Fact is ebay has come up with the only system that allows auctions to end in a timely matter- that is ending at a predetermined time that is known to all bidders. Could this be implemented into a catalog auction?
Obviously Rob couldn't pull the plug at 1:00 AM or 2:00 AM arbitrarily because he would of course leave oodles of money on the table. But what if he instituted a rule that qualifying bids had to be in by 4:00 PM and the auction would automatically shut down at midnight? If everybody had that information, wouldn't every bidder be on an equal playing field? And couldn't anyone leave a ceiling before midnight if he still had some room left up to his maximum?
This would not be a perfect system, but either is one where bidding first begins to intensify ten hours after the initial close. No system is perfect, including the one presently in place.
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