I have accepted the challenge to post this topic.
It was suggested that a Fire Truck be on standby.
I live in a remote location with a volunteer Fire Service...however here we are...
you MADE me phone em, "I didn't wanna do it I didn't wanna do it"
Yes, I phoned, well, got them to phone me.
AH yes, I can't BEGIN to tell yer how good it felt to receive that call..."When VALUED customer is on the line, press 1"
Word of warning people...NEVER make a call to eBay CS, with anything LESS than an empty bladder, given the risk of...EXTREME laughter?
The reason for the call?
I asked if eBay have had a change of policy with regard to encryption of bidders ID's...and yer know what?, they HAVE.
Some DUMB S.O.A.B (who may well have received a BONUS fer this brainstorm) decided it would be a good idea to encrypt the encrypted ID of a bidder, SO
If you wanna check the bid history of the "opposition" B4 you "jump in"... (at any stage 
) you "click" on the bid, are taken to "bid history", where you click on the ALREADY encrypted ID of a bidder, and are taken to that bidders "bid history ID".
Here you can STILL see his/her feedback score...amount of bids placed in the past 30 days, % of bids placed with the SAME seller, and number of items bid on, and retraction history etc..etc, but NOW you will notice that eBay have encrypted the already encrypted bidders ID...WHY?
Oh boy, this is gonna be fun...not, as the "eBay can do no wrong" brigade CHARGE to their defence, with reasons why it' a "good thing", or at least "not an issue"
WELL,?...ready when you are.
@Anonymous wrote:Hey everyone,
I love seeing the discussion of pros and cons regarding a change likes this. We appreciate the constructive criticism shared and I also am happy to see some members discussing how this could work for certain situations. I wanted to give an update on this topic.
This idea has come up periodically over the years, and our product team again evaluated it based on your suggestion and decided not to pursue a soft-close feature (AKA popcorn bidding or auction extension).
There are pros and cons to the current format, but overall it has worked very well the last couple decades and making such a major change to the auction-format, would cause disruption and create a different set of pros and cons. While we always are striving to innovate in an ever changing market, we do not believe the net benefit to the marketplace supports the resource investment at this time for this particular suggestion.
There are also aspects of the current system that buyers and sellers like, such as that the auction-format has a fixed end time. Their time investment is a known quantity. Many sellers also like the fixed end time as it allows them to plan when they will pack and ship.
And remember, the current system doesn’t reward the item to the buyer who placed the last bid (sniper), but rewards the item to the buyer who placed the earliest and highest bid (in case of a tie, the buyer who bid earliest will win). Automatic bidding allows the buyer to set the maximum they are willing to pay. If a buyer loses and claims they would have bid more, then they didn’t place their maximum bid.
We are always happy to review any suggestions our community provides and changes are often made based on customer feedback! Thanks again to everyone for sharing their ideas on this topic 🙂
YAY!!!! Wise decision IMHO ..
@*help_no_brakes* wrote:I have accepted the challenge to post this topic.
It was suggested that a Fire Truck be on standby.
I live in a remote location with a volunteer Fire Service...however here we are...
You're already aware of the contentious debate that comes up over this, I see.
Disclosure: I did not read the replies.
I'll just say it's one of the few things that isn't broken that eBay hasn't tried to fix anyhow.
As a seller, I'm 100% auctions, and don't like the idea and wouldn't use it. It will discourage buyers from entering their max. bid, they'll just go one increment. That will cost me money, especially if they aren't around at the close of auction to bid again. And indecisive bid nibblers are less likely to end up paying too.
As a buyer, I'm about 95% auctions, and don't like the idea and would not use it. It is wide open to abuse from shill bidding sellers. And I don't want to pay more or lose items to bid nibblers.
An online auction is a lengthy process anyhow, there's no need to drag it out any longer.
You asked if it was good or bad for eBay, didn't you? It would harm the auction format. I'm not sure eBay considers that bad, or even cares if the whole auction business just goes away entirely.
@Anonymous wrote:Hey everyone,
I love seeing the discussion of pros and cons regarding a change likes this. We appreciate the constructive criticism shared and I also am happy to see some members discussing how this could work for certain situations. I wanted to give an update on this topic.
