Spirited bidding is good.
Not having auctions end at 5:00 am is also good.
A fixed end time is a bad idea because those who like to bid one increment at a time instead of using a max bid may lose the item to snipers (and the auction house and consigner then lose those extra bids).
I see the solution as being a combination of several of the things mentioned by others:
1) 5-minute extended-bidding intervals because 15-minute intervals draw out the auction too much,
2) the entire auction closes at the same time to allow people to shift limited funds when they reach their absolute limit on an item(s), and
3) following 1-hour of extended bidding, only bids over a set amount ($500? $1000?) will extend the entire auction (bids on ALL items will be allowed as long as the auction remains open but only bids on items over the set amount will cause an extension).
This would make a faster auction that ends earlier, allows back-and-forth bidding thanks to the shorter extended periods, doesn't keep anyone from getting an additional bid in when outbid thanks to a fixed end time, and of course still allows for the use of max bids.
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