Proposal to Fix Sniping on eBay
Let's face it-- eBay is broken. It always has been, because it uses a system that's not fair to buyers or bidders. We all know what I'm talking about: you've found an item you wanted on eBay and placed your bid, only to be outdone at the last moment by a sniper. Perhaps you've tried to be the sniper yourself by only bidding in the last minute or so. Maybe you've even used some third party software to help. On the other side of the equation, maybe you've put an item up for sale only to see it go for much less than it's worth because no one bid until the last moment, and there wasn't enough time left for a proper bidding war to ensue.
So here's what I suggest. Have all auctions begin with a preview period. During this time everything works the same way it does now. People can place early bids if they want, but you don't really have to. The period lasts one day less than current auctions. Then the bidding period begins. Any bid placed during the bidding period extends the end of the auction to 24 hours after the bid was placed. This way if someone snipes your auction, whether you're a bidder or a seller, you've got 24 hours to respond. Sure, auctions could take longer. But if that happens then the seller won't complain because he's getting more money than he would have otherwise. Bidders won't complain because they can always just bid sooner. If a seller needs to get rid of an item in a hurry, give him the option to accept the current bid and end it, or let him configure the amount by which the auction is extended.
Comments
I'm months late reading this post, but I would say that you do not now how to use eBay.
Example: an item you want to buy, you make the highest bid on. Say $20. Then, you get "sniped" by someone who bid $21. If you could have "re-sniped", you would have gone to $22. Did you get sniped?
[As I go through scenario's below, let's say that the highest PREVIOUS bid (before you) was $19... such that a bid by you for $20 (or more) makes you the highest bidder.]
Now, back to my question. No, you did not get sniped. If you were really willing to pay $22 for this item, you should have bid $22 for it in the first place. eBay would NOT have made your first winning bid be $22, but the same $20 it took to beat the previous $19 bid. When the guy tries to snipe you at $21, eBay automatically says "well, jcoehoorn was willing to bid $22, I will now make him the winning bidder at $22". In fact, if you were WILLING to pay $30 for the item, your first (and last) bid should have been $30. Again, eBay would not automatically make $30 the high bid, but $20 as that would have beaten the previously existing $19 high bid. As the wannabe sniper bids $21, eBay comes back and tells him "Highest bidder is jcoehoorn at $22". He tries to snipe you again with $23 and is told "Highest bidder is jcoehorn at $24". YOU ARE DOING NOTHING, BUT EBAY IS BIDDING ***FOR*** YOU!! That is the beauty of eBay, which so many people (including you) apparently do not understand!!
Now, if he finally bids $31, you would lose the auction, because your silent bidder (eBay) knows you only wanted to pay as much as $30 for it. But since you decided that you only wanted to pay $30, you did not get sniped, but someone simply was willing to pay more for the item than you were.
Learn how to use the site and the tools, and you won't get sniped.
But from my point of view, you do not know how to properly bid on eBay, and you have never been sniped, just did not enter the proper bid amount.
A person places bid with an expectation that they won't go higher. And then they wait. And while they wait they think about the auctioned item: what they'll do when they get it, how nice it will be, how long they'll have to wait for shipping, etc. In short, they build up the expectation of winning, and the value of the item increases in their mind. Think of it as the price you'll pay to avoid disappointment. Near the end of the auction, as they are outbid, they may find themselves willing to pay more than they first thought.
Also, a person may place a bid and not know exactly how high they can go. It may depend on several factors, including the final cost of a complementary item.
Finally, under the current system the amount of attention an item gets will drop significantly if it gets an early bid or two. If you see an item for a certain price, and it already has a bid, you know you'll likely have to pay a lot more than the current listed price to win the item because the auto-bidding system will bid it up. An item with no bids might be won for the asking price. Therefore an item with no bids holds more appeal.
The idea to extend the auction with each new bid, like a normal auction, allows users to properly consider each bid and decide how, or whether, to respond.