Matt- anything that would compel someone to bid earlier is worth considering.
Keep in mind that in an auction such as REA, it's not the clock that keeps bidders from bidding but the amount of the lot. I was speaking to the winner of the 1933 George C. Miller set and he said that he thought he had won the lot at 3:00 AM as there had not been any bidding for a few hours. Then at 3:00 AM a very serious bidder jumped in and all the real action took place.
Why? What was gained by waiting that long? The same outcome could have been resolved at 8:00 PM, 10:00 PM, or at any time really. The bottom line is bidding ceased because the lot hit its max. Maybe bidders hope that at 3:00 AM their competition is asleep; but if that is the case, then the auction is all about who can stay up the latest. And even Rob writes somewhere in his rules that that is not what he wants. Again, the system needs some fine tuning.
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