I don't think anybody "argued" the value of the parts last year, but one could certainly do that some.

Last year we had the velo cheapo lipstick thread, where people posted a few teasers, but the final builds didn't come until the last day, and then everyone pretty much accepted each contestant's cost and mileage estimates.

Most of the lipstick teasers were just teasers, but that would be the place to discuss your novel method for accounting.

I made a spreadsheet and estimated the cost of everything. If I bought 100 nipples, and used 36, I charged myself (36/100) of the total cost of nipples including shipping. The final tally was pretty humbling (other than the fact that I've been riding a complete Titanium Litespeed that cost less than most people pay for bare frames).