On Thu, 24 Apr 2003, Mike wrote:
> At best, that is a stretch. A specified end time, is just what it means.
> eBay is exactly what a sealed bid auction is. A "normal" auction can
> theoretically go for days. An ebay auction ends at X:YY period.
No it's not. The bids you make on eBay, unless the seller turns on the
feature to hide the bids, are open for all to see. How is that not
totally and completely obvious to you?
> Those that bid early are just people that make a bid and announce what
> they bid. But those that place their sealed bids at the end are unknown
> until the end of the auction. Any auction, where there is any real
> interest, is ALMOST NEVER won by an early bid; making them essentially
> non-bids.
Just because people can choose to wait until the last second to enter a
bid does not make it "sealed-bid". Your definitions are whack, yo.
> The auction you propose is:
> 1) one with a fixed end time that is published
> 2) has an extension period for x amount of minutes.
>
> There exists NO such auction in the real world. Only in your imagination
> for a format that you think will give you a better chance of winning. But
> the bottom line is, you don't win, unless you have the high bid. That is
> what ebay does; that is what any real world auction does.
Forget your argument. It's going nowhere and does not really serve to
clarify the issue.
The analogy is that, if all the bidding is going to take place in the last
10 seconds by snipers, the days leading up to the end of the auction are
really like a "preview" period. By extending the auction you give each
bidder a chance to up their bid in response to another bid. It would be
analagous to the way a "typical" auction in the real world works.
> What you want is one that you can change your mind, essentially, after the
> auction should have ended.
>
> You want an auction where they auctioneer says, "Sold!" and you stand up
> and say, "I was sleeping. Give me one more minute."
No, you want an auction where you have a chance to enter a bid higher than
the last one. A better analogy with sniping is that the auctioneer
screams "ONCETWICESOLD!" before you even have a chance to open your mouth.
--
Sellam Ismail Vintage Computer Festival
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Received on Fri Apr 25 2003 - 02:33:00 BST