I agree that the FP dealers charge more at the fair than the HK dealers, but specifically about auctions I've had better luck outside of FP. Yes, you can connect with farmers (several do attend the HK show too and exhibit with large lots), but the auctions I've been to lacked any sort of central pricing on the lots. They are priced individually by the producers, which can put floor pricing all over the place. That said, there will often be those special (quality and price) lots that you can't get elsewhere. The Rikitea 5600 drop A/B peacock came from one of those. The closest I'd seen at an auction outside of FP was quite a few years ago and was a real "loot" lot.