On 05/02/2018 01:01 PM, Bill Gunshannon via cctalk wrote:
And that is a matter of opinion.
I've been subscribed to eBay since 1998, when the best I could do for a
net connection was a somewhat iffy 9600 bps. At that speed and high
latency, there was no way to engage in a last-minute bidding war against
those with T1 hookups.
So now I have a machine act in my place with its own high-speed service.
Be grateful for small things--eSnipe normally submits bids 6 seconds
before auction close, so those with Wall-Street type hookups have
thousands of milliseconds to sneak in a last bid.
If you want to do away with sniping, suggest a way to equalize the odds,
such as a 5 built-in 5 minute delay in bidding--or going with a single
sealed bid option. Then get eBay to adopt it.
eBay auctions are time-limited, so timing is part of the game. You
really can't fault someone who takes advantage of any more than you can
fault someone for bidding higher than you.
--Chuck