Sure, people might sell their merit points, but honestly, what would be the market value for them and how would you even go about negotiating the sale of merits?  Since I'm just a Jr. Member the new system isn't really good for me but I like the fact that it will keep discussion quality high.  Or at the least prevent people from spamming the board just to join a bounty campaign.  

Another side benefit is that I believe newbies will do more research before they start posting so that they can earn merits with their posts.  That helps all the users here become more informed.