Are black market auction houses a good idea?

With World of Warcraft's upcoming Mists of Pandaria comes an interesting addition to the game: a black market auction house. This new type of auction house will allow Blizzard to post rare items from the game for bidding only (no buyouts), and is obviously intended to be a massive gold sink for those who have more money than sense on their hands.

While the intent of the black market auction house is understandable, what it's selling has players hotly debating over whether this is a good idea or the spawn of Evil and Mrs. Evil. Raid gear, ultra-rare pets, and other hard-to-attain goods could become easily available for those with large pocketbooks.

So let's put it to the bright minds at Massively Labs (that's you): Are black market auction houses a good idea? Is Blizzard setting a trend here or cutting its own feet out from under it?

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