>>As some additional background, part of the reason why that rule exists is because eBay specifically sought out brick and morter store owners to list inventory on eBay, to give bidders a better selection. Many store owners were reluctant, asking "but what if someone walks into my store and offers me my full asking price, do I have to wait for the auction to end to sell it to my local customer?"

Another reason for the rule is because many sellers wanted to link to retail sites, and bring items selectively into eBay, without giving up the option of selling directly online. This results in a much broader range of items offered on eBay, by generally more "professional" sellers, less likely to be inept or unethical.<<

I think you have hit on the REAL difference between eBay and live auctions Michael. Unless someone's business is collectibles, a retail storefront or an e-commerce website is the typical way to market products. For the most part, live auctions from this type of business (retail marketing) will only occur when the business is being liquidated. I put items up for sale at clearance pricing all the time in my retail storefront, for various reasons. When I sell something at a clearance price, it's at cost or slightly below. The added effort of offering the item in an online auction wouldn't be worth taking more of a loss, i.e., listing fees, commissions and the time involved.

In my opinion, the rules opening up the seller's option to cancel bids has in effect, put eBay in the position of being an area for free (or almost free, depending on the minimum bid) advertising to regular retail businesses.

Bob