This idea has come up periodically over the years, and our product team again evaluated it based on your suggestion and decided not to pursue a soft-close feature (AKA popcorn bidding or auction extension).
There are pros and cons to the current format, but overall it has worked very well the last couple decades and making such a major change to the auction-format, would cause disruption and create a different set of pros and cons. While we always are striving to innovate in an ever changing market, we do not believe the net benefit to the marketplace supports the resource investment at this time for this particular suggestion.
There are also aspects of the current system that buyers and sellers like, such as that the auction-format has a fixed end time. Their time investment is a known quantity. Many sellers also like the fixed end time as it allows them to plan when they will pack and ship.
And remember, the current system doesn’t reward the item to the buyer who placed the last bid (sniper), but rewards the item to the buyer who placed the earliest and highest bid (in case of a tie, the buyer who bid earliest will win). Automatic bidding allows the buyer to set the maximum they are willing to pay. If a buyer loses and claims they would have bid more, then they didn’t place their maximum bid.
We are always happy to review any suggestions our community provides and changes are often made based on customer feedback! Thanks again to everyone for sharing their ideas on this topic 🙂
@Anonymous
First and foremost, I want to say a public and emphatic THANK YOU for your current post stating that eBay is not going to implement a change of soft closes/auction extensions that I verily believe have been argued/debated about, at times logically, passionately, vociferously, with "no holds barred", with bashing and brawling on the boards, with YELLING at each other, without any regard/observance/consideration of political correctness whatsoever, at all hours night and day, with no fear of reprisal (aka "pink-slap") for as long as I can remember going back to 2000. To me, those were "Thee best of times" because eBay was an OPEN environment that brought out the best, meaning their utmost honesty, from people.
For a very long time, I have stated that eBay's Proxy Bidding System as it was known in its formative years was elegantly designed and it works as it was intended to elicit maximum bids from the bidders who used eBay's Proxy Bidding system (currently Automatic Bidding) as it was designed to maximize their own success at winning a fixed-time eBay auction. People knew when the auction was scheduled to close so they had to put forth their maximum bid (or BEST bid as I sometimes call it) as eBay itself prompted, when entering a proxy bid.
If you change the bidding environment such that you have a soft close, you remove the impetus, that being the fixed ending time, that is the specific factor that elicits the maximum bids to be submitted in an eBay fixed ending timed auction. In an English auction or an "open-cry" auction (aka Going-Going-Gone), people bid low and are reacting to the known bids simply because there is no fixed ending time. If the bidders (in attendance) know the prevailing bid is $200 because the auction is "open-outcry" and the auctioneer asks for $220, I may not raise my paddle at $220 but I know, in the back of my mind, that I am prepared to go as high as $500 and I may raise my paddle when the auctioneer says going once at $300, going twice at $300, just seconds BEFORE he bangs the gavel and says "Gone/Sold" at $300. In this "open-outcry" auction, where the auctioneer asks twice for a bid of $300, I don't stand up, wave my auction paddle to draw the attention of the auctioneer, and BLURT out "I bid $500" since that is my maximum (or best) bid that I want to keep to myself.
When there exist eBay bidders who proclaim that they would have bid more given the chance through auction extensions, how would this be fair to those eBay bidders who did submit their maximum bids? To me, as an at-arms-length party not involved with the eBay auction, this wouldn't be fair because the winning eBay bidder (as determined by eBay at the scheduled ending time of the eBay auction) may not be present when the underbidder is afforded another opportunity to bid in an extended auction beyond the scheduled ending time.
On eBay, because it is not an English "open-outcry", first-price, auction format but a second-price, semi-sealed, Vickrey-type auction format, the current high bid displayed in an eBay fixed time auction may or may not be the maximum bid of the prevailing (or current) high bidder. To me, it would be eminently and egregiously unfair to use different rules to apply to certain bidders at different points of the same eBay auction as a soft close would afford.
You are correct in stating that a major change like this to the [eBay] auction format will cause disruption and create a different set of pros and cons. I saw considerably more cons and very limited pros to such a proposal/idea of auction extensions/soft closes with respect to eBay's highly successful and long-lived fixed ending time auction format.
I also want to express my utmost thanks those other eBay users that have expressed their views that are in opposition to auction extensions/soft closes. To me, you folks "GET IT".
I think I will now bring out my fork as I think this turkey is done. 
