I like the analogy, but other offers help establish market value - in a free market anything, including labour, is as valuable as the highest available bidder.

I like the analogy, but other offers help establish market value - in a free market anything, including labour, is as valuable as the highest available bidder. If this were a relationship another way of putting it would be "hmmm {person_x_whos_better_than_you_in_some_relevant_way} keeps trying to get in touch with me, I wonder why."