  These kind people did let me in to have a peek and allow me to drool over their HUGE selection of milk glass.  One of the items on the shelf was a milk glass oil lamp.  When I asked how much the lamp was she replied $50.oo.  Of course my mouth fell to the floor literally and suggested "Do you know how much you can get for it on EBay??"  To which she replied the prices on EBay was sooo overblown that it was utterly ridiculous.  So how much is your item truly worth??  Does it depend on who's in front of you at the time asking for it?  Are you getting any reassurance that your piece of the collection is going to be going to a home where it will be treasured as much if not more than what you had given it?  So what price is the true price?  What do you use for a gauge?  A definite part of collecting is paying close attention to all the dollar figures that cross your path right from the time of purchasing the item to the minute you end up parting with it.  Hopefully there's some happiness in the middle making these adventures all worth the while.