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Posted By: davidcycleback

My opinion is that lots ending early is due to collectors' fault as much as seller.
The reason that sellers end auctions early is often because bidders don't bid early but
place snipe bids. When a seller consistantly sees little to no bidding early on
in auctions of expensive material, he or she is more likely to end the auction
early for fear the item won't sell well. On the other hand, if there is healthy
bidding in the first few days (as there used to be), the seller is much less
likely to end the auction as he or she sees that there's good bidding going on.

So, it is my opinion that the popular 'save bid for last second so I can get the cheapest
price possible from the dealer,' is a major cause of early endings that these
same bidders protest against.

It should be noted that only a few years ago snipe bidding was considered unethical
by most collectors. At that time, most collectors would consider it sweet justice
that an auction ended before a sniper's bid kicked in.

My opinion is that a straight auction should not be ended in there is
one or more bids placed. In particular, as eBay and other forums allow you to
offer it for sale at a fixed or 'best offer' price.