Re: Do the Ebay sellers check the merchandise? Message #12 Posted by Martin Pinckney on 2 Feb 2011, 11:47 p.m., in response to message #8 by Allen
Quote:
... It would get rid of snipers...
Not really, it would just change how the sniping services operate.
I agree it would not get rid of snipers, but it would prevent the sniper from winning the auction strictly on the basis of timing (which is the goal of sniping).
In other words, if the incremental bidder is not paying attention to the auction near closing time, the sniper still wins. But if he is paying attention, then he has another chance to submit an incremental bid. The same would hold true for additional snipes near the end of each time extension. If you really want to foil snipers, then have the duration of time extension vary randomly. The time extension would be posted on the auction page, but the ending time would not be made available electronically to the sniping service.
As an aside, I can't see why some people are so opposed to sniping. Some say it's "unfair." I disagree. If all bids were required to be submitted as a snipe, then it would be analogous to sealed bids. Everyone gives it their best shot, and the high bidder wins. What could be fairer than that?
But the auction sites like incremental bidding, because it keeps bidders coming back and looking, so they might see something else to bid on.
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