eBay sniping

From: Mail List <mail.list_at_analog-and-digital-solutions.com>
Date: Thu Apr 24 17:51:00 2003

Hi Mike,

> What you are trying to do is have a completely new format for an auction.
> Specified end time with extended provision. You don't have any such
> "NORMAL" auction like this.

Yahoo auctions, GSA auctions, and a local one ( that ceased operations )
called Bidzilla had the extending auctions format.

> and the winners will be those that place last second bids (i.e. not seen
by others)

Not necessarily so. An early bidder that enters a high enough proxy bid
will still
win. Sniping sometimes backfires on the snipers, if they miscalculate what it
will take to win ( if it was something they really wanted ) and enter too
low a sniping
bid.




At 12:54 PM 4/24/03 -0700, you wrote:
> > At 18:23 24/04/2003, you wrote:
> >
> >
> >>All this garbage about
> >>extending auctions an extra minute, blah blah blah, is just a dumb idea.
> >
> > I dispute that - the "extension" idea is what happens in a "normal"
> > auction. The auctioneer will take bids until all competing bidders back
> > out, leaving the one winner. This, naturally, maximises the sale price
> > (which is good for the seller & the auction house).
>
>Absolute nonsense! In a normal auction, there is no specified "end time."
> These are two completely different formats. In a normal auction,
>everyone shows up at the same time and bids. Bidding is only for a few
>minutes.
>
>In an eBay auction (a completely different format) everyone has a very
>long time to decide.
>
>If you had an extended time feature (or pathetic idea) no one would bid on
>a 10 day auction until day 10. There would be no need to, unless you just
>couldn't be around.
>
>What you are trying to do is have a completely new format for an auction.
>Specified end time with extended provision. You don't have any such
>"NORMAL" auction like this.
>
>The only reason people place early bids on eBay is because they are
>thinking like this is a "NORMAL" auction, which it is NOT. This is like a
>sealed bid auction because the auction ends at a specified time and the
>winners will be those that place last second bids (i.e. not seen by
>others).
Received on Thu Apr 24 2003 - 17:51:00 BST