The whole idea behind an auction, the thing that brings people to the table, is that the guy who is willing to pay the most gets the item. With Ebay's current system, you can have a guy who has decided that he is willing to pay more, but can't because he was cut off by the time limit before he even knew he was outbid. He never got a chance to make the decision to let the item go.
He had a chance by setting his max bid as his
MAX BID. Unless it's his first auction or he's a complete moron, he should've expected bid sniping and bid appropriately.
I know that's not how you and vestcoat tick, and that it's possible to place a higher bid in advance of the end, yet you guys at least seem to acknowledge that people with uncertain maximums will always exist in spite that.
Except in the rare case of something like Magical Chase, similar items are sold regularly and there's absolutely no reason that bidders can't figure out what an item is worth before the other guy bids.
However, your response to their situation on ebay is to blow them off and say that they're too stupid to know what's good for them and that giving them their way would poison the market. It's awfully bold of you to say that a cheaper price for you is better than a higher price for them, even though they and the seller would disagree. It's the interest of one sniper against the interest of two others.
How many times do I have to say that sellers, eBay, and omg rar3z collectors obviously love high prices but this community does not? If you're so eager to pay more, then set your maximum bid as your MAXIMUM BID!
The reason why I think ebay should have time extensions like yahoo is because it's the best system for the whole group. Nobody risks being cut off by time, only by money, and that's something I think all winners, all losers, and all sellers alike feel is fair.
The only thing 'unfair' about the current system is that you have to figure out what something is worth instead of just bidding $1 more than what the other guy thinks it's worth.
