I agree. The point is that eBay is not a real auction site.

Sniped, who me? After finding that HammerSnipe offers three free snipes at 15 seconds, (per week? I don't use it enough to know) so you still don't beat paying members and other services that bid at 3 seconds, I have probably sniped and won six auctions in the last two years. At that, I have lost more. Most I win are less than my Max. bid, so I probably would have won them anyway?

The fact, that in most cases, people don't bid until the last second, is interesting. As a seller you can look with one hour to go and see no bids. Pretty scary. Then the auction closes and there are a flood of last second bidders.

I'm not upset at the system. Hey... there it is, love it or leave it. But in a real life auction, you can see how the bidding is going, if it was a seven day auction vs real life 3 minutes, you would have people in at the begining in both cases. At a live auction, you can increase your bid, eBay you have a top and that's it.

Me complain? I just won a chip on eBay for half of face and it's still current at the casino. Worst case, I make $12 by taking it in and returning it. Hunt for bargains, you got it.

Yes, the sitting at the computer part would mean all of the other auctions at the same time would be pretty confusing. Jumping back and forth if you wanted two or more things. I also agree it wouldn't work.

The eBay system that allows Proxy Bidding, works fine for me. I wish the club auctions had it, instead of, What you bid, is What you bid! Talk about setting your highest price and knowing what it's going to be.

It isn't called sniping when someone outbids me at a real auction, it's called paying more than I'm willing to pay.

Ebay is for bargain hunters and I see it as the Highest of the Low bids that wins. It's a buyers market.

But it's not a real auction and the 15 minute rule would make any internet or phone auction, fair, like a real auction. A sellers market.