quote:
Originally posted by Section 8:
Its not a game. Is a transaction. If people used the proxy bid system like they should (bid the ammount that the item is worth to YOU) there would be no such thing as "sniping".
Yes, it is a game, otherwise we would just buy many of the items from an online retailer or usenet classifieds rather than wait for 7 days for an auction to end. Some people enjoy the "auction fever" of bidding and outbidding opponents. One of the appeal of an auction is that you MIGHT be able to get something for a good deal. That IS winning. If nobody bid lower than what they are willing to pay, then I believe auctions would lose their appeal. There are some items that I might want, but not bad enough for me to pay close to what others would consider it worth. I agree with you that proxy bidding isn't being used by bidders as it should be, otherwise sniping wouldn't be so easy
I am amazed at looking over the bids at the end of an auction and see a bidder bid 6 or 7 times in a row until it beat the highest proxy bid. If he was willing to pay that much in the first place, then he should have bid that high on his first bid. The truth is, many users on eBay just don't understand the proxy bid system. Just go to the help area on this site to see some of the questions. Are snipers taking advantage of that? Probably, but if they get sniped enough, maybe they will start bidding their high bid.