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EBay "auctions"
The EBay “auction†system is dysfunctional, corrupt, and very poorly serves sellers and buyers. Scam artists and fraudsters wait until the final seconds before the “auction†closes before placing a bid a few dollars higher, but not allowing anyone time to then counter bid. This deceptive behaviour robs sellers of getting a higher price, and legitimate buyers of being able to bid fairly.
EBay has a name for this rorting (“Bid sniping†), but only suggests others purchase the rorting software, and do the same!
This is not fixing the problem eBay!
Fix your mess – make the “auctions†continue 45 seconds at least past any final last second bids – to allow time for any legitimate counter bids.
EBay “auctions†are not even auctions at present, according to the dictionary definition:
“Sale by bidding a sale of goods or property at which intending buyers bid against one another for individual items, each of which is sold to the bidder offering the highest price.â€
EBay “auctions†don’t even allow for legitimate bidding for the highest price to take place. To even call them auctions is lying and disingenuous – “scam fests†would be more accurate.
This fraudulent activity is a form of stealing, which EBay condones at present.
woodland_gnome
·2 years agoSniping is a defensive tactic that is the best single defense against shilling sellers. YOU have no need and no right to know anything about my bid to be able to bid effectively. If you can't decide your true maximum to bid in 7 days why do you believe you will do a better job in 45 seconds while in an emotional state over being outbid? On the other hand that is plenty of time (particularly if it is extended again as most auction extension proponents want) for a shiller to drive the price up to your supposedly hidden maximum and then retract the last bid if s/he goes over.
I do not consider your "counter bid" as "legitimate" since it is not an INDEPENDENT valuation of the item but rather is dependent on what I bid rather than on what you value the item for. WHY exactly do you NOT bid what the item is worth to you the first time? And bidders are bidding against one another in this format, just not sequentially like you seem to think is within the definition of an "auction" (it is NOT there in the definition you quote).
eBay's auction format is what makes it fair to those in up to 24 timezones with different work/sleep/computer schedules. Anyone can bid what the item is worth to them at any time and anyone can set up with a third party (there are reliable and secure ones which offer free limited use) to submit that bid in the last few seconds to get the defensive benefits of not having one's hidden maximum out there for others (again, including shilling sellers) to probe or otherwise base their bids on. Making it so those who are able to be there to react at the end have the advantage is unfair.
eburtonlab
Mentor2 years agomake the “auctions†continue 45 seconds at least past any final last second bids – to allow time for any legitimate counter bids.
Anything you could possibly do in that extra 45 seconds could just as easily be done before that under the current format.
There is no way to guarantee that you get the last bid -- there is always the chance that someone else is willing to wait and place a bid just after your bid.
Luckily it is not necessarily the last bid that wins, but the highest bid, so there is never a need to place the last bid.
There is no need to wait until you are outbid to place a higher bid; simply bid your maximum amount the first time. Once you have bid your absolute maximum amount, at that point bid extensions cannot help you, only hurt you.
rfmtm
Mentor2 years agoHighest bid wins no matter when it is placed.
rock.star
·2 years agoBid once and bid your maximum and bid snipping will not be a problem.