What I recall from my conversations with one of the managers at CI when they first put MMAO on line is that it's all human based, there is no software automation and, in short, they have some internal numbers regarding what things can generally go for, and the reviewer has some flexibility with them at times, but that was all they would really say. They wouldn't give a formula or percentage, but I did get the impression that what determines the minimum acceptable offer for one brand or even possibly size of cigars is not necessarily the same for another one.
A targeted google search of cbid will give you an idea what you can likely get it for at auction might help in deciding how much you wish to offer. Example: put
Code:
"arturo fuente hemingway classic" site:http://www.cigarbid.com/Auction/Lot/
into google and you'll get a few months worth of auction results.