[the 'stache]

Originally Posted by bxb

Agree with this.

Whoever bids last has the advantage, like last ups in the bottom of the 9th.

No obvious way to fix that.

It's not like "last up in the bottom of the 9th" at all. The home team can win it in the bottom of the ninth without the visiting team ever coming to bat again. In an auction, there is nothing preventing the participants from bidding at the very end if they so choose. If they've placed just one bid on that lot, they are entitled to bid after 9pm, right up until the auction closes.

In an auction setting, somebody that stays up late really doesn't have an advantage. For example:

Bidder A put their max bid in at 3pm on auction closing day.
Bidder B is staying up late. They put a bid in before 9pm, and it was immediately outbid by Bidder A.

Now extra time after 9pm starts. For the sake of brevity, we'll say that only Bidder A and Bidder B are left. Bidder B decides what they're willing to pay for the item. Bidder A decided their maximum earlier in the day.

It's very simple. If Bidder B is willing to put in a bid that is higher than Bidder A's maximum bid, they will win the item. If they do not put in a bid exceeding Bidder A's max bid, then Bidder A will win.

What would have changed had Bidder A been there? Nothing if they were honest with themselves, and put in what was truly their highest bid. If they put in $4,000 was the highest they were willing to pay on an item, and Bidder B put in a bid of $4,100, Bidder A isn't going to pay anymore. They told the system the most they were willing to pay.

The system worked.

Bidder B wins the item because they were willing to pay more than Bidder A. That Bidder A was not there to witness Bidder B winning the item is irrelevant.