Dean, I've also suspected that was the situation when the Outlet needed more supply. However, it's seemed to have worked quite well and been very popular. Whenever someone was having a budget problem we were able to refer them to the Outlet; now the auction process will be considerably more uncertain.
Yeah, I think you are correct JohnK. With the auction you might be able to pick up a pair of speakers much cheaper (Axiom direct and not used) than what you would be able to get at the outlet, but if you are looking for an entire matching b-stock 5.0/7.0 setup, the auction will unlikely be able to provide that service. It would be a shame if they got rid of the factory outlet option.