eBay madness

Yes, notice the number of bids. Somebody thinks he's got something higly desireable, but doesn't. I've found e-Bay, or ePay, or eGreed to be quite inflationary to sane pricing thanks to too many people with too much time and money on their hands. That coupled with 'sniping', makes eBay to me a last resort, if I can't find something elsewhere. The feeding frenzy at the end, or sniping, is now done by software that submit your bid with seconds to spare, eliminating counter bids. People are using computers to beat the eBay computers. My friend suggested that the incremental bidding be changed to whatever the MAXIMUM bid is placed. If the item is at $10 and you place a bid for $100, the bid would then become $100, not $11.00. That would eliminate a lot of counter bidding, and shills that bid up just to feel out your maximum bid. Personally I think keeping the bidding secret until the auction is over, would keep honest people honest. No one scheme would be fair to everyone though. I'll stick to swap meets, and other face-to-face deals, as I'll have less competition. Everything is worthless until someone wants it and puts some dinero down to prove it. I don't need some rich kid playing games behind me when I'm dealing with someone one-on-one. On the other side of the coin, it is hilariously laughable to see what some people pay for very common items. Caveat Emptor. Gary Hildebrand St. Joseph, MO