eBay sniping

From: Brian Chase <vaxzilla_at_jarai.org>
Date: Sun Apr 27 23:42:01 2003

On Sun, 27 Apr 2003, steve wrote:

> Not remotely? Is almost exactly like a sealed bid.
> Those price changes during the auction mean absolutely
> nothing, as the final price is determined in the last
> 5 seconds (at least in the majority of cases). Nobody
> takes those prices changes during the auction
> seriously, its like people talking before an auction,
> discussing what the items are worth, but nobody really
> tells you what they really think its worth. That comes
> in the last 5 seconds.
>
> Since the other bidders have no practical way to
> counter bid those bids entered during the last 5
> seconds, ebay's auction model can accurately be called
> a "sealed bid" auction format, with the highest bidder
> paying the second highest bid. If you change ebay's
> format to extend the auction time after each bid, then
> I agree its not a sealed auction anymore.

Sealed bid auctions don't result in bidding frenzies. I don't think
your comparison of sealed bid to eBay auctions holds at all.

-brian.
Received on Sun Apr 27 2003 - 23:42:01 BST