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Except that eBay uses a particular auction model where by extending the time doesn't matter much. If you bid the most you would be prepared to pay for somethin
by cjg 6y ago
Except that eBay uses a particular auction model where by extending the time doesn't matter much.
If you bid the most you would be prepared to pay for something - you don't pay that price - you just pay enough to beat everyone else.
If you bid in a genuine way there's no pipped at the post situation - you just weren't prepared to pay more.
Now there are some secondary psychological effects, like a high price bid so far might increase bidders willingness to pay more, so there may be some advantage to bidding later, but overall there's less of a problem than it initially appears.
Perhaps bidders just need to be more honest with themselves about how much they were really prepared to pay.
- jclulow 6y agoI think you're grossly underestimating the effect of other visible bids on behaviour. When I was buying a lot of IT equipment, years ago, sniping was the only reliable way to win auctions. It was almost like people would only bid on things others had already bid on.
- sokoloff 6y agoEBay has a fundamental flaw with bid retractions that discourages early bidding. If you bid $100 on an item that is currently at $5, it becomes $6. If someone else (possibly in cahoots with the seller) bids $150 and then retracts their bid, the fact that you’re willing to pay $100 has been leaked.
- m463 6y agooh, that's an interesting idea. I sort of assumed that cancelling bids was a no-no and you would probably get banned, but I don't know the reality of it. (sort of like speeding in your car - most normal people assume you'll get in trouble and are reasonable, but maybe you can do it and nobody will care)
- compsciphd 6y agoyou are giving out information by bidding early. if everyone snipes at the last possible moment, you are right, winner pays the lowest they can. However, by bidding early, other competitors now have info on you and can adjust accordingly.