Market dynamics: abundant supply, auction reserve failures, and what actually sells

During the 2020-2024 window covered here, ordinary Mk7s were plentiful enough that online auctions routinely ended reserve-not-met, a pattern Cars and Bids regulars called the Mk7 curse; commenters blamed local supply, buyer fees, and shipping rather than the cars. What cleared strongly: no-reserve listings, unicorn specs (2017 Sport, 2-door manuals, low-mile Rabbit and Cornflower Blue cars), documented CARB-compliant builds, and 2018-19 cars still carrying the since-discontinued 6-year/72k transferable warranty. …