It turned out to be one when the loan approval conditions changed by the lender and I decided I could sell the contract instead as the negotiated purchase price had built in equity by a seller who had multiple properties and wanted to sell one of them at a discount.

He was "contributing" money by bringing me the deal at a discount and could've have assigned it to another buyer for more money (which I think is probable)2.

I am hoping for some winter time discounts;

Work with an accountant who can coach you on how to keep your books and records straight.

I'm trying to establish the level of discount people are seeing in the last year when they buy at auction in this area where I will be moving in the near future.

The seller typically pays agent’s commissions so as the buyer it’s not usually to your advantage to work without agent representation, unless the price is truly discounted by the amount the agents commissions would be, so make sure 100% that’s the case.

Go straight to the source - the AZ Real Estate Commission (or whatever it may be called in AZ) and ask your question to get the most straightforward answer to your questions. 

Not only that, but I buy my properties with significant discount to value.

Dont get me wrong, you have a legitimate beef on what happened to you....I dont discount that at all.

For those of you who had bought from Auction.com, how much discount from martket would you say you got?