-----Original Message-----
From: John Lawson <jpl15(a)netcom.com>
To: Discussion re-collecting of classic computers
<classiccmp(a)u.washington.edu>
Date: Sunday, October 17, 1999 8:57 PM
Subject: My Biggest eBay gripe..
My main concern with the eBay auction algorithm is that it is
time-limited, rather than bid-limited.... the aution closes after a
fixed span **no matter what the bidding activity is**.
'Normal' auctions close when **no further bids are recieved** in an
agreed-upon span.
I have bought and sold hundreds of thousands of dollars' worth of
aerospace and industrial surplus at auctions large and small,
sealed-bid and open-floor, honestly run and 'otherwise'. The reason
I dislike the eBay model is that the item most often goes to the
fastest/luckiest bidder (sniper)... and that's totally wacked, IMHO.
I am not going to join the "capitalism vs. overvaluation" debate.
I'm a captialist *and* a collector... that's internal conflict
enough.
I wonder how much tweaking would be involved on the part of eBay's
logicians to convert it over to the more familiar "going, going,
gone!" type of format.
What do You All think??
I emailed EBay asking them to extend an auction by 10 minutes every time a
bid comes in close to the closing (within the last 10 minutes) . No response
yet... I love the snipering though.. have gotten many great deals because
people won't bid what they are willing to pay if they think no one else will
bid.
Cheers
John