Reply to "Why doesn't ebay offer sniping?"

quote:

Originally posted by petronius:
To me it would seem like almost a free lunch for ebay.

I believe the only revenue generated by ebay comes from fees charged to “sellers”. To implement a system to charge “buyers” (ANY buyer) might not be as free of a lunch as it would appear. Additionally, just the concept of charging to bid (snipe) might not go over too well with the masses. Then there are the potential complaints about snipes not going in (bid/increment too low), or people claiming they never gave ebay a snipe (someone/many could pretend their account was hacked). Many of the problems that are brought up on this forum would apply and have to be handled by ebay.

Then there are the legal considerations. I doubt ebay takes a fart without getting advice from an army of lawyers (or at least consults with environmental groups). Deep pockets tend to bring out the worst in some people – especially in the States.

quote:

Originally posted by petronius:
ebay can be discreet about its own snipe function if it chooses, not actively advertise it, etc.

Not sure that’s much of a business plan. I don’t think I’d want to purpose to Meg Whitman that ebay spend the resources to implement something that won’t be used that much, and won’t be encouraged to be used.

MOST IMPORTANTLY, I think it takes a unique person to be a sniper. I think most bidders are somewhat indecisive, in that they don’t know how much they are willing to pay (they allow the dynamics of the other bidders to assist/control them, and deal better with smaller, incremental increases in the auction price), and they get a certain entertainment value just out of bidding and being a part of the process, and they don’t have the patience to wait 7 days to see if they will even appear in the bid history. I doubt many people would convert to sniping, mainly because currently the snipers are in the minority, and ebay has been around long enough for the majority of users to have gotten hip to the fact that proxy bidding, although may be fun, can be an expense source of entertainment.

Proxy bidders bid; snipe bidders acquire.



P. S. Does anyone have change for a nickel?