Tom and Pete ... if people bid what they are willing to pay .... it would make no sense to bid on Ebay. They could simply purchase at retail. Everybody loves a bargain. What bidder would not want to win an item for LESS then they wanted to pay? That's the whole purpose of an auction.... especially when 99.9% of the chip auctions on ebay are not for scarce or rare chips but are for the most part readily available from other sources. If bidders followed both of your non-practical suggestions; auctions (including the CC>CC Auction) ideally would allow only one bid per bidder if everyone would bid their maximum at the get-go. That ain't real-life.