May be something to that "beauty in the eye of the beholder" thing. Lot 1 bull had an adjusted weaning weight of 887 and a feed conversion of 4.79 pounds of feed for 1 pound of gain. He sold for $15,000. What makes a good bull or cow? Looks "good"? Grows well? Heavy muscling? Easy keeping? Moves out well? Docile? I suspect that profitability should be pretty important. I think those profitability factors depend on when you are selling and who you are selling to. I think the cow-calf guy has a strong visual of what they expect cows and calves to look like to fit their market and conditions and ideals. I suspect that producers who retain ownership all the way put far less emphasis on looks and more on the efficiency and carcass traits. Feed conversion, carcass and efficiency would be big contributors to profitability in the feedlot, I think.
He does look like a pot gutted slab - from my cow-calf producer perspective. Lot 8 sold for $12,000.