Posted By:
martin dalziel
The auction houses are business unto themselves and as such, just like any business that wants to be successful, part of their focus is to create branding.
Mastro et al, spend a lot of money trying to create their brand and while Ebay will certainly 'get more eyes' for their auctions, theres an argument that it dilutes the brand that they're trying to create. They're not trying to be perceived as some common or garden place to buy things, they want to be perceived as 'the' place.
Tiffany & co. is a great example of a company that is all about brand, and as such the brand carries a premium. If their goods were available everywhere, bang goes the image and bang goes the premium.
All that aside, personally i like that items aren't all over Ebay for everyone to find - but thats me being selfish. I like the fact that hard work and research can still pay off.