According to my Singapore resource, These loose new clones and the ones like Tamer and Alex won, are rumored to actually be factory rejects.I guess that they don't look bad except for a flaw in the paintjob or two. Tamer's lot of atat drivers looked good to me but not pristine, paint-wise. He says that in China, they go for pretty cheap, if you know who to talk to.
He has no explanation for the MOC pre-release auctions, though.