Why does eBay allow auction sniping?

[skiesoffire]

As a buyer and seller, it sounds stupid that ebay does not extend auction times if someone attempts to snipe auctions. from a seller's point of view, you cant expect everyone to bid their maximum bid. when I snipe other people, it doesnt make sence how i dont give the other guy a chance to defend his bid.

[007steveb16]

There is no reason to not bid your maximum bid. If you wanna play the how quick can I get a bid in, in the last seconds of a auction game, then your just setting yourself up for a few dissapointments.

When you buy things in a brick and mortar store do you not know your budget? Same applies on Ebay just a different way to make a purchase with auction style.

Btw isn't making a maximum bid defending his will to buy the item if you think about it??

[heidilynn0_3]

Any adjustment to the end time would simply allow procrastinators to continue doing so. End time is a level playing field with the opportunity to place a max bid to the final second.

Nibblers do not win auctions.

[dmil8030]

Hello 'skiesoffire',

Mind if I play along?  🙂  <<it sounds stupid that ebay does not extend auction times>>  ...  They usually last a week, - how much more time does anybody need?

<<if someone attempts to snipe auctions>>  Haha, 'if'?  Just about everyone attempts to snipe auctions, - because that's where the fun is!  Even losing, getting out-sniped at the last second after watching an auction for half the day is worth a jolly good giggle.

<<you cant expect everyone to bid their maximum bid>>  You're right, you can't.  Some folks are nibblers, adding on those hesitant 'feeler' bids a couple bucks at a time.  The way I see it, let them have some fun with their nibbling, - they wouldn't do it if they weren't enjoying it.  And then at the end those of us who actually want the item will come along with our wallets in hand and snipe it, -- because it is the highest bid that wins.  Yes, you can expect everyone to bid their max.

And of course, if an earlier high bid is sufficient, umpteen last-second snipers will still not be able to nab it.  I've done that, - put in a high bid because I couldn't be around at 'action time'.  ...  I say, what a raucus good laugh I get when I see a few snipers who thought they'd grab it at the end but too late, - no time to rebid.  I've also been one of those unfortunates, too.  Not quite as amusing, no, but still fun.

<<when I snipe other people>>  Aaah, so you do enjoy a bit of sport then, do you. 😉  Well for those who haven't time to do their own sniping there are services which will snipe on their behalf, - for a fee, obviously. 

<<it doesnt make sence how i dont give the other guy a chance to defend his bid>>  Oh for heaven's sake, - a bid is not geographical territory nor a philosophical postulate.  It does not need 'defending'.  The 'other guy' has every chance to get the item if his bid is sufficiently high because it is always the highest bid that wins the auction, not the earliest.  Only in the event of a tie does the earlier bid win, hence some folks suggest using odd numbers at the end, like $92.67.

When you don't win an auction, it is because you did not bid high enough.  Sometimes that's a good thing.  If you decide in advance what is the very most you could possibly ever pay, the absolute max whereby you cannot go one penny more, - to be outbid, even by a few cents, may be a bit of a relief.  Otherwise, if you lose the auction because you were only teasing, holding back, not serious enough to go all the way and place that max, -- and hence you lost the auction, . . .  well now whose fault is that?

Happy bidding. 😄

[scifan57]

Extending auction times like you suggest would allow auctions to potentially last for quite some time after their original end time, thereby annoying the bidders who were expecting the auction to end at the specified time.

[leb17]

Another Seller DSR Star...

Did the auction end in a timely fashion? ★☆☆☆☆

[ok_so_im_50]

I do not think I have ever heard of a seller complain about sniping.

I have seen on another site where bidding continued until no one bid for about 5 second. Just when you thought the auction would end, someone else would bid and add another 5 seconds to the auction. Trust me when I say it was annoying.