Originally Posted by
Little Darwin
While the first statement is unprovable and/or false, the highlighted statement
is the key point.
All the previous arguments about exposing what you are willing to pay just don't exist unless you have hacked Ebay.
What maximum bid has been placed is not exposed until someone outbids it... just the same as if I bid my maximum at the exact instant that someone else bids. How does this raise the final price? With all of the sniping, I agree that the price goes up at the last minute due to all of the snipes hitting... but either way, the highest bidder wins.
Y'all are the reason that Ebay's latest ads are pushing the thrill of the win. Me, I look to get items I want at a good price. The few times I remember sniping, I ended up paying more than I wanted because of the thrill of the hunt.
The only real down side of the proxy bid (from the perspective of getting a good deal) is that it could tie up the funds you are willing to spend on an item you are waiting for the auction to end, and you are unable to jump on another item (i.e. buy it now or a new listing with a shorter duration).
I appreciate the entusiasm of your response, but you missed my point entirely.
Last minute bidding without the cheater programs is good sport and doesn't have to lead to higher bidding on your part. When it works it leads to getting things as cheaply as possible. When it doesn't work, you don't get the item.
Where it comes into play is when you find an item you want that has few or no bids on it. You watch it until the end of the auction. If it makes it to the last minute without the bids going up, you wait as long as you dare and then throw in your bid. If it works, nobody else bids higher and you get it cheap. If others do bid at the end, you only get it if the bid you made is higher than theirs. If you bid too early, other buyers notice the bid and may test your bid by bidding progressively higher until they eventually go higher or decide to bow out. This raises the price. As a seller, I like it when this happens. As a buyer it means the opportunity to get a real bargain is gone. This situation is increasingly rare, but when it works, it works.