17 Oct
1999
17 Oct
'99
6:53 p.m.
John Lawson wrote:
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.
You are forgetting the sealed bid auctions. IMNSHO, it would be far better
for ebay to add the capability to make sealed bids (and yes, I have
suggested that to them.) That would eliminate this inching up just to see
where the high bid is prior to closing.
Ebays suggestion that you just bid your maximum and wait to see what happens
is a good thought. But making that bid early just invites "well, I'll just
bid one more dollar to see what happens" and thus driving the price up. Most
ebay buyers have educated themselves to know that early bids do not bring
the best prices. Hence the popularity of sniping. A combination of sealed
and open bidding would most likely work out better than the current mess.