[ClementeFanOh]

Hi all- so, last night I held my nose and participated in an ebay auction that
was actually real- not Buy It Now, but a 7 day auction. It was not for a
card, but rather for a slabbed "Golden Age " comic book. The way it
unfolded serves as a great example of the advantages of "extended bids"
or live auctions...

So, the auction ended at 11:30 pm Eastern. I went to bed with
the high bid, but had work so I didn't sit at the desktop until 11:30. I knew
some clown would snipe me, but the details are remarkable- in the last 60
seconds of the auction, there were NINE bids. Of those 9, 3 came in the
very last second of the auction. EVERY bid was from a bidder who hadn't
bid previously; in other words, by people who couldn't be bothered to
participate in the first 6 days, 23 hours, and 59 minutes of the 7 day event.
People who use a snipe tool but don't actually "participate", determined
the outcome.

So, I already know the objections- "if you wanted the book that badly you
should have bid higher", "should have stayed up later". Yep, I get it, not
my first rodeo. The larger point is that, if I truly wanted that book,
extended bids would have afforded me at least a puncher's chance, and
may have dissuaded the snipe heroes. THIS is why I prefer the concept
of extended bids- it's more "honest" and benefits people who have truly
established a previous stake in the auction. Trent King