Many of you have been reading for more than two years now, and from day one the philosophy here has been simple: give back to an industry I genuinely love and bring a little more transparency to a market that often needs it.

There are a lot of great companies, platforms, publications and marketplaces in this space. The reality, though, is that everyone has a product, service or platform they naturally want you to use. That's completely understandable, but it also means every viewpoint comes with at least some degree of bias.

Here at TDV, we've never really asked for much. Read the newsletter, share it with a friend if you enjoy it, and keep the conversation going. That's what has allowed this community to grow, and I'm incredibly grateful for that support.

Recently we've started launching a few tools and products for the enthusiast car market. If you've tried visiting the website over the last few days, you've probably noticed it's currently down. At the time of writing, we're still trying to get to the bottom of exactly what's happened. Whether it's a hosting issue, some sort of attack, or something else entirely, we're not yet sure.

What I can tell you is that the last few days have involved a lot of emails, support tickets, late nights and frustration with very little resolution to show for it.

That's the reality of building a business. Sometimes things break. Sometimes problems appear completely outside your control. Sometimes your carefully planned week gets replaced by trying to get a website back online.

To everyone who has tried using our calculators recently and hit a dead end, my apologies. While we don't have paying customers relying on them, everyone who uses our tools is part of this community, and it's frustrating knowing they're unavailable when people want them. Hopefully by the time you're reading this, we'll finally have things moving in the right direction.

The good news is that while we've been fighting server issues, we've also been building.

There are several new tools and products currently in development that we believe will be genuinely useful for buyers, sellers and enthusiasts. It's still a little early to share the details, but you'll be hearing a lot more about them in the coming months.

Building in public isn't always glamorous. Most days aren't product launches and big announcements. More often it's spreadsheets, support tickets, bugs, data issues and figuring things out one step at a time.

But that's also what makes it fun.

More soon.

Want to dive deeper into any of these listings? Just click on the car to take you directly to the listing.

One of the more interesting developments in the online auction world over the last few years hasn't been a new platform feature or bidding tool.

It's been the rise of the powerseller.

These are the individuals and companies that have built entire businesses around helping owners sell cars on auction platforms. In many cases, those businesses simply didn't exist a decade ago. They were created by the platforms themselves.

Over the years, I've interviewed a number of powersellers and what always stands out is the level of detail. The preparation, photography, documentation, research, buyer communication and logistics can be incredible. The best aren't simply listing cars. They're operating highly specialized businesses that have generated millions of dollars in sales.

Not all powersellers are created equal, of course. Some simply happen to sell a lot of cars. Others have built genuine expertise around specific marques, market segments or platforms. The difference often becomes obvious when you read the listing, look at the photography, or see how questions are answered in the comments.

There's a time and place for powersellers, and we can discuss that another day. Some cars absolutely benefit from professional representation. Others may do perfectly well being sold directly by the owner. It depends on the car, the seller and the platform.

What caught my attention this week was the launch of a new business from someone many of you will already know.

Kennan Rolsen was, I believe, the first employee at Cars & Bids. He ran much of the editorial side of the business, later became involved in the video content, survived the inevitable criticism that comes whenever something changes, and has since become a regular voice on the Cars & Bids podcast, This Car Pod.

While Kennan has now officially stepped away from his full-time role at Cars & Bids, he'll still be involved with the podcast. More interestingly, he's now focusing on his own vehicle representation business, (ie becoming a powerseller)something he's been doing on the side for a little while.

In fact, we featured an E39 M5 recently that he represented. Not his M5, but one he helped bring to market.

This isn't an advertisement. Kennan hasn't asked me to write this. I've never met him and I have no idea what he charges. (for those of you wondering)

That said, if you're selling a car that fits the Cars & Bids audience, it's worth asking a simple question: who understands the platform better?

Few people have spent more time inside the Cars & Bids ecosystem. Few people understand what performs well on the platform, how listings are structured, how buyers interact with the site, and what helps create a successful auction.

As we all know, content isn't everything. A great listing won't magically double the value of a car. But presentation matters. Photography matters. Storytelling matters. Responding to buyers matters.

Kennan also brings something many representatives don't have: an audience. Between his own YouTube channel and his continued role on This Car Pod, there are opportunities to put cars in front of enthusiasts who may not otherwise see them.

Will that translate into better results? Time will tell.

What I do know is that starting a business is hard. Leaving a stable role to build something of your own takes conviction, particularly in a niche industry like ours.

Whether you're a fan of powersellers or not, it's hard not to respect someone betting on themselves.

The bigger takeaway for me is that auction platforms have created an entire ecosystem around them. Not just buyers and sellers, but photographers, transport companies, inspectors, content creators and now businesses whose sole purpose is helping owners navigate the auction process.

That's a sign of a healthy marketplace. As Kennan starts this next chapter, I wish him the best of luck. The enthusiast car market is built on people taking risks, building businesses and finding new ways to serve buyers and sellers. In many ways, that's exactly what the best powersellers have been doing all along.

This week we asked a simple question:

"At this point, we all know ghost bidding happens. Do you simply accept it as part of the auction game?"

The response was one of the strongest we've seen in a while.

The final result was surprisingly close. Roughly a third of respondents said ghost bidding is unacceptable under any circumstances, while others took the view that it has existed in auctions forever and is simply part of doing business. A few questioned how widespread the problem really is, arguing that suspicion often outweighs actual evidence.

What stood out most wasn't necessarily the split in opinion, but the range of perspectives. Some readers focused on enforcement and accountability. Others worried about market manipulation and price discovery. A number of experienced bidders viewed it as an unfortunate reality that can never be completely eliminated.

Below is a selection of the comments.

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